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Do you use a computer as your No. 1 recipes book?

Poll Results: Do you use your computer as your No. 1 cookbook?

 
  • 30% (6)
    Yes, the computer is my No. 1 source for recipes
  • 70% (14)
    No, I will always prefer a hard copy cookbook
20 Total Votes  
post #1 of 22
8/17/09 at 10:59pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,
I wanted to know if we are on a track of saying good bye to cookbooks or not... :lips:
So my question is:
Do you use a computer as your No. 1 recipes book?
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post #2 of 22
8/18/09 at 3:48am
Of the two I will always opt for a cookbook over the computer. Having had numerous problems with them through the years, I just don't trust computers.

Then, two, I'm the type of person for whom if it isn't on a piece of paper it doesn't exist. There's no way I could follow a recipe off a monitor.
They have taken the oath of the brother in blood, in leavened bread and salt. Rudyard Kipling
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post #3 of 22
8/18/09 at 5:38am
most of the things I ccok most often are on my computer. But I use books plenty of times too. Probably close to 50/50 for me.

Phil
more than taste fine
me eat it all the time
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post #4 of 22
8/18/09 at 5:57am
I tend to use both although lately it seems I've been leaning towards recipes online. If I see a recipe I'd like to try I'll bookmark it. If I use it I'll print it and put it in my binder for future reference. There's just too much info out there for the average home chef to ignore and depend on cookbooks alone.

That being said, I do use books more for my baking and would never want to have part with my collection of hardcovers.

Willie
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post #5 of 22
8/18/09 at 9:50am
Personally, online is my backup cookbook.

First I consult my handwritten book of recipes from my family, previous jobs and previous features I have made etc., then I consult my hard copy books and only as a last resort do I check the web
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post #6 of 22
8/18/09 at 10:08am
I will split pure research (recipes/technique etc.) between computers and books.

If I want a relaxing, non task orientated, read about food/chefs etc. then at the moment I elect 100% for books. Partly because it suits my eyes better, but also because I tend to lean into monitors I think, whereas with books I can sit in a fashion that allows me to lean back and feel more relaxed.

Possibly portable technology like e-readers will bridge that gap for me in the not too distant future.
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post #7 of 22
8/18/09 at 1:51pm
A mixture of both. I use computer for work for day to day admin of recipes, costing etc. I do R&D through internet, cookbooks, and chat rooms. (Ha Ha!)

I could not live without my books though. What happens when the power goes out? For this reason, I have a hard copy of all recipes.
Jason Sandeman

Real Food Through Solid Technique
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post #8 of 22
8/18/09 at 2:28pm
I have to agree with most people here. I'm pretty much 50/50 any more though there is nothing like sitting down and reading a good cookbook cover to cover.
From Man's sweat and God's love, beer came into the World-Saint Arnoldus
http://www.onceachef.com/
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post #9 of 22
8/18/09 at 8:50pm
computers have their place but no computer will ever replace having a fresh issue of Art Culinaire in your hands. period.
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post #10 of 22
8/19/09 at 6:22pm
Books but also magazines. I tear out loads of interesting-looking recipes from magazines (Food and Wine, Gourmet, Saveur, etc.). Although I use the computer every day, I prefer hard-copies when it comes to any amount of reading over a forum response-length.
Sometimes, when I am using a recipe from a magazine, I will check their website for corrections and for comments by other users.

But I will always prefer the feel and look of a book.
Emily

______________________

"If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener." -- J. C. Raulston, American Horticulturist
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post #11 of 22
8/19/09 at 6:37pm
Yonatan, are you the same person who was asking people if they would pay for recipes? As in if they would be ready to get their credit card out for a recipe? If so, I forgot the name you used, but you said you were kicked out of another site for spamming. The name had "Nathan" in it. Who are you? And why is this poll your first post here with this name?
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post #12 of 22
8/19/09 at 6:49pm
My response to that person was that I won't consider paying for a recipe online unless it's from someone well known or if I tasted something I just "have" to have the recipe for. Now I can't find that thread--seems to have disappeared.
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post #13 of 22
8/19/09 at 10:13pm
Thread Starter 
Thanks for answering my poll!
No, I am not the same guy which you saw asking about a paying for receipts by credit card.

The poll i sent is because i have an idea that will change the need of using books and wanted to see, before i start working on it, if people are into it.
Infact i built a survey which is more focused on the answers i am looking for.

spreadsheets.google.com/viewform?hl=en&formkey=dHRCSGZnQ21rT0o4OXdhREZqcFh YZUE6MA..

(copy paste the URL to your browser)

So if you have the time, i would be happy if you could answer it too.

Thanks a lot for the help!
Yonatan.
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post #14 of 22
8/19/09 at 10:15pm
Cool we got a 2nd post
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post #15 of 22
8/24/09 at 8:50pm
The computer is my recipe source usually.

And its helped me create a few amazingly bad meals.

Never trust a recipe with zero reviews :)
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post #16 of 22
8/24/09 at 9:03pm
I'm not going to fill out a survey if I have no idea who you are. Sorry. And what is your new idea?
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post #17 of 22
8/25/09 at 2:05pm
For me, it's a mix of both. My husband made something for me in Super Card to store my recipes in so I've been gradually entering the ones that are cutout from magazines etc, but I do have a big cookbook collection too that I will use on a regular basis.
OK ... where am I going?.. and WHY am I in this handbasket??
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post #18 of 22
8/25/09 at 2:30pm
I'm about 99-1, with 99 of my recipes from the Internet (include suggestions from the very helpful members of cheftalk) and 1% of recipes from cookbooks.

I'm going to pick up an EEE top so I have easy touch screen access to recipes online in the kitchen:
Newegg.com - ASUS Eee Top ETP1602-BK-X0045 All-in-one PC 15.6" 16:9 Wide Intel Atom N270(1.60GHz) 1GB DDR2 160GB Intel GMA 950 Windows XP Home - Desktop PCs
http://www.cheftalk.com/image/id/23592
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post #19 of 22
8/25/09 at 3:17pm
I use cookbooks there is something about having a well worn book. I would suspect if in the future there are more practical (color) readers that adapt well to a kitchen environment I would use those (I am thinking of something like a kindle idea but expanded).
Thanks,

Nicko 
ChefTalk.com Founder
All About Braising: The Art of Uncomplicated Cooking
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post #20 of 22
8/25/09 at 3:47pm
Just counted my recipe books. 126. I can find most things there i need. And just as important, I enjoy them very much.

I do use the internet too, but mostly cos i'm just interested in the food of other countries and dont have enough info in my books
For example. I have 2 Lebanese books but cant find a Kubze flat bread recipe One actually says we dont include this recipe as its so easy to buy it This would be when i go online
"If we're not supposed to eat animals, why are they made of meat?" Jo Brand
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post #21 of 22
8/28/09 at 11:38am
It really depends on what I am going to cook. If its cajun, I have the Prudhomme's L.K. book or if bread the B.B.A. Or if its something from home I have the J.L.M. Memphis cookbook.

I don't own any Indian, Asian, Jamaican, or Mexican cookbooks. I love the food, so when I have the taste for it the internet is the way to go for me.

60/40 Cookbook basically.
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post #22 of 22
9/5/09 at 2:43am
Searching for recipes on the internet is much more convenient and at the same time practical than buying a recipe book at the store. It's much more faster. Just type the kind of meal you want and *snap* you have a list of recipes! :)
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