Forget Cookbooks Browse Food Blogs
It seems like there are more and more blogs devoted to food and cooking on the internet. In many ways, the rise of so many online resources is leading to the demise of the cookbook. I love food, and am addicted to the internet, so I often spend hours reading through different blogs looking for recipes, entertaining ideas, and even gossip about my favorite chefs and food shows. There is something about being able to grab the perfect recipe online that is making cookbooks a thing of the past.
Like most people, I get the majority of my information from the internet. It’s not just me- television, magazines, books, newspapers, and other traditional media forms are feeling the sting of the internet’s ability to provide massive amounts of information in seconds. For food lovers everywhere, I say forget cookbooks, browse food blogs.
For one, food blogs have an extensive amount of information that anyone can get to whenever they need it. Many of the really great food blogs have recipes with pictures, detailed cooking techniques, and even a play by play from the blog author so I can learn from his or her mistakes. Unlike cookbooks, I can interact with my recipes on food blogs. I can read if other people have tried and liked the recipe, I can leave comments without my own experiences, and if I get just plain stuck, I can even ask for help. And food blogs aren’t just written by kitchen chefs like me, many are written by well-known chefs, including some of the same chefs I follow on different television shows.
I have to admit to being a long time cookbook collector. I used to pick them up at bookstores, garage sales, and as hand me downs from relatives. For the most part though, each book had only a few recipes that I really love. I will say that I have hung onto a few that were either given to me by someone special, or that contain interesting information about a particular type of food. For the most part, my cookbooks have gone, replaced with the ability to look up two thousand recipes for risotto in just ten seconds. Food blogs offer me chances to not only get a recipe but to find out where it came from. The blogs created by world-class chefs often feature food that they make for their own families or have developed for their restaurants. How can I pass up recipes like these?
Another advantage of food blogs is that they offer me the ability to look up specialty recipes that I would never be able to find anywhere else. With a diabetic and a kid with a gluten allergy in the house, who would have guessed that there are a large number of recipes that are great for diabetics that don’t contain gluten? Food blogs allow me to find these recipes in just a few seconds, and many of them have become big hits at our house. I keep a binder now with copies of my favorite recipes printed off and put into vinyl sheet protectors. When I find a new recipe on a food blog that I love, I just print it out and add it to my collection. Browsing food blogs has allowed me to create the recipe collection that I have always wanted, filled with great recipes for my family, favorite recipes from big name chefs, and tons of information about where to find more. While the venerable cookbook may always hold a place in my kitchen, it is food blogs that will be the kitchen reference of choice for me.
Author Thomas Davies is a contributor to the culinary website Tastydays which features the Best Food Blogs and Video Recipes.
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