Recipe Writing

Frustrated by Smaller Can Sizes for Recipes? I Am.

January 6, 2015 by diannejacob 120 Comments

Do canned goods makers have any idea how it affects recipe developers and cooks when they reduce their can sizes?

…and I was just baking, not developing recipes.

Over the holidays I made a pumpkin bread from a favorite recipe in an older cookbook. The recipe called for one 16-ounce can. Yet cans of pumpkin are no longer 16 ounces, but 15.

The manufacturer removed 2 tablespoons instead of raising the price! I repeat: 2 tablespoons. That’s all it takes to mess up [Read more…] about Frustrated by Smaller Can Sizes for Recipes? I Am.

When Writing Recipes, Do All Ingredients Have a Standard Size?

December 2, 2014 by diannejacob 31 Comments

Fitting dough to a pizza screen for one of around 80 pizzas I made for a pizza cookbook — including one with a questionable ingredient. (Photo by Kris Montgomery)

Based on all the great feedback and discussion on last week’s post about recipe copy-editing, I’m asking about writing recipes with non-standard ingredient sizes.

Case in point: How big is a lamb sausage?

One of the USA of Pizza’s recipes called for “1 lamb sausage link” (not merguez). I purchased the link at a butcher. It weighed 5 1/2 ounces.

The copy editor asked if it should be 6 ounces.

Okay, I thought. Maybe 6 ounces is a standard size. But I didn’t know for sure, so I researched it. I Googled “lamb sausage” and clicked on images. I found [Read more…] about When Writing Recipes, Do All Ingredients Have a Standard Size?

Questions from a Recipe Copy Editor

November 25, 2014 by diannejacob 62 Comments

This smoked salmon pizza in The United States of Pizza includes sliced red onion. This was a source of contention!

If a copy editor has ever touched your cookbook manuscript, you will relate.

And if you haven’t had the experience yet, you will be intrigued — and possibly worried.

Before I start this discussion, however, I want to be clear. I’m grateful for all the goofs our very capable copy editor caught in chef Craig Priebe’s and my new pizza book (The USA of Pizza, October, 2015) manuscript.

But man, some of the queries made us scratch our heads. Here are three [Read more…] about Questions from a Recipe Copy Editor

If You Can’t Write Truly Great Recipes, be Honest, says Veteran Editor

September 9, 2014 by diannejacob 19 Comments

Rux Martin in her kitchen with some of the books she’s edited. (Photo by Barry Estabrook.)

I met cookbook editor Rux Martin years ago, before she got an imprint in her own name. Now she is Editorial Director of Rux Martin Books at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

She specializes in cookbooks, narrative nonfiction on food, and diet books. She has worked with Dorie Greenspan, Mollie Katzen, Jacques Pépin, and Ruth Reichl, to name just a few, and has edited New York Times bestsellers including The Gourmet Cookbook; Hello, Cupcake!; [Read more…] about If You Can’t Write Truly Great Recipes, be Honest, says Veteran Editor

How to Write Recipes That Are Harder to Steal

March 18, 2014 by diannejacob 52 Comments

I’ve written many times about how individual recipes can’t be copyrighted here in the US. But did you realize that you can defend a copyright if parts of your recipe contain “substantial literary expression?”

What exactly is that, and why should you bother?

“Substantial literary expression” establishes the information in a recipe as yours. That could be just as important as copyright, when it comes to theft.

Let me explain. US copyright law defines substantial literary expression as: [Read more…] about How to Write Recipes That Are Harder to Steal

I’m so Over “Perfection” in Recipe Writing

March 4, 2014 by diannejacob 73 Comments

Is a cookbook author’s Asian Sandwich with cheese “perfect for every occasion?” I think not.

Recently I edited a cookbook manuscript for a publisher, where the author used “perfect for every occasion” in one too many headnotes.

I lost it. I struck out the phrase and then went back and struck it out every time it appeared. “Perfect for every occasion” screams 1950s housewife to me. And it doesn’t make sense.

Here’s why:

1. Most of the time, readers don’t need ideas for “occasions.” They need food for meals.

Okay, they might need the occasional dish for a potluck, a baby shower, or a new neighbor. Those are specific events. A dish cannot be perfect for every occasion. I guarantee you that the author’s Asian sandwich with cheese (oh yes, I did [Read more…] about I’m so Over “Perfection” in Recipe Writing

The WaPo’s Bonnie Benwick: “Send Me a Clever Recipe”

February 18, 2014 by diannejacob 16 Comments

Recipe Editor Bonnie Benwick at the Washington Post is open to pitches. (Photo courtesy of Deb Lindsey.)

Bonnie Benwick, deputy food editor and recipe editor at the Washington Post, is obsessed with good recipes. She tests and edits a slew of them every week for the paper’s Food Section, and wrote the Post’s first cookbook.

She also manages a crew of 30 testers, sometimes makes dishes at home for the photo shoots, and is not above running around town to find a prop or ingredient for a dish.

We met on e-mail, when she told me she was reading my book, Will Write for Food, while on vacation! More recently she interviewed me on cooking smarter, and after discussing my rant on not specifying the amount of salt in recipes, she wrote this feature article: ‘Salt to taste,’ taken with a grain of regret. Here are her thoughts on what makes a good recipe for the Washington Post, should you wish to pitch her:

Q. Where does the Washington Post get its recipes ?

A. It’s a mix. I choose some from new cookbooks, some come from [Read more…] about The WaPo’s Bonnie Benwick: “Send Me a Clever Recipe”