Like many family cooks who have visions of making a family cookbook using old original family recipes, family photos and family history, assembling my first family cookbook was quite a project. 

Typing sometimes complicated instructions into my family cookbook format took me hours. I was always searching for the odd symbol or term that made the recipe more distinct from the run-of-the-mill recipes often found on the Internet (mine excluded, of course). There had to be a better, more automated way to expedite any future family cookbook projects.

While typing, I would meticulously write down my wish list of easy-to-use features that I wanted built into a family cookbook software. The result is my 10 most wanted list of features for symbols and terms:

10 Most Wanted Features for Symbols & Terms
in Family Cookbook Software

1. There should be a helper window available that will sit open for easy access to the most commonly used symbols and terms used in cooking and cookbook making.
2. Drop down windows that include cooking terms such as “crimp,” “dredge” or plain old “combine,” including several tricky words to spell like vinaigrette, caramelize or meringue. These help you work faster, and be more creative in your recipe descriptions.
3. Numbers from 1-10, plus common cooking times, such as 25, 30 and 60.
4. Special symbols like ®, or ©, or even a happy face ☺. Sometimes these are needed for product names, such as Fritos®, or just to dress up a recipe with a smiley face rating system.
5. Common measurements, from cups to ounces, and from liters to kilograms.
6. Typical heat settings, from 100°F to 500°F, increasing by 25° increments, plus terms like “room temperature,” as well as “low,”  “medium,” and “high.”
7. Ligature fractions as like ½ , ¼ , ¾ plus the standard 1/2, 1/4, and 3/4. These can be used interchangeably, but sometimes one looks better in certain recipes. It is nice to have the choice.
8. Instructions on using keyboard keystrokes  instead of cutting and pasting word symbols into the appropriate spot in the recipe. This is an absolutely wonderful resource for anyone, even for those not making a family cookbook.
9. Language characters, like ñ (Spanish tilde that sounds like a y), and ç (French cédille that sounds like an s).
10. Several hundred ingredients on a drop down list, such as butter, eggs and flour, all the way to cinnamon, gherkin or escarole, to name a few.

In addition to these 10 most wanted features for symbols and terms in cookbook software, you may discover several other useful wish list items that would make your family cookbook project easier. I would love to hear from you about your ideas.

As you can probably guess, there wasn’t any cookbook software available at the time that met my demands, so I made my own cookbook software. All of the features noted above are available in Matilida’s Fantastic Cookbook Software in the Symbol Builder positioned to the left of the recipe template screen.

Whichever cookbook software you choose, ultimately it must make your family cookbook project a breeze.  Good wishes, and happy cookbook software hunting!

Matilda

Making a recipe book? Check out all the recipe software and cookbook binding supplies we have at CookbookPeople.com.

If you enjoyed this article, you might check out:
• Four Great New Features In Matilda’s Fantastic Cookbook Software
• Tortoise or Hare: Set Your Pace for Making a Family Cookbook
• Cookbook & Recipe Software: What to Look For

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