What Would It Take To Make You Pick Up A Cookbook?

Welcome to The Book, Cook, and Crafts, the place where lovers of cooking can share cool recipes, get advice on cooking techniques and tips, recommend great cooking books, and chat about food. Also, members can discuss crafty things here.
Post Reply
User avatar
Gravy
Gravymaster of Bookshelves
Posts: 39044
Joined: 27 Aug 2014, 02:02
Favorite Author: Seanan McGuire
Favorite Book: As many as there are stars in the sky
Currently Reading: The Ghost Tree
Bookshelf Size: 1027
fav_author_id: 3249

Icon What Would It Take To Make You Pick Up A Cookbook?

Post by Gravy »

Seeing how very many people prefer the internet to cookbooks nowadays, I find myself wondering exactly what it would take to make you pick one up?

It seems to me that just offering recipes isn't enough, so what else could someone add to a "cookbook" that would make it worth your time?

I know there are quite a few authors who've included different recipes that are related in some way to their book, but what is the reverse of this?

I suppose making it into a pseudo memoir could work. Goodness knows I'd probably give it a second look :lol:
Pronouns: She/Her

What is grief, if not love persevering?

Grief is just love with no place to go.
User avatar
gali
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 53652
Joined: 22 Oct 2013, 07:12
Favorite Author: Agatha Christie
Currently Reading: The Suite Life
Bookshelf Size: 2287
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-gali.html
Reading Device: B00I15SB16
Publishing Contest Votes: 0
fav_author_id: 2484

Post by gali »

Aside of the price? :wink:

I would pick up a cooking book if its recipes were unique, easy to make, and couldn't be found on the net.
A retired Admin/Mod

Pronouns: She/Her

"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." (Mortimer J. Adler)
User avatar
LivreAmour217
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 2043
Joined: 02 Oct 2014, 12:42
Favorite Author: Too many to count
Favorite Book: Ditto
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 294
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-livreamour217.html
Latest Review: Island Games by Caleb J. Boyer

Post by LivreAmour217 »

I own a few cookbooks, and I selected them because the recipes seemed easy. I was not taught how to cook as a child, so I'm not very skilled in the kitchen!
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." - Albert Einstein
User avatar
e-tasana-williams
Posts: 358
Joined: 13 May 2016, 18:50
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 141
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-e-tasana-williams.html
Latest Review: Monkey Mind Madness by Sharon Dorival
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by e-tasana-williams »

What catches me every time about a cookbook is the photography. Beautiful food photography is usually lacking in online recipes, unless they are part of a food blog. Even when photographs are included, they are of the transitory nature of internet content. A hard copy cookbook with lovely photos is like a collector's item to me.
Once you learn to read, you will be forever free ~ Frederick Douglas
User avatar
katiesquilts
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 665
Joined: 20 Aug 2015, 20:10
Currently Reading: A Game of Thrones
Bookshelf Size: 649
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-katiesquilts.html
Latest Review: Anything For Love by Gracie Bond

Post by katiesquilts »

I love cookbooks so my opinion might be skewed, but when I have time to kill at the bookstore I like to look at cookbooks just to see if inspiration will hit me. Sometimes it's when you're flipping through that you see a simple recipe with interesting ingredients, cooked with a technique you'd never heard of before!

I'm not too picky about substituting ingredients and rarely make a recipe exactly as it's written, but learning the techniques means that you can make multiple variations of the same dish.
User avatar
Booky_BettyC
Posts: 208
Joined: 28 Feb 2016, 18:39
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 55482">Hex Hall</a>
Bookshelf Size: 39
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-booky-bettyc.html
Latest Review: "Undead Redhead" by Jen Frankel

Post by Booky_BettyC »

The recipes being easy and unique would make me buy a cook book. If the price was decent also. Cook books are so expensive. I actually prefer having a cook book over recipes from the Internet, but now in days it seems people have to be rich to own one!
Latest Review: "Undead Redhead" by Jen Frankel
User avatar
K_Kaori
Posts: 65
Joined: 24 Jun 2016, 22:29
Currently Reading: The Saltwater Ghost
Bookshelf Size: 22
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-k-kaori.html

Post by K_Kaori »

I would say the book must have appealing photographs to attract my attention. Next it should be having simplest recipes, something with less ingredients. That'll make me wanna pick up a cookbook!
User avatar
Ellie Gatillo
Posts: 998
Joined: 07 Jul 2016, 02:16
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 74609">The Devil and Miss Prym</a>
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 1034
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-ellieonline03.html
Latest Review: Quest for Closure by David B. McKinney
2024 Reading Goal: 12
2024 Goal Completion: 0%

Post by Ellie Gatillo »

It would depend on how the author wrote the cookbook itself. I've read a lot of cookbooks that contain easy-to-make recipes but I could not understand how it was written. I'm not great in the kitchen so I could use something like "An Idiot's Guide to Cooking blah blah blah Recipes" with side notes and tips about each recipe. :|
User avatar
ReadandRoll[
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 459
Joined: 22 Mar 2015, 13:45
Favorite Author: There are several
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... nbroken</a>
Currently Reading: The Dark Tower IV
Bookshelf Size: 550
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU

Post by ReadandRoll[ »

...a brownie inside :lol:
A book is like a garden carried in the pocket. ~Chinese Proverb
User avatar
MrsCatInTheHat
Posts: 3817
Joined: 31 May 2016, 11:53
Favorite Book: Cry the Beloved Country
Currently Reading:
Bookshelf Size: 376
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-mrscatinthehat.html
Latest Review: Marc Marci by Larry G. Goldsmith
Reading Device: B00JG8GOWU
Publishing Contest Votes: 0

Post by MrsCatInTheHat »

Easy directions with very little processed food. We do not use cream of anything soup and things like that. I do buy dry pasta, canned beans and such.
Life without a good book is something MrsCatInTheHat cannot imagine.
User avatar
stoppoppingtheP
Previous Member of the Month
Posts: 902
Joined: 14 May 2014, 09:59
Favorite Author: Adriana Trigiani
Favorite Book: The Hand of Fatima
Currently Reading: High Low In-Between
Bookshelf Size: 162
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-stoppoppingthep.html
Latest Review: If I Only Knew by Kim Simmons
fav_author_id: 8071

Post by stoppoppingtheP »

I love spicy and strong things. If the cookbook has those kinds of recipes I would probably be interested. I also think that pictures accompanying the recipes are very important so that one can surmise how the dish will look and taste.

“there have been so many times
i have seen a man wanting to weep
but
instead
beat his heart until it was unconscious.

-masculine”


― Nayyirah Waheed
dpuckridge
Posts: 33
Joined: 05 Jul 2016, 07:14
Bookshelf Size: 2

Post by dpuckridge »

I like making deserts, cakes; so any cooking book that has a great picture of desert on it. That will make me pick it up and flick through the pages.
User avatar
Sierra Rose
Posts: 4
Joined: 28 Jul 2016, 09:31
Bookshelf Size: 3

Post by Sierra Rose »

Besides the aesthetic aspect that others have noted, I would buy a cookbook if it included a lot of input from the author, especially if it appeals to my values.

For example, I recently checked out a book from my library called "The Malibu Farm Cookbook." It appeals to those who strive to eat natural, organic food. This book includes beautiful photographs around the farm, charming entries by author Helene Henderson, and unique, simple recipes that make your mouth water.

I'm even thinking about buying this one for myself.
User avatar
Holly Bowser
Posts: 5
Joined: 02 Aug 2016, 10:55
Bookshelf Size: 0
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-holly-bowser.html

Post by Holly Bowser »

I don't think I could do a hard copy cookbook. I have a few old ones my mother handed down, but over all they are bulky. They take up my counter space, stuff gets spilled on them. It's just inconvenient. Now e-books I can put on my phone are another thing. I am actually a fan of those types of cookbooks.
Sarah_Khan
Posts: 869
Joined: 27 Jan 2016, 11:56
Favorite Book: <a href="http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/shelve ... 3700">Gone With the Wind</a>
Currently Reading: Circe
Bookshelf Size: 336
Reviewer Page: onlinebookclub.org/reviews/by-sarah-khan.html
Latest Review: The Formidable King by Alyssa J. Montgomery

Post by Sarah_Khan »

I think it needs to have a lot of things; nice pictures, clear instructions, easy recipes, recipes that don't require any fancy ingredients. I would also definitely pick up a cookbook if it included the calorie count of all the final meals. :P
Post Reply

Return to “Book, Cook, and Crafts”