To get rid of every recipe/ cook book in the house?

[YouBelongWithMe]

We're getting our kitchen re-done - it's being fitted next month.

We're in the process of clearing out drawers, cupboards etc so that we're only putting back items that are useful, pleasing etc.

We don't have a large cookery book collection by any means - maybe 35/40. Lile most, we've accumulated them over the years. There are books we've used to bake with the kids, and some books which contain recipes that have become integral to our meal planning (step up, Jamie Oliver's 30 minute meals).

But all these recipes are either ingrained in our brains or available online. All our most recent additions to meal rotation have come via instagram or YouTube channels.

I'm tempted to get rid of them all. My mum is horrified ('what kitchen has NO COOK BOOKS' 🤣) but I can't help thinking they're just virtue-signalling clutter now.

Does anyone else have no recipe/ cookbooks?

I have loads of cookery books that I love but never use now. Years of cooking drudgery every day has dimmed my love of cooking so I just make stuff from memory, but DS decided to do cooking for his D of E skill so used them. My goodness what a difference when you actually follow a recipe! His fish curry was to die for!

You think that 35-40 cookery books isn’t a large collection? 😮

Where the fuck do people store all this stuff?!

I went through a phase of getting Hello Fresh delivered and the recipe cards (giving quantities for 2 or 4 portions) were too nice to throw away. I put them into a transparent pocket file and stuck it on a shelf.
Have I looked at them since? Of course not!

cut out favourite recipes, put them in a folder.

no point sending them to a charity shop. They don’t sell

I do the same. Have loads, both hard copies and on iBooks. I read them when I want inspiration or comfort or traditions like Nigel slater’s Christmas Chronicals has to be read in November and December each year. Same as nigellas Christmas book. Forever summer has to be readin may. Yes it’s silly but makes me happy.

Oh I love cookbooks. I love flipping through them and looking at the pictures. I might write on recipes to change them or make notes. The little info sections make for nice reading too. I think you end up trying things you might not do because you flip through the book and find something you like.

I have learned so much in the content when learning to cook new cuisines, like Korean or Japanese.

I have just had a cull though. I am getting rid of old books I haven't used for donkeys years so it's a bit more streamlined.