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downsizing recipes - help!


defboater

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I have too many recipes - handwritten notes, scanned, books, in my camera, on my tablet, in my computer and on email !

 

How should I save my recipes? Scanning seems to take too long and then I would have to get them all organized in my computer somehow. A WORD document? This is what I'm confused about, access after they are on my computer/tablet.

 

I would appreciate any suggestions and advice. Thank you! :D

2008 Carriage Cameo F31KS3

Mor Ryde

Ford F350 diesel 4x4

traveling with our pretty kitty

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I cleaned out my recipes. If I hadn't made it in a year I never was going to. Besides many things can be found on line now. The ones I kept I scanned to a recipe file. Others I typed into a word document. I then created categories in the file. This is on my laptop. I also use an apo called My Cookbook allows me to download recipes.

I have been known to contact my Dad or DIL for a recipe that I know is in one of my cookbooks that they kept

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I scan that type of thing and save the images in a directory and sub-directories so I have something like: recipes - deserts - pies - logan_berry.png

 

I like the .png format as it tends to be less blurry than .jpg but it does take up more space.

 

If you have a good optical character recognition system scanning to text (PROOFREAD CAREFULLY) is a good option as the files will be a lot smaller. Either save them as above or stick them in a document.

 

If your scanner is slow something like a Cannon LiDE is small, fast and cheap.

 

http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Cannon+LiDE

 

Best seller: LiDE 120 - $62.00

 

http://smile.amazon.com/Canon-Office-Products-LiDE120-Scanner/dp/B00LN0NUOO/ref=sr_1_2

First rule of computer consulting:

Sell a customer a Linux computer and you'll eat for a day.

Sell a customer a Windows computer and you'll eat for a lifetime.

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I started storing recipes on my computer, but then found that we were in a location with no internet and I didn't have access to "my recipe box" online. I now keep the favorites also in a recipe box in the rv so I always have access to them. I was using allrecipes.com to search and store recipes - I still do for the ones not used on a regular basis.

Pat DeJong

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I have much the same problem. I have been slowly & methodically transferring them into an app I use on my iPad called The Recipe Box. This app has the advantage that the recipes are stored locally so I don't require Internet access to get to them. If the recipe is from an online source, it's a very quick task to import it directly into the app. If not, then as I make one of my favorites that is on a notecard, in a magazine, on a scrap of paper or the back of an envelope, I take the time while making it to transcribe it into the app. I've gotten quite fast at it and can do it in 15 mins or less now. Once I've done that, I toss the original source (except for a handful of recipes from my mother or grandmother in their handwriting).

 

I've also been pretty ruthless with myself. I had lots of cookbooks and recipes around, most of which I had to acknowledge I was never going to work from. I decided I'd rather spend time creating a solid base of recipes that I use and love than spend time scanning or transcribing all sorts of things that may have looked good to me at some point. I culled my cookbooks down into two piles as well, one that we will take with us of about ten that I regard as good solid reference books that I use regularly. And a second small pile of cookbooks that I plan to store with our stuff and slowly rotate in one or two at a time. Then I will read and cook through the second group transcribing the ones we like as I go and then getting rid of them when I'm done. The rest are now gone. I did the same with the scrap paper & magazine piles, but very little of those have been saved.

 

This has the added advantage of allowing me to create a "family recipe archive" that I can share with my sons so they can repeat their favorites.

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I scan that type of thing and save the images in a directory and sub-directories so I have something like: recipes - deserts - pies - logan_berry.png

 

I like the .png format as it tends to be less blurry than .jpg but it does take up more space.

 

If you have a good optical character recognition system scanning to text (PROOFREAD CAREFULLY) is a good option as the files will be a lot smaller. Either save them as above or stick them in a document.

 

If your scanner is slow something like a Cannon LiDE is small, fast and cheap.

 

http://smile.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=Cannon+LiDE

 

Best seller: LiDE 120 - $62.00

 

http://smile.amazon.com/Canon-Office-Products-LiDE120-Scanner/dp/B00LN0NUOO/ref=sr_1_2

 

Thanks, Stanley, this looks good - for other things as well!

 

 

I have much the same problem. I have been slowly & methodically transferring them into an app I use on my iPad called The Recipe Box. This app has the advantage that the recipes are stored locally so I don't require Internet access to get to them. If the recipe is from an online source, it's a very quick task to import it directly into the app. If not, then as I make one of my favorites that is on a notecard, in a magazine, on a scrap of paper or the back of an envelope, I take the time while making it to transcribe it into the app. I've gotten quite fast at it and can do it in 15 mins or less now. Once I've done that, I toss the original source (except for a handful of recipes from my mother or grandmother in their handwriting).

 

I've also been pretty ruthless with myself. I had lots of cookbooks and recipes around, most of which I had to acknowledge I was never going to work from. I decided I'd rather spend time creating a solid base of recipes that I use and love than spend time scanning or transcribing all sorts of things that may have looked good to me at some point. I culled my cookbooks down into two piles as well, one that we will take with us of about ten that I regard as good solid reference books that I use regularly. And a second small pile of cookbooks that I plan to store with our stuff and slowly rotate in one or two at a time. Then I will read and cook through the second group transcribing the ones we like as I go and then getting rid of them when I'm done. The rest are now gone. I did the same with the scrap paper & magazine piles, but very little of those have been saved.

 

This has the added advantage of allowing me to create a "family recipe archive" that I can share with my sons so they can repeat their favorites.

 

 

NJTroy, Pete&Pat - exactly what I have done with my hardcovers! Thank you all for this - The Recipe Box and local drives!

 

Perfect info here, thank you again!

2008 Carriage Cameo F31KS3

Mor Ryde

Ford F350 diesel 4x4

traveling with our pretty kitty

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DH made me a wall of shelves in my laundry room off the kitchen of our sticks n bricks for my cookbook collection. When we hit the road I gave them all to my best friend as she had room for them and she enjoyed cookbooks as much as I. Once every year or so we get together, share a beverage and spend and afternoon looking thru them and chatting. .

 

Less is more and now I just keep a small binder with sheet protectors (so I don't spill on them) with those I use all the time. If I find new ones I save them in a word processing doc and file them in a directory on my hard drive called "Recipes".

 

When we do have Internet access I enjoy browsing recipes via Google searches. My new found vise is the FOOD network and I will record several cooking shows for a rainy day to learn about new foods, cooking techniques and kitchen gadgets (which I have no room for but like to learn about)

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I scanned all my handwritten recipes into Word. Went through all my recipe books and typed them into Word. All books and handwritten recipes went to my daughter and other family. I use the Pepperplate app to figure changes to the recipes to feed only the two of us. No need for Internet.

Mic and Carol, with Kate the Beagle.

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I use a recipe management program called Mastercook. Besides organizing recipes it can scale them up or down, provide nutritional information, grocery lists and more. There are groups that trade recipes. I've got around 1000 cookbooks on my laptop.

Roger

Colorado

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I took some pictures with my tablet! I scanned some and will type some into word. I even have emailed a few to myself. Now I have to remember where I put them all. Once we become full or part timers, whichever we will be...I will have some time to get them all in one place.

 

Thank you for all the great advice here! :)

2008 Carriage Cameo F31KS3

Mor Ryde

Ford F350 diesel 4x4

traveling with our pretty kitty

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"I've got around 1000 cookbooks on my laptop"....wow....and I thought I was a cookbook junkie....old Farm Journal cookbooks are my favorite....hard to beat the time tested recipes of farm cooks.

 

With a web site like food.com ,I'm no longer convinced there is a reason to have all those recipes saved. Food.com, with 82,000 recipes for Chicken, 3,600 recipes for Cauliflower, 2,300 for Cornbread just for example.....I'm sure to find one that fits my taste. When I search for something, and find one I like, I just save it to a file on my desktop, thus available off line.

 

For folks in Yuma, with ready access to ample cauliflower, here is my favorite (and I dislike cauliflower):

 

Popcorn cauliflower ....use the spice of your choice, but make extra.

 

Regards

Gemstone

'06 Elite Suites, '08 Softail Classic, '06 Softail Deuce.

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