A typical page from the Kindle version of The Noma Guide to Fermentation
Some chef friends had an online discussion about how they like to read recipes. Almost everybody said they preferred physical cookbooks because they like to look at the pictures and see how the food is plated. Number of people who preferred a Kindle cookbook version: zero.
It is worth noting that a beautifully photographed and lavishly printed book like the French Laundry Cookbook has no place in a working kitchen (unless it’s the immaculate French Laundry kitchen, maybe) and if these chefs are inspired by the recipes they likely transcribe them to some other medium.
I have plenty of cookbooks and when I cook from them I tend to take a photo with my iPad then prop the tablet up so I can refer to the picture while working. But lately I have been eliminating the middleman and just buying new cookbooks on Kindle. Kindle cookbooks are impossible to spill on or misplace because the document resides in the Bezos Cloud; if you drop your tablet in the stockpot, just grab your laptop. You can save the books onto multiple devices and browse them at your leisure, like when you are on a plane. And you can take screenshots of the pages if you want to print them out.
And, the Kindle visual translation is not at all bad, assuming you’re reading in color on a high resolution device. Ingredients lists and instructions are easy to read with a quick look, and photos aren’t of gallery standards but fine for looking at what the dish is supposed to look like. (This is forensic, vs. artistic, photography and it’s what we strive for on Burnt My Fingers.)
Right now I’m reading Rene Redzepi’s The Noma Guide to Fermentation and Stella Parks’ BraveTart. Both are eminently readable for entertainment as well as knowledge, and I don’t think I’m giving up anything by looking at a digital version. Your thoughts?
I remember how proud you were to introduce me to your new “secretary” back in the early days of computers. You had purchased your first MAC computer and excelled in discovering new ways MAC would help you with your work. I admired you for your creative use of the device and now I see that you are continuing to use modern computing to its maximum ability bringing it into the kitchen. I still haul out my cookbooks or print a recipe from the Internet and bring the paper copy into the kitchen with me. I love it when my cookbooks are splattered with sauce from my newest culinary experiment. I can’t imagine bring a computer into the sanctity of my kitchen. The kitchen to me is a special location where few mechanical devices are allowed to run on electricity. I prefer hand tools so I can feel the food. I guess I will not become the modern chef that you are today. Cheers and please don’t burn your fingers again.
I still have that early Mac from 1984, as a matter of fact. It was a nightmare to use, kept crashing as you were saving documents. Today’s technology is a lot better. I do have a few food stained cookbooks I’m fond of, but also lots of electronics in the kitchen. But 9 times out of 10 I knead my bread by hand instead of in the Kitchenaid, so that’s something.