How to Write a Cookbook: Recipes
Writing Recipes That Fulfill Your Cookbook Concept and Work Great
Successful cookbook authors know how to write recipes that are easy to follow for home cooks and deliver reliably excellent results.
Once you have a clear cookbook concept (see "How to Write a Cookbook: Ideas), use it as your guide in selecting recipes. Each recipe should stand as an example of your theme.
Let your theme help you decide how to organize the recipes in a way that best serves home cooks. Because people usually prepare only one type of dessert at a time, for example, they would find a desserts book more helpful divided into chapters by different dessert types. A beef cookbook might be best organized by cooking methods.
Recipe Writing Made Easy
Your book will come to nothing if home cooks can't duplicate your results. The easiest recipes to follow are those written as simple, formula-like instructions, following these guidelines:
Ingredients List
- Order. List all ingredients in order of use.
- Measurements. Use measurements that will help cooks shop. Say "1 medium onion, chopped," for example, and not "1 cup chopped onion."
- Advance preparation. Alert cooks to anything that must be done ahead. If onions must be chopped, butter softened, or chicken cut into pieces, tell cooks in the ingredients list instead of at the point where that particular ingredient will be used.
- Sub-recipes. List sub-recipes, such as dressings or pie crusts, at the appropriate point in the ingredients list, with the parenthetical note "(see following recipe)" or "(see recipe on page 000)."
Recipe Instructions
- Keep it concise. Be economical with your words. Don't say, "Put the beef, onion, bread crumbs, and spices in a mixing bowl and mix them together." Say, "In a mixing bowl, combine the beef, onion, bread crumbs, and spices."
- Keep the order logical. Set up the situation before calling for the action: "In a small sauté pan over medium heat, brown the beef mixture." Give oven preheating instructions early enough so that the oven will be hot when needed.
- Pair times with sensory cues. Give sensory guidelines and corresponding time ranges: "Simmer the sauce thick and creamy, 8 to 10 minutes"; "Bake until golden brown, about 45 minutes."
- Break up paragraphs. Don't write instructions in long paragraphs. Start a new paragraph with each new preparation stage.
- Avoid telegramese. Instructions are easier to follow when they sound like spoken English.
The Final Two Elements
Two remaining recipe elements let you express your personal approach:
The Recipe Title
- Keep it concise and accurate. Pay particular attention to the qualities that make the dish special: "Fried Chicken in Beer-and-Onion Batter," not "Fried Chicken."
- Avoid cuteness. "Suzie's Yum-Yum Brownies" says nothing about the recipe. And don't fall into the tiresome folksy habit of abbreviating and as 'n'.
- Include a yield. A separate line should indicate the number of servings or pieces, such as "Serves 6 to 8" or "Makes three dozen 3-inch cookies."
The Introductory Note
- Sell the recipe. Describe what makes it special: "Lemon juice and honey give this salad a subtle sweet-sour flavor."
- Provide crucial information. Explain key techniques or special equipment, and list alternatives: "If you don't have bamboo steamer baskets, improvise a steamer by…."
- Offer substitutions or extensions. If cooks can swap broccoli for the Brussels sprouts or use the bread in a delicious stuffing, say so.
- Don't get needlessly personal. Avoid folksy anecdotes like, "Every time I serve this, my kids rub their tummies." Let your personality come forth through the originality and quality of the food.
Keep these guidelines in mind, and home cooks will be grateful to you every time they cook from your book. (For guidelines on creating a cookbook proposal, see "How to Write a Cookbook: Proposals." For an effective idea to help you find the right publisher, see "Writing a Cookbook: Publishers.")
