Food Blogs! February 12, 2022 2:53 PM   Subscribe

There is an FPP going on that is hot and heavy with impassioned opinions on what a cooking blog/food blog/recipe site should look like. In the FPP, there are many amazing links to apps, blogs, sites, etc. that work for that particular person. What are some online tools that work best for you for the best cooking experience? (I've done my best to add the links from the FPP to the "read more" area. Apologies if I missed any.)

Apps:
Paprika
Mela (appears to be iOS only?)
Plan to Eat (not yet mentioned, but it's my go to tool)
Copy Me That
Recipe Filter extension for Chrome

Probably low on narrative:
Smitten Kitchen
Budget Bytes

Maybe narrative:
Turkeys for life*
Splendid Table

Narrative:
A Serious BunBuryist

"Traditional"? recipe sites?:
BBC Good Food
NYT Cooking
Serious Eats
AllRecipes

Misc: Supercook Look at your pantry/fridge/whatever, make a meal. (another link I haven't gotten around to sharing in thread yet.)


*specific recipe for Turkeys for Life was an okra dish ty, mumimor!
posted by a non mouse, a cow herd to MetaFilter-Related at 2:53 PM (47 comments total) 35 users marked this as a favorite

Mod note: Couple comments removed. This is an attempt at a positive community collaboration discussion, do not poison the well by treating it as a round two of arguments elsewhere just because it's on MetaTalk.
posted by cortex (staff) at 5:01 PM on February 12, 2022 [9 favorites]


Two recommended vegan sites from that FPP that I've now bookmarked and seem to have "narrative that's related to cooking the dish" are

Rainbowplantlife
Pickuplimes

Both seem to be pretty low on ads too.

Budget Bytes was also recommended more than once, but when I went to that site, there were the absolute worst ads in my book, videos with sound that I had to find to shut down.
posted by FencingGal at 5:03 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


I have noticed today as well that Budget Bytes increased the ads! It made me investigate and add another video blocker to my browser, but I was disappointed. However, my process is to take any recipe I really like and put it into my recipe book virtually with Evernote, so at least I won't have to go back to look at a beloved one, but damn.

I made her broccoli cheese soup tonight, in fact, but only read the recipe from where I had saved it on my phone.
posted by tiny frying pan at 5:15 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


I’ve used Paprika on iOS for years and I really like it. Its ability to find and upload just the recipe section on a food blog is fantastic.
posted by not_the_water at 5:40 PM on February 12, 2022 [3 favorites]


Have added the RecipeFilter extension to Chrome; will update with how it worked for me!
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:27 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


Metafilter does an almost unbelievably good job with food and food-related issues.

I can’t begin to describe how much I’ve learned from the blue and the green about food.
posted by jamjam at 6:33 PM on February 12, 2022 [6 favorites]


Our ovens are ready, grills maintained to perfection as the cold and steel traverse Paris, all in a day's work on Snowpiercer, 1034 Blogs long.
posted by clavdivs at 7:49 PM on February 12, 2022 [1 favorite]


The Woks of Life are very good, with a very broad range of recipes. There is interesting narrative, but there is also a "jump to recipe" button that does just that.
Kenji has a cooking channel on YouTube where he cooks in his home kitchen. I don't cook from it, but I learn a lot from watching it.
Jamie Oliver is a professional site, not so much Jamie Oliver blogging, and as with his shows, there is a lot of "adapting" to British taste from other cultures. That said, the recipes are really simple and easy to follow and I find myself looking at the site quite often when I am trying new ideas.
I also use Saveur a lot.
posted by mumimor at 8:25 PM on February 12, 2022 [5 favorites]


The MeFiWiki is somewhat out of date but has a lot of accumulated older AskMes about many food-related topics in a section we like to call EatMe.
posted by jessamyn (staff) at 8:26 PM on February 12, 2022 [8 favorites]


Simple Indian recipes gets updated, has ads but minimal narrative, and is clearly using recipes made by actual people.
posted by janell at 9:28 PM on February 12, 2022 [2 favorites]


whish. so, one click two click three
That's handy. A testimony to mefis excellent knowledge, craft and skill. IMO, certain forumns and what not are cool like where can I replace a Z panenni press ridge toggle or where can I find good mangos because I'm not getting off the boat in Detroit today.
posted by clavdivs at 9:29 PM on February 12, 2022 [4 favorites]


These are, of course, limited in their scope, but I’ve found some great recipes at kingarthurbaking.com and bettycrocker.com/recipes. Kind of goes along with my philosophy that the best recipes are usually the ones on the back of the package.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:54 PM on February 12, 2022 [3 favorites]


I mentioned Paprika in the app, but I'd also like to point out that The Joy Of Cooking has an app for iPad, and it's the entire book as a searchable database. It's a fantastic resource, and gets a lot of regular use from me. I'm partial to it because I was given a hardcover of the book as a graduation present from college. It's got a ton of useful information, past just simple recipes (my own personal stew recipe comes from simply reading the book's explanation of the process and idea behind stewing, and all of that is in the app as well).

I've got Bittman's books, which were mentioned in the thread, but the Joy of Cooking is the one I always turn to.
posted by Ghidorah at 12:43 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]


Paprika is fantastic - its ability to address the hot-button issue of the hour and extract a recipe from a web page works so well it borders on withcraft. I also use google lens to capture text from physical recipe books, at least for things we cook regularly. This helps in the kitchen - I'm fifty fifty using books or just hurriedly pulling paprika up on my phone - but also REALLY helps with the grocery order, wjere otherswise I'd have to be whipping though a whole bunch of books.
posted by ominous_paws at 2:56 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]


Also Meera Sodha, mainly published in the Graun, has to my knowledge never ever missed on a recipe, to the point I'll look every timr to see if she's done a version of anything I'm looking to cook.
posted by ominous_paws at 3:05 AM on February 13, 2022 [5 favorites]


You can put vegetarian Love and Lemons in the "probably low on narrative" category, and it has the "jump to recipe" button.
posted by JanetLand at 5:40 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]


Most of the really good stuff requires a subscription, but ChefSteps is a premiere source for modernist cuisine techniques and recipes.

The Mala Market Blog has great stuff on Sichuan cooking that often links to products for sale by Mala Market, which carries lots of specialty Sichuan ingredients otherwise unavailable in the US. Medium narrative but no ads, since the blog is effectively an ad for the market.
posted by slkinsey at 5:52 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]


BTW, the second B in “Bunburyist” should not be capitalized. The word comes from Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, in which Algernon has invented a fictional friend named Bunbury whose needs as a chronic invalid Algernon uses an excuse to get out of social engagements he doesn’t wish to attend — a practice he calls “Bunburying.” There is a picture of Oscar Wilde in the blog header.
posted by slkinsey at 6:19 AM on February 13, 2022 [4 favorites]


For very low fat vegan, I really like ShaneandSimple and BrandNewVegan. Ads are minimal, and the narrative tends to focus on the food. ShaneandSimple's sweet potato casserole is one of my favorites.
posted by FencingGal at 9:00 AM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]


I can’t begin to describe how much I’ve learned from the blue and the green about food.

If your food is blue and green you definitely shouldn't eat it.
posted by Greg_Ace at 9:46 AM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]


The Cyan Omlet for example
posted by clavdivs at 10:41 AM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]




the blog is effectively an ad for the market.

There are quite a few commercial sites out there that have really good recipes. I can't access my bookmarks from this computer, but from the top of my head I'd mention Barilla, though I never buy their pasta. I found a great Moroccan site the other day, too, will get back when my laptop has recovered.
posted by mumimor at 12:20 PM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]


For relatively quick and comfort-food vegan cooking, I really do like School Night Vegan. Some of it's definitely weekend cooking, but there's so much rich and tasty stuff there.
posted by ambrosen at 2:15 PM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]


from the top of my head I'd mention Barilla, though I never buy their pasta.

Alex (French Guy Cooking) on YouTube is currently doing a series on dried pasta. On his tier list, De Cecco is (despite being a mass-market industrial pasta) S-tier, while Barilla is D-tier.
posted by Lexica at 2:29 PM on February 13, 2022 [4 favorites]


We usually buy De Cecco or Rummo. To my mind, both are fine. I would rather eat potatoes than Barilla.
posted by mumimor at 2:39 PM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]


If your food is blue and green you definitely shouldn't eat it.

You hate vegetables and you don’t even like cheese??

Goodness Greg_Ace, I had no idea.
posted by jamjam at 6:23 PM on February 13, 2022 [2 favorites]


Food52 is my favourite recipe site - sometimes they have articles where the recipe is on a different linked page, which makes the recipe a little harder to find initially, but then the layout is better once you get to its actual page, as it's separated from the writing (which I usually also enjoy reading on their site).
posted by euphoria066 at 6:25 PM on February 13, 2022 [1 favorite]


If your food is blue and green you definitely shouldn't eat it.

You hate vegetables and you don’t even like cheese??


I should have specified, "both blue and green". Outside of cheese, that's a bad sign.

inside of cheese, it's too dark to see the signs
posted by Greg_Ace at 6:35 PM on February 13, 2022 [3 favorites]


Villa Jerada -- Recipes
This is Moroccan food, both traditional and contemporary. I have no idea what their products are like, probably can't even get them here. But the recipes I have tried have been perfect. No stories on the recipes pages, and no ads because the whole site is promotional.
posted by mumimor at 12:52 AM on February 14, 2022 [1 favorite]


And here is the Barilla site - just ignore the brand recommendations, though you will need to follow the instructions on the packages if you are using alternative pastas and sauces.
posted by mumimor at 12:58 AM on February 14, 2022 [1 favorite]


I once saw a restaurant advertising that they served De Cecco, which they billed as "the only certified pasta".
posted by brainwane at 3:11 AM on February 14, 2022 [1 favorite]


Another very good site is Bon Appetit. I've been avoiding them for a while and hesitated about posting the site here because of their discriminatory underpayment of women and specially people of color on their staff as well as allegations of a toxic work environment.
But the recipes are flawless. And to be honest, I haven't checked how the new staff feel about the situation today, with a completely new management. It might have improved.
posted by mumimor at 3:35 AM on February 14, 2022 [2 favorites]


For Korean food I really love Maangchi. It has very step by step directions with pictures if you need them. She is careful to provide lots of information about Korean preparation methods and explanations on ingredients for western audiences if needed in a separate section. There are videos for those who need a more visual presentation. It is easily skippable to the recipe itself. These is a short paragraph or two about the dish at the beginning but not overwhelmingly so.

Most importantly it is reliably yummy.

I would use an ad blocker for viewing though.
posted by AlexiaSky at 4:10 AM on February 14, 2022 [5 favorites]


Some MeFites on AskMe put me onto Rancho Gordo (thanks!) and since they're selling beans, etc., the site's recipes don't have too much fluff.
posted by kingless at 5:45 AM on February 14, 2022 [2 favorites]


For apps, I use RecipeKeeper, which I got from an Ask. It is fantastic and tbh if I even want to try a recipe from a website, I first have Recipe Keeper import and it and format it in their usual way.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 6:04 AM on February 14, 2022 [1 favorite]


I've been making a lot more Japanese food recently, almost entirely because of Just One Cookbook. Minimal narration and all the recipes I've tried so far have been good (and simple enough for my modest level of skill in the kitchen).
posted by darchildre at 1:07 PM on February 14, 2022 [3 favorites]


My very first stop for ANY cake, pie, cookie, or pastry recipe is Sally's Baking Addiction - and she's recently had a redesign that makes the site much more organised and easy to use. Yes, there is the dreaded 1,000 words of introduction before she gets to the recipe, but I accept that this is just what an independent blogger has to do to please the algorithm gods. At least Sally talks about the recipe- success tips, how to source ingredients, etc- instead of random stories and florid descriptions.

I do not exaggerate when I say her recipes have never been anything less than amazing. Her holiday cookie recipe collections are legendary, and all of her recipes are in weight AND volume which means I don't have to do my own conversions to weight and wonder if the recipe author packs her flour more than I do. Honestly I would trust this woman with my life.
posted by cilantro at 6:32 AM on February 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


Sally is great! That's a go to site for me as well.
posted by kathrynm at 7:33 AM on February 15, 2022 [2 favorites]


I like recipe books, and therefore have hundreds of them, and so I am very pleased to have discovered (via Metafilter!) Eat Your Books. My subscription means I have a handy online index to more than half of my cookery books, with more being indexed all the time. This means:
  • I can look up a specific recipe, say "Yorkshire parkin" or "salmon quiche", and find out exactly which books to go and haul off the shelf. No more aching arms from having to try a dozen heavy hardbacks before I find one with the recipe I'm after.
  • Fresh asparagus on the market today? I can find all my asparagus recipes...
  • ... and then filter out the ones that also contain octopus (poor octopus)...
  • ... or filter down to just the ones that also contain thyme...
  • ... or limit it to specifically the Japanese asparagus recipes.
It's also useful for finding out what recipes are in a book I'm thinking of ordering; and if I ever go back out into the real world, it'll be fantastic for shopping. Pick one interesting ingredient in the shop, look up a recipe, go and find whatever else I need.

Naturally, having more than 300 recipe books doesn't mean I ignore the internet. +1 for Just One Cookbook (another Metafilter discovery, I think). Another favourite is Beth Cato's Bready or Not. I subscribe to her newsletter, so I get some recipes by email, but the blog posts (e.g. this recipe for cinnamon coffee cookies) are pretty straightforward: photos of the baked goods in question with some comments and practical notes, and then the recipe, laid out very clearly and distinctively so that it's easy to find on the page.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 7:59 AM on February 15, 2022 [4 favorites]


As far as apps go, I've been burned by evolving/unsupported technology that I just use Evernote and their web clipper extension.

I largely just troll search results until I find approximately what I want if I'm looking for something more specific, but my routine recipe content pretty much all comes from youtube now. Headbanger's Kitchen is primarily keto-oriented, but his recipes manage to be really simple and tight, and he's my go-to for quick simple Indian food but his non-Indian recipes are also great. We watch a lot of Aaron and Claire just because they're adorable, but also Aaron often does Korean dishes at a couple levels of complexity and has an ongoing series of 5- to 15-minute simplified meals that are really good idea fodder for weeknight meals. Middle Eats often makes slightly more complex dishes that I have the energy for right now, but he does sneak in some quick/easy stuff and some of those more complex options would be good weekend jobs for meal prep.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:02 AM on February 15, 2022 [1 favorite]


Here's mine -
Filipino food which they veganise: Kaivegan sa Kusina

Bengali food - Bong Eats

Yakitori - Yakitoriguy

Chinese Cooking Demystified

Food with Chetna
posted by Ashwagandha at 10:17 AM on February 15, 2022 [3 favorites]


A previous ask had a bunch of additional links.
posted by 2 cats in the yard at 11:34 AM on February 16, 2022 [1 favorite]


Ghidorah mentioned a Joy of Cooking app upthread which I searched for and it brings me no joy to report that the app is no longer available. The publisher of that app, Culinate appears to be a shell, and it How to Cook Everything app is also no longer available.

I have paprika, and while parts of it are useful, like the built in timers, I find that it is terrible at converting recipes into metric, absolute unusable trash that.
posted by zenon at 7:31 PM on February 23, 2022


Oh, god, zenon, I had no idea. I must jealously guard my iPad copy, and treat it well.

Damn, that sucks. I wonder how the publisher (book) manager to drop the ball with the publisher (app) that badly. Unfortunate.
posted by Ghidorah at 4:33 AM on February 27, 2022


This may be off-topic, but I scored an old copy of Joy of Cooking at a book dump in my building. As great as all the blogs and sites listed above are, it is a great resource to have in the house (the copy I grew up with was bookmarked with spills and spatters on all the best recipes, and Mom's notes in the margins) and I feel lucky tp have it.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 12:16 PM on February 28, 2022


I just discovered that the King Arthur Baking site has a fairly recent blog page on Tips for baking with arthritis and other hand-related chronic pain.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 6:09 AM on March 3, 2022 [1 favorite]


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