# How do you organize recipes?



## lao0 (Dec 11, 2014)

Hey simple question here I was curious to see how everyone liked to organize and write down their recipes?


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

It depends. Mostly, i like plain txt files. Easy to search, platform independent, never go obsolete or out of support. Store easily in the cloud for access. I use directories for organization. Easy enough to put a picture with the same name in the directory ifi need or want a picture.


New content tends to get put into Evernote until i decide if it is a keeper or not. 

I've dabbled with epub a bit as a possible method. Essentially making a personal electronic cookbook. I think the tools needed more development before that is as easy as id like.


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## Iceman (Jan 4, 2011)

I hand-write mine on plain paper in pencil. They go into thin plastic savers, then into a spiral notebook. Simple labels; Salads, Beef, Apps, Veggies ... etc.


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## butzy (Jan 8, 2010)

I use a combination.
Some recipes are written down in a notebook, some on pepperplate (and printed out and filed).
I also make notes in cookbooks, mostly on post it notes but sometimes in the margin or at the bottom of the page.


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

I use a self published recipe collection.  It is regularly updated on the laptop and printed as a book every two to three years.  One copy is used as the base for the next edition and notes are all over.  When a note is updated to the electronic master it is crossed out.  When doing a menu for an event the event recipes are printed and kept in a folder.  We started with a drawer full of scraps of paper, clippings,  and recipe cards and now have published seven editions.  The most recent in 2014 is just over 300 pages.


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## seabeecook (Aug 23, 2008)

Most of my formal recipes are kept in Microsoft Word with files on my laptop, on a USB flash drive and on my DropBox account. The DropBox account is helpful because I can access the recipe anytime I have an Internet connection. My work recipes (mainly for the camp) are written to 100 servings. They are printed and filed in binders for easy access by the cooks. My personal recipes are written for 25 servings. I also keep a large collection of camping and Dutch oven recipes in MasterCook v. 15.

I file recipes, both at work and for my personal collection, in the following file folders (electronically and/or in binders):

Appetizers

Barbecue

Beverages

Breads

Breakfast

Charcuterie

Dessert sauces

Desserts

Main dishes

Rubs & seasonings

Salad dressings

Salads

Sandwiches

Sauces

Sides dishes

Soups

Vegetables

This filing system works for me. It's not too complex. Vegetarian and vegan recipes are filed in the appropriate folder.


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## lao0 (Dec 11, 2014)

Hey thanks!  I just have a hard time putting all that hard work into something electronic.. Its just this fear I have!


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## seabeecook (Aug 23, 2008)

lao0 said:


> Hey thanks!  I just have a hard time putting all that hard work into something electronic.. Its just this fear I have!


I begin with a notebook, then type into a Word file, then print for a binder. Just make sure you backup to multiple media. I use both a flash drive and an on-line account. At one time, all my recipes were transferred to my phone as well. Electronic media is fairly secure. All I've every lost since buying my first PC in late 80s are two years worth of images. To save space, I'd moved them onto a external hard drive, then the drive crashed. My mistake was in failing to retain them on my PC's hard drive. Paper copies (of anything) are subject to fire, flood, being forgotten, theft, falling into the deep fryer, etc. Either way, your recipes are relatively safe.


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## mattm (Jan 25, 2016)

Lately I've been copying/pasting/editing everything on the native notes app of my samsung phone, is a mess the way they are stored but you can easily find anything searching by keywords, just don't ask me what happens when someone steals my phone, I don't know how to backup this


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## jimyra (Jun 23, 2015)

lao0 said:


> Hey thanks!  I just have a hard time putting all that hard work into something electronic.. Its just this fear I have!


When working with or for other chefs I keep a composition book in my pocket. I copy down recipes and put them in electronic format if I want to use them later. I carry that book all the time because I'm old and can't remember Sh^^%%^5 CRS syndrome.


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## phatch (Mar 29, 2002)

MattM said:


> Lately I've been copying/pasting/editing everything on the native notes app of my samsung phone, is a mess the way they are stored but you can easily find anything searching by keywords, just don't ask me what happens when someone steals my phone, I don't know how to backup this


Samsung used to offer Evernote on their phones. If not, it can still be downloaded from the Play Store. Then you could use the Samsung app as a front end into Evernote, at least you could on my Note 3. Or you can use Evernote directly. Evernote syncs with the cloud and they have apps for your desktop as well, or you can just use a browser based interface on any computer. Other simlar apps are Keep (Google's app) or OneNote (Microsoft's app).

Even if your app doesn't offer tagging, you can still add keywords to the recipe at the end. Then most any file search tool will find them.

Using a cloud syncing app is handy makes back up automatic and easy. You could also use Dropbox. Install the app. tell it to sync the directory where your notes live. That gets backed up to the cloud. Again you can access it from an app on your desktop or via the web browser.

i wrote an article a few years ago that is still fairly current. 
http://www.cheftalk.com/a/going-electronic-in-the-kitchen

The primary thing I would update is that there are now a few OCR apps for the phone. most of them want to create a PDF which seems lame to me. Give me the plain text.


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## ButterBlog (Aug 5, 2018)

lao0 said:


> Hey simple question here I was curious to see how everyone liked to organize and write down their recipes?


Not sure if it's far too late! Maybe two years too late. I have the Moleskin Address book - I love it because its plain except for laminated ABCEF.. tabs. So if I have a Lemon Tart recipe I just write it down under L. This means I don't have to faff around tagging and labelling too many things but it's also easy to find when I need to pull a recipe up. Some chefs I know write all theirs chronologically and never find the recipe they need.


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