Tuesday, July 26, 2011

What Will Become of the Cookbook?


Do you remember the days when you relied on your cookbooks for new or favorite recipes? If you had a party coming up you would search through your cookbooks, recipe box, magazines, and on some occasions your friends or the library. Now all you have to do is google it. Hmmmm, I want to make chocolate cake with butter cream frosting. I'll just "google it!" When you do that, hundreds of recipes are at your disposal. I think more people are finding new recipes on the Internet, recipe Cd's, and in e-book format. I confess, I've done them all and my e-book now sports about a dozen or so new cookbooks.

I have quite an extensive cookbook collection and in the photo above you will see my thee favorites. First and foremost is "Death By Chocolate" by Marcel Desaulniers. Oh my God! If you want to knock them dead with ultra rich and sinful chocolate desserts, this is the one that will do it. I've made about half dozen things from this book and I'm dumbfounded. Can't think straight right now. Next in line is the Crockpot Bible. This thing is PACKED with every kind of recipe you could imagine for the crockpot. I think I've made about fifteen things from that book and I've only had it a couple of years. My sister has the same book and she will agree with me on this one. My third favorite cook book is An American Country Kitchen. This book has two of my favorites, the Broken Glass candies that are cinnamon and spearmint flavored (great for Christmas) and Buckeyes. Yummy & festive!

Do you think the cookbook will become a thing of the past? Do you think that people will still turn to their bookshelves when the want to try a new recipe or do you think they will head to the computer and type in the words, google.com?

I for one am vowing right here and right now, not to give up on the Internet or e-reader (I LOVE that thing), but to turn to my cookbook collection when I'm looking for something new. That being said, BLOGGERS---keep those recipes coming! I always love to try new ones and I love collecting them in electronic form as well!

So I ask you, do you have any favorite cookbooks?

16 comments:

  1. I'm with you on the need for paper cookbooks - have a shelf of my pantry dedicated to them. But still do love my online searches in a pinch!

    Thanks for the feedback on my hairstick blog and listing. Updated both with a pic of my rats nest. Perhaps I need to hire a model! :P

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  2. You know, I have tried all the recipes I wanted from my cookbooks so when I want to make something I google the meat and what I have to go with it to see what recipes appear. It is great!

    I have not made those that I got from your blog yet, but will! I printed them. Now I do have a recipe box. That's where the tried and loved ones go!

    Have a wonderful day!

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  3. I have 2 cookbooks right now. I normally do not buy them. I received those as gifts. I love them because I am able to try new dishes. I will admit that I mostly get my new recipes from the Food Network site or from blogs.

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  4. Unfortunately, I think many print items will become a thing of the past all too soon. Many small newpapers have gone out of business due to info on the internet. And several of the magazines I used to read have gone away as well.

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  5. I nearly always use the Internet for recipes now, but I do keep a handful of essential cookbooks--with Fannie Farmer being at the top of that list.

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  6. My all time favorite cookbook is my old old old Betty Crocker. It has been my go to for so many things for almost 30 years, and I still use it!

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  7. I don't collect cookbooks, but I raid my mother-in-laws, my moms, and my grandparents whenever possible to collect recipes I like. I have purchased a few in the past, but I find it is like buying a cd for me... I buy the entire cd and only like a few songs. I prefer the internet for recipes because I can see individual recipes at a time, pick out what I like, and throw away what I don't.

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  8. I used to use cook books much more than I do now. I still have some that I use to remind me of specific recipes, but I rarely cook new things out of them. New recipes come via the internet, and then get transferred to my (old, metal) recipe file on 3x5 cards if they pass the family test.

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  9. I mainly use the internet for recipes now but I have a cookie book that has seen better days. It's falling apart but it's loaded with just about any cookie recipe you would ever want.

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  10. Most of the time, I use the internet. But I do have a vast collection of cookbooks and I will still use them. Like yesterday, my internet was not working and so I used one of them for a cornbread recipe.
    chatterfromtexas.blogspot.com
    www.notecardsandphotosbytheresa.com

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  11. I love to open my cookbooks to that page with the favorite recipe - you know, the one that has been caked with flour, smeared with butter, and had water spilled on it? That's how you know which ones are the best recipes.

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  12. I use everything from recipes written on a scrap of paper to searching the internet. And I do have a couple of cookbooks that I have used for years and they are like old friends especially during the holidays...

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  13. Some of my most used cookbooks aren't even published. Just typed out pages compiled by a local community, a former work place, my mother's neighborhood just to name a few. Easy to understand, tried and true, delicious recipes.

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  14. I don't have an e-reader but I love the opportunity Internet gives me to learn and to develop abilities I haven't thought I had! I most often turn to Internet for recipes but I still love going through a cookbook the old fashioned way.

    I guess that books in all forms will very soon disappear, especially having in mind how "much" children read nowadays.

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  15. I'm keeping my cookbooks, especially since I wrote a couple of them myself, yes even the recipes!

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  16. Hi Sheri! My favorite is my mom's Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that she got as a wedding present. I still make alot of the recipes in there that are favorites of Mark and his family as well as mine. I told them that I really learned cooking from you! I remember you teaching me how to make an omelette. Karen

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