Comments on: Adjusting a Recipe Doesn’t Make it Yours

By: diannejacob

diannejacob — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:44:19 +0000

Thanks Jeanne. Terrific post.

By: Jeanne

Jeanne — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 23:06:40 +0000

This is a very important topic for food bloggers be aware of. I think it’s key for bloggers (indeed, anyone who writes) to cite their sources. I wrote a post on my blog about an experience that I had recently with this issue. Dianne asked me to post a link to it: http://www.artofglutenfreebaking.com/2012/01/food-writing-ethics-citing-sources-is-the-currency-of-colleagues/

By: diannejacob

diannejacob — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 05:28:38 +0000

I do agree that most recipes are adaptations, but it’s too simple to say that changing 5 things makes it yours. It does not. Minor changes to the ingredients list and method are not good enough.

By: Mireille

Mireille — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 03:17:31 +0000

whenever I am using a recipe, I give credit to the cookbook (even giving direct links to the book on Amazon) and/or website. However, I once took a class on how to get a cookbook published and I was instructed that most recipes are adaptations of recipes people got from somewhere and that you are required to change 5 things (either ingredients or methodology) and then you can claim it as an original recipe. Do you agree?

By: Recipe Attribution: The Debate Rages On | La Phemme Phoodie

Recipe Attribution: The Debate Rages On | La Phemme Phoodie — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:46:43 +0000

[...] Adjusting a Recipe Doesn’t Make it Yours: (Will Write for Food) [...]

By: Panfusine

Panfusine — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:04:34 +0000

My blog recipes tend to focus on combining ingredients & techniques from different cuisines. My take on publishing recipes..write them like you’d do a scientific publication. Once you formulate your idea, do your research, write the paper, & LIST the references (albeit not in a journal of Neurosurgery or Nature format), the only leeway, it need not be in a formal structure as in a scientific paper! Its worked for me so far..
Coming back to the particular example you’ve given.. If a Chicken Burrito is the height of originality of your creativeness…*no comment*, but its even worse if someone has to try & lift that!

By: diannejacob

diannejacob — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 23:59:45 +0000

You’ve made a lot of points, Simon, so I’m going to respond to them one by one:

I’m not sure exactly why the law doesn’t allow for copyrighting recipes, but I think it’s about the the ingredients list. Ex. “1 cup flour” is not copyrightable.

You may not get mad at people who have the same recipe, but they could get mad at you!

If you find a great recipe online, it is exemplary to just link to it.

It’s often pretty easy to see when a recipe is stolen. I’ve seen blogs where recipes are lifted in their entirety from other blogs, just a copy and paste. But you’re right, in other situations it’s very hard to tell.

By: Simon

Simon — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 18:21:44 +0000

I guess I was making more of a comment than a question. Recipes that people post online or in cookbooks, could have been made and most likely were made by someone else before them. That is why attributing recipes to a specific source is hard and in some cases not warranted. I have seen recipes that are identical to ones my grandmother taught me 30 years ago. I think this is why the law generally doesn’t allow for the copyright of recipes. I would be pretty upset if some accused me of wrongdoing if I posted a family recipe that may be identical to some published recipe that I have never read. I want to make a database for my recipes so that I don’t have to always reference my recipe notebook that is falling apart and so that others can use my recipes. I have over 1000 and a few are undoubtedly similar or identical to others out there. I am not going to get mad at others who have the same recipes because they very well may have learned them from their grandmother before I did. You know what I mean? I think if people don’t want others posting the same recipes without credit, they should not post them online. If I find a recipe on the web and I think it is great and want my readers to see it, I will definitely credit that source. But, unless it is word for word, even if ingredients and quantities are the same, I think people should be cautious to assume it was stolen.

By: diannejacob

diannejacob — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:35:43 +0000

You can look through the cookbooks you own, as a courtesy to the writers. That’s about all I can suggest. Good luck!

By: diannejacob

diannejacob — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:33:36 +0000

I guess the question is: what are you bringing to the table that’s new? There are a million recipes online for how to make spaghetti and meatballs and steak. If you can’t answer that, I suggest you stay away from basic recipes and go for less ordinary dishes, such as the encrusted tilapia. You can legally post the recipes, but if you got the idea from somewhere else, you should say where.