With bitter-sweet emotions, I have to say, with the inventions of the ipad, iphone, ipod touch, and android phones, 3″x5″ recipe cards and Grandma’s wooden recipe box may be a thing of the past. I can’t help it, no matter where technology takes us, I still cling to the comforts of tradition in the kitchen. My husband is in technology which forces me to see things the way an “early adopter” does, with increased efficiency at the forefront, but I am still slow to incorporate high-tech ways in the kitchen and for food preparation.
In order to satisfy both an audience of lower tech cooks, like myself, as well as high tech embracers, I have put together the following recipe organization tips. After researching for writing this article, I may have to start using some of the higher tech tools. They may make life easier and less stressful after all!
Low Tech Recipe Organization Tips: (Some of these tips may come in handy even for the high-tech folks who have a large collection of cookbooks, magazines, and recipe cards from the past.)
- While reading cooking magazines and publications, decide if you want to keep the entire magazine or if there are just a few pages of recipes that you are going to want in the future. Use plastic or leather magazine holders to hold entire magazines or entire annual subscriptions. For example, I have leather magazine holders on my counter that hold 1 year’s annual subscriptions for Cuise at Home and Fine Cooking. These magazines usually have so many recipes and tricks in them that I want to keep the whole thing. If you decide to just keep a few pages, use manila file folders (labeled with food categories, eg; Appetizers, Main Dishes, Seafood, Breads & Muffins, etc. in an under counter file folder rack.
- Organize cookbooks on a shelf with ones the that you use the most frequently in the most accessible location.
- Keep track of favorite recipes with a Recipe Index Book? for cookbook collectors. A recipe index book is divided into categories and allows you to record the recipe name, the name of the cookbook or magazine, and the page number.
High Tech Recipe Organization: It’s so simple all you need is an ipad or an iphone, $5-$10, and a high-speed connection to the internet to download the app.
- Use an ipad in the kitchen and an iphone at the grocery store. Download an app for recipes, cooking, and shopping from itunes. There are many, many apps out that help organize your recipes, allow you to search by keywords, and help you to meal plan and build your shopping list. Some of my favorites are: MacGourmet, ShopShop, and a new one that’s yet to be released called Recipyapp. Recipe apps range in price from free to $3.99.
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