How do you store your cookbooks?

[Jill Reichow]

Being lucky enough to have a new kitchen and walk in pantry, the first 5 shelves on the left are keepers of the frequently used ones. The bookcases in the family room hold the ones that have fallen slightly out of favor for the moment. Plus they hold all the little pamphlets and notes that my aunt had. She was a great cook and I treasure all of her recipes. There is usually one or two left out from some baking adventure or evening reading. Must have spilled something on one of them....found the schnauzer licking the cover! I wouldn't sell a cookbook.......now the kids.......that could be arranged!

[Kimmie]

Pete,

You should invest in a scanner...

[Kimmie]

1. Spotting a cookbook by it's nice cover;

2. Picking up the cookbook and thumbing through it, just to look at the pics;

3. Thumbing through it some more, stopping at the recipes, drooling a little bit while planning some menus;

4. Jotting down a couple of recipes;

5. Typing up the jotted recipes and filing into the computer;

6. Printing the recipes;

7. Going on amazon.com to read book reviews, etc.; maybe there will be recipes there too;

8. Afterall, it's a very very nice book, lovely concept...and the pics are so inspiring...;

9. Do I REALLY need this book or can I do without it?

10. By now, I WANT the book 'cause I really NEED IT!!!

[Shimmer]

I swear, cookbooks (well, books in general) is the only thing my husband and I regularly have spats about. But it's not my fault! I swear they have been breeding while I am at work.



I ran out of trying to designate one place for all of my cookbooks. On the shelf in my living room (the large shelf, with the college and highschool yearbooks) I have the notebooks of recipes, like the one from my bridal shower- vegetarian recipes contributed by friends and family who were scared for me to marry a vegetarian; the recipes passed down from my Great-Grandmother, and folders of recipes clipped from magazines from as far back as the late 70s (given to me by my mother).

I move too often. Some are still in a box in our office, like Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone and the all-encompassing Madeleine Kamman.

In the kitchen on the fridge are some old Julia Child, some various Cooking for Two books, and Betty Crocker.

On our old game shelf (they had to be moved to make way!!) are the random but intriguing cookbooks I love to read, pick recipes out of but never make.

In the front of the other bookshelf is the pile of cookbooks I checked out from the library, well, except those I have been copying recipes from onto my computer. So I guess there is a stack beside the monitor too.

But you should see my database!! It's so organized! I have recipes divided up into folders based on what part of the meal they belong to, and then the ethnicity or the type. Some recipes are copied into different folders. I'm being trained in using MSAccess where I work, and will probably transfer them all to an actual database with structure and searching/printing capabilities.

Then I have my various food journals, in various places. The most recent is on the shelf next to my regular journal. Guess which one gets written in more??!?!?

I am fortunate in one thing- I am not a wealthy woman. This limits a lot of my cookbook cravings to holidays, where my step-mother in law happily dumps millions of cookbooks on me as presents (They're probably saying "She's so easy!" but it's really what I ask for!!), and for my monthly library trips. Libraries have cool cookbooks, and often have the ones from the 70s that have been forgotten, or those unique regional books that were probably donated.

I too enjoy curling up with a cookbook. Its something about research for me. I love to plan and find perfect recipes even more than making them (I was the same in college- I loved researching for papers, but didn't enjoy finishing the research as much).

Hmm... seems to me I haven't gotten all the way through the Millenium Cookbook yet. See ya!

~~Shimmer~~

[Isa]

By now Kim you should know where to find excerpt of cookbooks online. It’s at Barnes & Noble....

[ShawtyCat]

I swear, cookbooks (well, books in general) is the only thing my husband and I regularly have spats about. But it's not my fault! I swear they have been breeding while I am at work.

That sounds exactly like my fiance but I think he (and my family) love it that Im easy and cheap to shop for at xmas. I have cookbooks on the bookshelf, next to the bookshelf and near to the bookshelf in my office. They are also next to the fridge and on top of my little used microwave. The last pile is next to my bed. My 18 month old son, who spends almost as much time in the kitchen as I do, likes to lie next to me an look at the pictures. His second word was "cookie".

I eventually plan on getting another bookshelf or three. And Shimmer, when you do eventually figure out the MS Access database let me know. Ive been trying for a year now and somehow cannot get my reports to print the one recipe I want instead of my whole database.

As for "unused cookbooks" like, Patti LaBelle's and the "Baking Soda" book, I just give em to the local library. You would be surprised at how thankful they are when you do.

[Isa]

Ikea has nice bookshelves with doors.

[Pongi]

WOW!
I'm impressed of how organized are you guys!
Being totally untidy (like many geniuses, of course ) I'm also pretty disorganized in storing my cookbooks and recipes...I mean iI haven't any classification system and my possibilities of finding what I'm looking for are entirely relied on my HUGE memory

Basically, I have a limited amount of "favourite" books (about 30) that are kept in my kitchen, in a bookshelf just close to the cooking area. Those are the books I consult for "usual"cooking, and I've read them so many times that I can find any recipe I need by memory.

As for the other (particularly for the funniest part of by collection, the foreign books I have purchased during my travels) they're kept in a separate section of our home bookcase, just close to my hubby's wine books . Obviously my memory isn't SO huge I can find at the first attempt anything I'm looking for...but this is a good excuse for spending some nice time reading recipes and articles here and there!

About this point, I have a question for you. Like many readers, I read my favourite "normal" books many and many times. Nothing odd if the book is a novel or everything else having a literary value...but WHAT ABOUT cookbooks? I enjoy reading and reading again also my favourite cookbooks and magazine articles...is it a sign of mental insanity, or what? Maybe it isn't the right place where to ask for an answer but other inputs are appreciated...

The third part of my collection are, as usual, the magazines, that are the main problem since, apart from my favourite copies of La Cucina Italiana which are in the bookcase, I keep them in cardboard boxes...so, finding a recipe there is something like going hunting in the African jungle.

As for my own recipes, I must admit that, although I usually write everything on my PC when working, I write all the recipes by hands on some old-fashioned exercise books. It is, maybe, the only thing I still write by hands...why? Well...I think it's because I love them-for the same reason why I would never write a love letter with a PC ....

Pongi

[phatch]

Unless a book has lots of good info and recipes, I don't own it. I'll copy down a few recipes into my various electronics and keep them that way. Very easy to search and index.

For the books I do keep, I have a large teak bookshelf. It's mostly sorted by size because each shelf is set at a different height. That works OK because most authors tend to publish their next book in the same form factor as their previous book.

But it was the only way I had to maximize the storage.

My cookbooks are often in the kitchen with me. I write in them, mark them and re-index in the front pages. Recipes I use frequently get indexed in front for quick reference. And ones I use a lot get put in my Visor or Palm for instant and ever ready access. I ALWAYS keep a source reference to the original book in my electronic versions so I can give proper credit if I share it, or if i need to reference the original for some reason.

Phil

[Kimmie]

(...)but WHAT ABOUT cookbooks? I enjoy reading and reading again also my favourite cookbooks and magazine articles...is it a sign of mental insanity, or what? Maybe it isn't the right place where to ask for an answer but other inputs are appreciated...

Like you, Pongi, I enjoy reading my cookbooks and magazines over and over again. Insanity? Umm, maybe, maybe NOT!

[Suzanne]

No. Definitely NOT.

[Rita]

I was so anxious to find solutions to my recipe storage problems when I saw this thread,but I see we are all in about he same shape.Chiffonade you are really well organized;I admire that!

We moved last year and I did try to get rid of some books and magazine; I would put them in a box to give away but at the end of the day most of them were back out because I would think of a really neat recipe I had made at one time,sooo I HAD to KEEP it.

We have downsized so I don't have as much space for my many many books here;I have a few (lots) here and there on shelves;I sure would love to organize them someday.

I have the "Grand Diplome Cooking Course"books;there are 20 in this series that I aquired about 30 years ago;they are the best(great recipes and lots ot informative reading).

Pete I also have the MasterCook recipe program;I'm in the process of writing a recipe book (family recipes for my children)it's a fun project.

And I agree there is nothing better than to curl up with a good recipe book;I always keep a couple inthe car ;if I'm stuck in traffic or having to wait for someone my books help me relax.

So if someone comes up with a plan let me know but PLEASE don't tell me I have to get rid of them.

[lwunderlich]

I love cookbooks. I cannot keep from getting more. In fact, I just purchased a recipe book with 50 recipes for biscotti (my momster is very fond of biscotti). One on pot pies is on the way to my house at this very moment. All my cook books are on shelves in my bedroom. My MasterCook on the computer (in my bedroom) has thousands of favorites and ones that await trial; I regularly do RecipeSource on line. I like the MC on the computer because I can do a regular search when I have a particular ingredient that needs to be used. This goes for the RecipeSource as well. I did do a massive down size of my cookbook collection about 10 years ago, keeping only favorites that I thought would be helpful in a much changed lifestyle. Well guess what, I didn't bring enough of them along because I still mourn some of the ones I didn't keep. We all know comfort foods, well cookbooks are my comfort.

Have you noticed though that it takes so long to look and ponder recipes that you end up having to do a last minute 'throw it together', because you've spent too much time looking for just the right recipe?

[marmalady]

"Have you noticed though that it takes so long to look and ponder recipes that you end up having to do a last minute 'throw it together', because you've spent too much time looking for just the right recipe?"



YES!!!!

[Isa]

Good point Marm!

For me looking for the right recipe is half the fun!