Recipe Writing

The Subtle Burn of Restaurant Recipes

June 21, 2022 by diannejacob 10 Comments

A guest rant by Bonnie S. Benwick

Cookbook recipes are undergoing yet another a rethink of sorts. I’m fine with some innovations, like Ali Slagle’s cookbook, I Dream of Dinner. Her recipes feature specific amounts in the method, rather than in the ingredients list.

But a development that really burns my toast has surged in restaurant cookbooks of late. Anyone who has tried to edit restaurant recipes understands the hitch: How to capture the essence of a chef’s dish that had the benefit of many hands, processes, and without presenting its creation as a treatise?

The answer can involve oversimplifying to the point of deception. Editors and collaborators feel pressure to simplify restaurant recipes because otherwise they look too long and involved. When sub-recipe after sub-recipe stacks up on the page, the pages will keep getting turned.

I recently tested restaurant recipes from a few chef cookbooks. A croquette recipe had 14 ingredients. (That’s only one more than [Read more…] about The Subtle Burn of Restaurant Recipes

How to Edit Chef Recipes and Triumph!

September 21, 2021 by diannejacob 2 Comments

Image for post on how to edit chef recipes A guest post by Becky Diamond

Writing your own recipe in a clear, concise way that makes sense to readers can be difficult enough. But transcribing and then working on another cook’s recipe, especially one from a professional chef, poses challenges. Not to mention that you must edit chef recipes while keeping a good relationship with the chefs themselves.

For my current book project, The Delmonico Way, I work with fellow epicurean Max Tucci. The book will be published by [Read more…] about How to Edit Chef Recipes and Triumph!

How to Write a Great Recipe Headnote

August 31, 2021 by diannejacob 14 Comments

A guest post by Kate Leahy

Writing a thriller requires writing a story that keeps readers turning the page. Writing a cookbook should require grabbing someone’s attention so they don’t skip the recipe headnote.

It’s not easy to do, but it’s worth the effort. Why? Sometimes a headnote includes important tips. Other times it’s a way to convince readers to [Read more…] about How to Write a Great Recipe Headnote

How to Sell Recipes and Content

August 17, 2021 by diannejacob 4 Comments

A guest post by Jason Logsdon

If you are anything like me, over the years, the biggest focus for your blog has probably been creating content, from product reviews and how-to guides to lots and lots of recipes. It’s something I, and most food bloggers, really enjoy doing. And it is often a blogger’s favorite thing about blogging. So why not sell recipes and content to others, now that you’ve created it?

While I get lots of benefits from all the different types of content I’ve created, the part that has paid for itself again and again [Read more…] about How to Sell Recipes and Content

8 Best Practices for Food and Travel Writing

May 11, 2021 by diannejacob 2 Comments

By Sharon Hudgins

When I started out doing food and travel writing, I had a freelance journalist’s dream job. I lived in Europe, and wrote a weekly food column for an American newspaper abroad. I was completely free to choose the topic and recipes.

My column started out at 500 words. But a few months later, it expanded. First it was 1,000 words, then 2,000, counting the recipes, too. No longer just a column, it filled an entire page in the newspaper every Thursday.

During the 7 years I worked for that paper, I wrote 350 stories about food—European, American, and Asian. All of them included one or more recipes. Since I covered a range of [Read more…] about 8 Best Practices for Food and Travel Writing

Is 1/2 tablespoon the New Recipe Measurement?

February 2, 2021 by diannejacob 37 Comments

It doesn’t matter if they’re plastic, metal, round or rectangular. I need lots of measuring spoons when I cook and bake. And a few years ago, I bought my first set that included a 1/2 tablespoon measure.

Huh, I thought. I haven’t seen this before. The spoons have been pretty standard until recently: 1 tablespoon, 1 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1/4 teaspoon, and sometimes 1/8 teaspoon. Then I got a second set that included 1/2 tablespoon measure. Something’s going on!

Up until now, I’ve changed recipes that call for that measurement, because we had no physical measure. Most recipe writers call for 1 1/2 teaspoons, which comes to 1/2 tablespoon. So I wondered whether there’s a revolt underway, at least from spoon manufacturers.

Should we start using this new measurement in recipes?

For an answer, I turned to copy editor Suzanne Fass, who has written for my blog in the past. She was of two minds. If a reader has a 1/2 tablespoon measure, it’s fine if the recipe calls for it. “But how prevalent is that measurement in sets?” asks Suzanne. “How long has it been available?”

“New cooks who have only just outfitted their kitchens might have one, but cooks who have been at it longer, with older equipment, may not. If that size is just gradually joining spoon sets and is not yet found everywhere, I’d guess that not very many readers will have it.

“”I fear that far too many folks don’t know that it equals 1 1/2 teaspoons,” she added. “You don’t want to force most readers to do math. And they’ll hate you for it, or get it wrong, or both.

“I guess my bottom line is: Don’t write 1/2 tablespoon.”

What about you? Do you have this newer measure? Have you been stating 1/2 tablespoon in your recipe ingredients list? Will you now? Let’s get it straightened out.

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(Photo by Kara Eads on Unsplash)

Developing Recipes in the Age of Coronavirus

June 9, 2020 by diannejacob 6 Comments

A guest post by Faith Kramer

Like many food writers ordered to shelter in place, I spend my days developing recipes. I’m doing so for my cooking column, which appears every other week in the j, Northern California’s Jewish Resource.

Once the quarantine began, it was time to adapt. Overnight we became a nation, if not a world, that wanted comfort food. Taste was still paramount, but I needed recipes that were emotionally nourishing, easy to source, economical and convenient to make, and still connected to my target audience.

Here are my 5 tips for developing recipes in the age of COVID-19:

1. Watch social media to see what people cook and what resources they turn to for recipes and guidance.

Many Facebook groups, Instagram and Twitter hashtags, Pinterest boards, TikTok videos and [Read more…] about Developing Recipes in the Age of Coronavirus