|
Post by AussieMeg on Aug 14, 2014 3:23:44 GMT
Yes I got rid of a ton of old cookbooks from the 70's one day. I thought I was very brave and strong to be able to bring myself to do it.
Every now and then I regret doing it, but the reality is, I rarely used any of them anyway. I did actually keep copies of the recipes that I regularly use.
Now, my newer cookbooks are another story. You will have to pry them from my cold dead hands! DSO keeps telling me to just rip out the pages of the recipes I use. Um,. no, not gonna happen!
|
|
|
Post by LavenderLayoutLady on Aug 14, 2014 4:58:16 GMT
I never had a large collection of cookbooks, but I find that I trust cookbooks more than online recipes. Recipes printed in a book seem to have to go through more testing to be deemed good enough for a cookbook, where as anything and everything can be posted online, even on the better sites.
|
|
|
Post by gale w on Aug 14, 2014 5:21:35 GMT
I never had a large collection of cookbooks, but I find that I trust cookbooks more than online recipes. Recipes printed in a book seem to have to go through more testing to be deemed good enough for a cookbook, where as anything and everything can be posted online, even on the better sites. I agree with this. I try to use recipes from sites that have reviews or blogs with comments by people who have made the dish.
|
|
anniebygaslight
Drama Llama
I'd love a cup of tea. #1966
Posts: 7,402
Location: Third Rock from the sun.
Jun 28, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
|
Post by anniebygaslight on Aug 14, 2014 5:44:08 GMT
I have loads, but somehow I can't bring myself to part with them, even though I am a fairly ruthless declutterer. They are like old friends. I suppose if I'm honest, there are a few that I could sling though.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 8:31:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 11:17:56 GMT
I only have a few – Betty Crocker, a church fundraiser cookbook and a few specialty ones.
I like having the Betty Crocker cookbook when it comes to teaching my kids to cook something. It's easier for them to read a recipe there than looking on the screen or printing it out.
|
|
Pamelou
Full Member
Posts: 237
Jun 30, 2014 22:25:19 GMT
|
Post by Pamelou on Aug 14, 2014 12:01:17 GMT
I agree. I had many cookbooks and found myself using them less and less. I have maybe four now on the top shelf of the pantry and I rarely use the four I have. It is so easy to grab my tablet and look up recipes or get ideas.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 8:31:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 12:10:43 GMT
I got rid of a bunch, still have too many that I never use.
Ann
|
|
|
Post by cropduster on Aug 14, 2014 12:21:35 GMT
I hate trying to cook a recipe from my computer on the other end of the house from the kitchen, don't trust myself not to spill on the laptop, and don't need to print recipes and have more paper in the house so purging cookbooks sounds awful to me. Do they really take up that much space? This is why I use my iPad in my kitchen. I find it very handy. I have a bunch of cookbooks I need to get rid off. I put a Post-It tag on the back of each cookbook. I take it off if I've used it to look up a recipe. At the end of a year, I get rid of the ones that haven't been used. Almost time for me to see the ones I've not used and donate. I will get rid of roughly half of my collection with no regrets.
|
|
|
Post by nesser01 on Aug 14, 2014 12:24:51 GMT
I love my cookbooks. I don't think I could ever get rid of them. I don't have a ton, maybe about 10 actual cookbooks but I have about 100 cooking magazines. I used to have more but I was sick of the clutter so I took a bunch and ripped out the recipes I wanted to try eventually. When I had too many for binders, I decided to dedicate a file drawer to them.
I have a hanging file for each type of recipe, breads, waffles, muffins, dips, hot drinks, cold drinks, etc. I love it this way. Now when my collection gets too big, I will do the same thing with the older magazines. I cook a lot and love to cook. If I try a recipe and don't like it I just toss it out.so my files aren't huge. If I like a recipe I have a binder that I put it off in.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 8:31:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 13:45:25 GMT
I need to do this right now since we're moving soon. I don't have THAT many, but still more than I use. Ack...moving sure gives your clutter a new perspective.
|
|
|
Post by lbp on Aug 14, 2014 14:23:45 GMT
I have over 1000 cookbooks! Crazy, I know. I read them like novels. I love to contrast what the popular foods were in the 1880's, 1920' 1930's, etc.. to now. It is really interesting to me. I love the photographs in most of the 1950's cookbooks. I also use many of mine and have tried to use at least one recipe out of every book. Somehow that justifies having that book! I did purge over 200 of them last fall at my yard sale. One lady came and bought every single one of them! My oldest cookbook is 1875. It's amazing how our eating habits have changed.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 8:31:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 14:29:33 GMT
I'm not a huge cook, but I do like looking through cookbooks. But, like you, I go to the internet usually. I've been on a purging spree, so this week I had gone through mine and got rid of a bunch. I'm only keeping about 10, few enough to fit in the one cupboard above the stove.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 8:31:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 14:33:11 GMT
I think I may have to follow you and purge some of my cookbooks. I very rarely use them.
|
|
grinningcat
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,663
Jun 26, 2014 13:06:35 GMT
|
Post by grinningcat on Aug 14, 2014 14:34:03 GMT
I can't imagine not having cookbooks. It feels like so many of you are just throwing away good friends (which is how I view my books). I did recently go through my books and donate the ones that I bought because I thought they would be nice to have but irrelevant to my type of cooking. But I still have the hundreds that I use for research and ideas. Yes, I do recipes off the web and have my own written cookbooks but there is just something about having a physical book over an electronic copy. And I get so much inspiration to think out of the box by looking at my shelves of books. I don't think it's freeing to get rid of these rich resources but we all have to do what is best for our own kitchens, I suppose.
|
|
|
Post by *KAS* on Aug 14, 2014 14:50:55 GMT
I'm home all weekend with nothing to do (which happens maybe 5 times a year and I'm pretty excited about it!), so I decided to focus on cleaning/purging/organizing this weekend, as well as some minor home projects. This thread just added 'clean out the cookbook cabinet' to the list - great idea. I very rarely even open the cabinet. I will probably keep some of my Weight Watchers ones, and some of the Church type ones that have recipes from people I know. But I vow to get rid of all of the ones that have no meaning to me - I get my recipes from the internet on my phone/laptop/ipad most of the time!
|
|
|
Post by meowgal on Aug 14, 2014 14:58:28 GMT
I really enjoy my cookbooks and actually do use them...but not enough to TRULY justify their existence. But I won't be getting rid of them either! I prefer to open a cookbook and peruse the recipes for ideas, inspiration and even just the enjoyment of THINKING I might cook that someday. Some of mine were given to me, some collected and some inherited. I even have one from my English Great Grandmother which is VERY cool, but impossible to cook from...who has a pence worth of an item? When I do use a recipe, I always prefer the paper recipe to an online one, just for ease of viewing. No scrolling necessary! I use the internet for so much, but not really for cooking. THAT, I'd prefer to keep old-school!
I used to enjoy asking my ex to find a recipe for me to cook. I'd hand him a cookbook and tell him to find a recipe he'd enjoy, then I'd get the ingredients on my next grocery trip. It was fun and educational!
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 8:31:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 15:49:49 GMT
I had too many also. It was too time consuming to look through them for a recipe, and I found I wasn't looking at them because of that. I had space to store them, but I don't like to just store things that I'm never actively using.
What I did was look through each one, cut out the recipes I had made and liked, then I added it to my recipe binder. I keep two binders where I have my recipes in page protectors, with page dividers for the categories.
|
|
oblibby
Full Member
Posts: 211
Location: Bonnie Scotland
Jul 10, 2014 10:30:12 GMT
|
Post by oblibby on Aug 14, 2014 15:53:37 GMT
No, I love them.
|
|
|
Post by melanell on Aug 14, 2014 16:36:04 GMT
I agree with katiebpea that kids seem to like cookbooks when they are cooking, or at least mine do.
DS has a few kid cookbooks of his own that he likes to use.
|
|
|
Post by Skellinton on Aug 14, 2014 17:16:58 GMT
I have a few I keep for sentimental reasons (my Gramma's, my 70's Betty Crocker for kids and Disney kid cookbook from my youth), but other than that I only keep my Cook's Illustrated/Test Kitchen cookbooks and a few very well used dessert books. I used to have tons more, but with the ease of getting so many recipes online I purged the ones that didn't fit on my hutch.
|
|
|
Post by workingclassdog on Aug 14, 2014 17:22:51 GMT
I have two of Pioneer Woman's books, a couple of church type books and a basic Betty Crocker (it's actually another brand name but can't think of it..) but it has all my basic recipes that I love like Meatloaf, french toast, how to do basic stuff... And I have a binder that I put printed recipes in...
|
|
|
Post by sisterbdsq on Aug 14, 2014 20:56:35 GMT
I gave all my vegetarian cookbooks to my ex when we broke up (a huuuge stack that he was very grateful for and I was happy to give them!). I only have vegan books now. I just bought two at Veggie Fest over the weekend.
|
|
jayfab
Drama Llama
procastinating
Posts: 5,592
Jun 26, 2014 21:55:15 GMT
|
Post by jayfab on Aug 14, 2014 23:20:24 GMT
Hmmm, I think you all have given me the strength to get rid of most of mine. I rarely use them and it will be nice to free up some shelf space.
|
|
Deleted
Posts: 0
Oct 9, 2024 8:31:51 GMT
|
Post by Deleted on Aug 14, 2014 23:45:16 GMT
I can't imagine not having cookbooks. It feels like so many of you are just throwing away good friends (which is how I view my books). I did recently go through my books and donate the ones that I bought because I thought they would be nice to have but irrelevant to my type of cooking. But I still have the hundreds that I use for research and ideas. Yes, I do recipes off the web and have my own written cookbooks but there is just something about having a physical book over an electronic copy. And I get so much inspiration to think out of the box by looking at my shelves of books. I don't think it's freeing to get rid of these rich resources but we all have to do what is best for our own kitchens, I suppose. If you love cooking, I can see your point. To me, it's a giant waste of space having hundreds of cookbooks. Like cleaning a house constantly that will just get dirty again, putting time and effort into something that is going to be consumed is something I have zero interest in doing. For special events, sure I can see doing something. I understand planning a menu for the nutritional benefits, but beyond that there is no way I would treat cookbooks like old friends; especially commercially produced books. I'm not one to pour over a cookbook and it's entire contents unless it's a family, church or community book. I like to see the names attached to the recipes and especially love to see handwriting. If I have books I own that I no longer want to read or thought were awful I would get rid of them. Just the same as I would with cookbooks.
|
|
|
Post by 1lear on Aug 15, 2014 0:22:58 GMT
I just donated a stack, but still have about 30 cookbooks (maybe more-I don't want to count!).
I love reading through them, deciding what I feel like making for dinner. On my bookcase, I still have DH's Betty Crocker cookbook from the 1970's that his mom gave him when he went away to Virginia Tech. It's pretty torn up, but I love the history of the book and the stories DH tells about cooking dinner with his roommates.
I also have a problem with reading various blogs/websites/AMAZON! and impulsively buying new cookbooks.
|
|
|
Post by Restless Spirit on Aug 15, 2014 1:09:10 GMT
I can't imagine not having cookbooks. It feels like so many of you are just throwing away good friends (which is how I view my books). I did recently go through my books and donate the ones that I bought because I thought they would be nice to have but irrelevant to my type of cooking. But I still have the hundreds that I use for research and ideas. Yes, I do recipes off the web and have my own written cookbooks but there is just something about having a physical book over an electronic copy. And I get so much inspiration to think out of the box by looking at my shelves of books. I don't think it's freeing to get rid of these rich resources but we all have to do what is best for our own kitchens, I suppose. I get a lot of recipes from the internet, but I do love my cookbooks. I'm sort of what you might call a "reference book junkie". LOL. I love having a real, physical reference book in my hands. Don't get me wrong. I love ebooks. I buy ebooks, borrow ebooks, and download ebooks from my library. But when it comes to cookbooks and reference books, (basically any kind of how-to book) I love a "real" book. I did purge some of my cookbooks when we moved across the country four years ago, but I'll also admit I've purchased quite a few in the last few years, so I'm almost back to having the same number of cookbooks!
|
|