Recipe-- Saved—Duly Copy and PASTED??

[Whiskadoodle]

How often do I read this on DC? Everyday!!
What does this mean to you. How do you Save your electronic recipes ??
Do you use a recipe file software such as Living Cookbook or Master Cook or another Recipe/Cookbook application? I would appreciate your ideas , what you use and how you manage your recipes
Since I’m asking, I’ll respond first. I used to keep all my recipes C/P into a word document(s). One recipe followed by the next. Chicken or Fish or Vegetables—the recipe of the day/ moment. Then I copied the Recipe title and a Date onto a more organized spreadsheet. More organized similar to a paper cookbook. Appetizers at the top, Vegetables at the bottom. Sub categories in each, eg Beef= Roasts, steaks, beef casseroles, etc; or Vegetables sub alphabet = beans, corn … zucchini at the end. I would also periodically highlight sub-categories and data sort recipe titles in alpha order, so it was pretty visually easy to use. To retrieve a recipe, Copy the Recipe Title and let the computer Search and find the recipe in my Word Documents. This seems like a few steps too many, especially after collecting recipes for a number of years.
This was fine, until the computer died. The hard drive was still good, but it’s in a box in a drawer. Still waiting to have the documents copied to the current computer. Certainly No access to Those Recipes at this time.
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Most recently I have been copying recipes over to a Free Recipe App called PepperPlate. It’s easy to use, as far as importing a file (recipe). It will auto copy recipe links from selected websites, such as Epicurious, Food dot com , AllRecipes et al. It is easy to Edit recipes once copied. Even though it is free ware there are no advertisements. It is cloud based, so no recipes are stored on your computer and you can look up one of your recipes wherever you are. You can insert a picture to go with the recipe ( displays as Thumb size only) It has a moderately useful Search function.
It’s disadvantages are you can not preview the App or trial use it unless you open an account. To do this, they make you use your email addy as User name, put in your own password. That’s all the info they ( whoever they are?) require. Recipes Titles in the Table of Contents/Index are inserted one after the other, similar to a long word document. If you want to find a recipe and you Forgot to Name it to a food category, it displays 25 per page. When you say Show Me More, it opens another25 titles, but brings you to the Top to scroll through the first batch Again and then the 2nd / subsequent batches. You have to create your own recipe categories. That’s fine, until you come to What Category did I put a similar recipe so if you want to compare recipes , it’s best to Place them relative to each other. Did I call Corn bread - Quick Bread or Vice Versa. And where did I file my last Corn Muffin recipe, Under Muffins or Cornbread ? Are Brownies Cookies, Cakes or Bars .
After I have imported a few hundred recipes into the PepperPlate app, I am beginning to confuse myself.
This is why I would like to read if you have either better organizational ideas or if you are satisfied with a different software or app. ( I’ll Attach a You Tube/PepperPlate Demo. I have No attachment to this website/ app, other than I have a private account. I guess you can use it on your Ipad, Cell phone or home computer. ) I apologize this is long. Thanks for your comments.
PepperPlate iPad App Demo - YouTube

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Word Documents and saved to thumb drive weekly. They are sorted similar to a cookbook. I have a few extra categories, Ethnic, Dog Treats, Pasta (just for the pasta not the sauces). Vegetables are sides, Vegetarian are entrees. And so on. The most important to me is at the bottom of each recipe is the authors name and the site where I got the recipe.

 

[Dawgluver]

I use an iPad/iPhone app: The Recipe Box. You can do just about anything with it. Not to be confused with Recipe Box, you need the "the".

It will even give you a grocery list. You can C&P from anywhere.

 

[Hoot]

My process is similar to Princess Fiona's. I save mine to a thumb drive in RTF using Wordpad.

 

[Andy M.]

I cut and paste online recipes to a MS Word document. I have file folders set up on my computer in the rough format of a cookbook.

The main folder is 'Recipes'. In that folder is a series of category folders (see image below). In each category folder is a 'Cookbook' folder that holds all the recipes I keep paper copies of in a three ring binder. Below the Cookbook folder are individual recipes in that category that I have saved but not yet used. When I use a recipe and decide to keep it, I format it to my standard recipe format and move it to the Cookbook folder in that category.

I use 24 pound paper in a 3" 3-ring binder with computer generated divider tabs that align with the categories on the computer. If I get a recipe dirty or change it, I just run off another copy.

I back up my laptop weekly so always have an extra copy of everything.

 

[jabbur]

I may be old fashioned but I copy to a word doc and print it out. I have a place in my kitchen to store them. Once I've tried the recipe and we've decided it's a keeper, it gets hand copied onto a recipe card and filed in the card box. Once that happens the printed copy is tossed (recycled).

 

[taxlady]

Similar to Hoot, PF, and Andy.

I have categories of recipes in folders in a "recipe folder".

My recipes are PDFs, Open Office documents, text documents, and even spreadsheets.

If I don't know if I want a Danish pork recipe under "Danish" or "Pork", I'll put it in one and put a shortcut to the recipe in the other folder.

For cooking, I print them out and stick 'em on the fridge with magnets. I have a three ring binder, but need a bigger one and need to organize it better. I write notes on the printouts and sometimes I even remember to transfer the notes to the computer.

 

[Steve Kroll]

I do pretty much the same as Andy. All of my recipes are in MS Word format and saved to categorized folders. We have a home network so everything is stored there and gets backed up to both an external drive and in "the cloud" (boy, I hate that phrase, lol).

 

[Zhizara]

I too print out a copy after pasting to a document.

I keep untried recipes unsorted in a notebook.

I have another notebook for recipes I've tried. I use the printed copy to make notes of changes, things that worked, things that didn't, things to try next.

When I make the recipe again, each time, I make note of those changes on the same printed copy.

I don't sort the recipes except to keep different versions of the same type together, and keep them in chronological order of when I made them.

When I want to make something again, I find the original recipe, remove it from the notebook, and again make notes of any changes, then put them back in the notebook in the front.

When I've got a recipe that I consider tried and true, I put it in a third notebook.

These are recipes I've got tweaked the way I want it to come out every time, all still using the original printed recipe (mine or others') sometimes with extra pages showing all the notes, with a new print out of the finalized recipe stapled on top.

 

[chopper]

Zhozara, what a neat way to do this. I hope you keep those sheets forever. Can you just see a great grandchild finding those as a young cook and seeing all of those wonderful changes you have made. Oh, it gives me chills. I just love Grandma's old cookbook that I have with all of her fantastic notes. I will treasure it forever, and one day my grand and grands will read my notes too.

 

[Greg Who Cooks]

My system is pretty simple. I use Notepad and simple text (.TXT) files. I write my own recipes in them, I cut and paste from the Internet (including a link back to the original site).

I keep them in a folder I call My Recipes. I periodically back-up my data to an external drive or a network drive (NAS) on my home network.

I do not keep hard copies (paper) because paper is so bulky to store, where with data bits you can store billions of them in a package the size of a book. I have several or a dozen drives including 4-5-6 external HDDs and 3 NAS (network) drives. I have so many HDDs I can't even remember how many.

When I'm developing a new recipe I print out the tentative recipe and work from that in the kitchen, and annotate it as I make changes. Then after dinner or the next day I update the computer copy and throw away the paper.

One day I hope to have a dedicated PC just for the kitchen, so I can display recipes while I'm cooking. But I probably won't do that. Too many PCs can be a burden. I think 3 (or maybe 4) is about right. Per person, per house, take your choice.

 

[forty_caliber]

MacGourmet works really well for me.

I've configured the recipe database to write directly to the "cloud" making it accessible from any one of my Mac's no matter where I am.

There is also an iOS version that lets me access the data from my iPhone while at the grocery store.

Clip function allows quick capture of new recipes from any text. Certain compatible recipe sites carry over formatting automatically. Stores photos of the recipe and includes a free form notes area.

.40

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I've been toying with creating a google e-mail account and set it up cookbook style and just email myself the recipes formatted the way I want. Wander in every once in a while and sort them into folders.

 

[taxlady]

I've been toying with creating a google e-mail account and set it up cookbook style and just email myself the recipes formatted the way I want. Wander in every once in a while and sort them into folders.

If you get a Google account, you could save all your recipes as Google documents.

I have one Google spreadsheet I share with Stirling where we list wines, olive oils, and other food that we have tried and we put notes about how we liked it. I use a spreadsheet because I like the columns.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I have a Google account, was thinking about one just for recipes. I've tried using Google Documents, but I just do not understand them or something. I'm even pitiful trying to use Excel.

 

[msmofet]

I highlight a recipe and Send it to OneNote (option on internet explorer bar) it pastes recipe with title and a track back link.

 

[taxlady]

I have a Google account, was thinking about one just for recipes. I've tried using Google Documents, but I just do not understand them or something. I'm even pitiful trying to use Excel.

If you can copy it, you can paste it into a "document". Just click "create"; choose "document"; and paste the recipe. Edit it if you want. It will ask you to save it and give it a name.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

That would save me a lot of steps, thanks.

 

[Cheryl J]

I'm probably one of the more 'old fashioned' types here. I copy and paste recipes to Word, print, and put the paper copy in a binder in a plastic sleeve. I always cite the source, usually the date, and make any changes in the margin of the paper.

I've been going through my late mother's and grandmother's handwritten recipes and typing them up, but keeping the originals in their little boxes for my kids and grandkids.

 

[buckytom]

beware trusting thumb drives for long term storage. they are notoriously volatile.

i use thumb drives for sneaker-netting between dept.'s almost every day at work, and i go through 8 and 16 gig thumb drives like candy once they start to fail.

you'll get a windows message "delayed write failed... unable to save data" and your file is hosed.

hth.