![]() ![]() If the author describes how she first was captivated by this recipe because of the smell of perfectly caramelized onions wafting out a window, that gives you a sense of something to watch for in the cooking. Headnotes aren't just decorative-they can give you vital clues. It's a place for stories and helpful tips ("if you can't find banana chiles, serranos will do"). Headnotes are what make me fall in love with a cookbook, because that's where the author tells us what this recipe is doing in this book, and why they love it so. That shows up in the details, whether they’re technical, historical, scientific, or anecdotal.ġ. The author of a great cookbook has passion to spare, and a vast fund of knowledge. Our hands are sticky, our glasses are steamed up, and we can't be rifling through a cookbook for hidden recipes.įive Things that Make a Good Cookbook Greatĭesign plays a role in making a great cookbook, but for the most part, it's the content that separates the wheat from the chaff. “Spicy Tomato Reduction (see page 247).” “Oven-roasted Peppers (see page 135).” Then you get to the end of the recipe and it's “Serve with Eggplant Coulis (page 446), toasted Sourdough Crackers (page 394) and Cucumber Trifle (page 752).” Have a heart, publishers! Incorporate them as extra steps in the main recipe, or if you must, reprint the sub-recipe just after. “Turn to page 578.” Often people like to clean up a cluttered page by nesting multiple sub recipes in the ingredients. Also, if you scale your recipe down on paper to feed four to six instead of 40, actually test it at that scale, and remember the aromatics and spices don't scale down the same way.ĥ. Just give it out free to other chefs, who don't buy cookbooks anyway. If most of your recipes demand a Paco-Jet, a Hobart mixer, or a full set of ring molds, don't bother trying to retail your book. Don't assume anyone has a restaurant kitchen. This one's for authors who happen to be chefs. Tell us how to get it! Tell us what to substitute! Name the online source! If only one chile paste will do, and there's not a word of English on the label, include a picture, preferably in color.Ĥ. But if it's not available at your average Midwestern supermarket, don't be a snob. market, make the conversions, or you will have an expensive flop on your hands.Īmerican cooks-a great many of us anyway-are adventurous, and we're not afraid of obscure ingredients. If you're publishing a buy-in for the U.S. Whenever possible we'll use volumes rather than weights. We work with cups and tablespoons for volume, pounds for weight, and ounces for either. I know, it's not fair, but American cooks just don't use liters and grams. Is the book too long for big type? It's better to cut a few recipes to make your $35 price point than cram them all in in a way that makes them hard to use.Ģ. ![]() Turning a page with sticky fingers is also a problem, so double-page spreads for longer recipes are ideal (even if it means not including a photo). Often we have to find our place in a rush. They're often on a messy kitchen counter, three feet away from our eyes and our steamed-up glasses. ![]() Bear in mind, we're not reading these books in a comfy chair or on the beach. There is nothing worse than a cookbook printed in a miniature typeface. The good news is, these mistakes are easy to fix.ġ. Format matters, as do details and specifications. Every time a cook tries a new recipe, she returns to the page at least a dozen times. They are used as physical objects in a way other books are not. And marketing, publicity, and sales people should be mindful of all of them.įive Common Mistakes that Make a Cookbook UnusableĬookbooks remain a non-replaceable, hard-copy artifact in a digital world. Some of these tips are for your copyediting and production departments others are for editors and authors. Before my life as a cookbook reviewer, I worked in publishing myself as an acquisitions editor, so I know how hard it is to keep your eye on everything. Here you'll find my attempts to answer those two basic questions: What makes a cookbook awful? What makes a cookbook great? The answers may surprise, nettle, or disturb you-but I hope you'll give them your attention nonetheless.
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