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Food/recipes

OMG!!! This has me so excited! Cookery book addicts line up here.

78 replies

FellatioNels0n · 11/02/2013 06:26

I was browsing the net this morning looking for a recipe I knew I had, but I could not for the life of me remember which book it was in. That is such a familiar tale for me - I just end up reading them off Google which sort of defeats the object of all the rows of (150+) cookery books I own.

Anyway, guess what I found?

I am always trying and failing to catalogue my books by recipe type/ingredient but it's just so laborious, and I have often said to my DH that I should invent an app or website that does it for me. Well I don't need to now because someone already has.

www.eatmybooks.com

You pay a small subscription (will be well worth the money imho, I opted for the $25 per year unlimited access) and you click on their vast library of listed books, choose the books that you own, and the indexing is automatically done for you. Providing it has already been indexed by someone, which most of the well known books have been.

If you own a book that has not yet been indexed by someone else you can do it by scanning/importing the info, then others who own the book can benefit from having had you do that for them. So it's like file sharing in a way. The only difference is that you must already own the book - it doesn't give you the recipes, it just allows to you search all of your own book collection by ingredient or recipe type, and will give you an immediate list of key ingredients. What a time saver! (I know, I'm sounding like cheesy infomercial now but I can't help it) I don't know about you but I end up going to the same five or six books over and over because I am overwhelmed by choice and the task of searching through them all, when I need to have something on the table in under an hour.

So, if you have a green pepper and a lump of cod and some tomatoes in the fridge and you don't have time to go through all of your books you just go into your personalised www.eatmybooks.com database and type green peppers, cod, tomatoes and you get an instant list of all your recipes that use those things, and which books they are in. And you can sort them into various sub categories/themes, link to facebok, link to pinterest, include favourite blogs or magazine clippings, and add your own family recipes that live in your head.

I am so happy I could cry a little bit.

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miggy · 13/02/2013 23:42

I had a serious cookbook problem, kitchen designer thought I was slightly unhinged requesting two floor to ceiling height shelf racks fitted in, BUT then we took over house next door. Guy was a book addict who had taken up cooking, he asked if I would like the bulk of his collection! Think ikea billy style ceiling height bookcases, four stacked together.
Have serious serious problem now

XBenedict · 14/02/2013 00:26

OMG I have just put my downstairs cookery book collection onto the site and searched for artichoke recipes as I had loads of them in my veg box this week and flippen heck who bloody knew I had so many amazing recipes!!!!! I LOVE this site!

FellatioNels0n · 14/02/2013 03:47

X did you actually subscribe? What did you pay?

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OneLittleToddlingTerror · 14/02/2013 08:14

It's US$25 a year. If you don't subscribe you can add 5 books to test drive the site.

Chinagirlcaramanian · 14/02/2013 08:57

I love this site too. I've rediscovered Dela as a result. The best thing is being able to quickly compare recipes on one page and choosing one based on what other ingredients the recipe needs. Much better than random googling recipes.the course filter is useful if you're looking for say, mushroom starters.

lisianthus · 14/02/2013 09:58

WOW! Thank you!

Curioustiger · 14/02/2013 10:27

We have some way to go, fellow addicts... Check out Nigella's collection ... divinelyandutterlyhappy.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/nigella-lawsons-library.html?m=1link

BIWI · 14/02/2013 10:30

FellatioNels0n · 14/02/2013 12:49

I would be so happy if that was my own personal library. I might never actually leave my house again. As it is, if I go into a decent bookshop I can be gone for two hours....

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FellatioNels0n · 14/02/2013 12:50

No BIWI, do. I imagine the low carb dinners potential!

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Ninetyninepercent · 14/02/2013 13:10

WOW.....that is an amazing site. Such a great idea. I was only thinking this morning that I have so many recipe books and tend to either cook the same thing, or cobble together something I'm sure I have the recipe for but can't for the life of me find. Brilliant! Only thing is I also have a vast collection of magazine articles - mostly Good Food, Olive or Delicious - a few complete editions but mostly just pages ripped out. I guess you can catalogue your own, which I have been meaning to do at some point (not managed in the last decade or so though!)

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/02/2013 13:12

They do magazines too...

BIWI · 14/02/2013 14:49

Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/02/2013 15:00

And you can choose to only search for recipes that are eg vegan or even low carb

BIWI · 14/02/2013 15:03

bran · 14/02/2013 15:13

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

MoreBeta · 14/02/2013 15:39

BIWI - but, but, BUT.....

Home, cooked Valentine lunch today was Savoy Cabbage, Pancetta and mushroom pasta. That was from Sunday Times magazine. Nice and healthy, I won't eat dinner and will do a good long walk later so no harm done. Putting your finger on a nice tasty recipe rather than just same old same old convenience stodge can be better for you.

FellatioNels0n · 14/02/2013 15:51

BIWI does not need convincing about ditching the stodge MoreBeta - she is our low carb guru and leader! She is just sticking her fingers in her ears as a way of resisting subscribing to the site!

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FellatioNels0n · 14/02/2013 15:53

Oh I see, sorry MB I got the wrong end of the stick!

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BIWI · 14/02/2013 15:56

Sorry, MoreBeta! I'm resisting the siren call of the site because it will involve me spending more time online and more money!

MoreBeta · 14/02/2013 16:02

BIWI - No need to go online at all.

Really good recipe books are widely available very cheaply at a wide range of charity shops.

BIWI · 14/02/2013 16:06

I know. I have millions of the buggers!

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MoreBeta · 14/02/2013 16:16

So now all you need is a way of cataloguing them all.

Did you know Apple have a really handy free app that allows you to save and catalogue all your online recipes as well. Just in case.

ItsAllGoingToBeFine · 14/02/2013 16:18

I think you are missing the point? This site does not sell cookery books or recipes. It sells indexing of the books you already have.

So let's say I had some artichokes J wanted to use up. I could go to my cookery book shelf, pick out a few likely candidates have a look in the index (which is quite often not as detailed as by ingredients), leaf through a few books, try and remember whatever other ingredients I require.

Or, I go onto this site and type in "artichokes", it brings up every single recipe I have in my recipe books that contains artichokes, with a list of other ingredients required. I can also filter on various things, low carb, country of origin, without a certain ingredient....

FellatioNels0n · 14/02/2013 16:25

Beta why are you spoiling my fun? Stop trying to make people resist my cult.

You are like one of those religious types who lure drunken fighty teenagers coming out of clubs at 2am into their God Bus by offering to put a plaster on their cut hand and telling them about Jesus at the same time.

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