Cooking Apps or Cookbooks: Why Not Both?

It's become a familiar question in the food world: is the cooking app going to kill the printed cookbook? (We joined in earlier this year, wondering if Martha Stewart's cookie app marks the end of the cookbook era.) But over at Poor Man's Feast, writer and editor Elissa Altman points out why there is room for both in the kitchen — and why it is wrong to assume we can only choose one.

Altman loves the new Dorie Greenspan baking app, and understands how invaluable it is to see instructions in action rather than written out in words. But that doesn't mean she will be tossing aside her most beloved cookbooks now that she has a good app or two. Publishers, she says, wrongly assume that people acquire their information in one way only, and that the rise of cooking apps will mean the end of printed cookbooks.

The truth is that nothing can replace our favorites, those sauce-spattered cookbooks with the spines that crack open to the recipes we make again and again. No matter how convenient or flashy, apps just don't carry the same emotional weight. Altman writes:

Cooking and reading actual cookbooks show me where I've been; they reek of history, and anchor me in the way that, however vague, the assembly directions for Thanksgiving turkey in the 1951 Joy of Cooking anchored my aunt when it was just her and the book, and the concept of the iPad app was about as Jetsons as power steering.

We highly recommend reading the full article — it's a lovely read that will inspire you to thumb through your favorite cookbooks and remember why you still have them.

• Read more: Reading, Apps, and the Myth of Cookbook Obsolesence at Poor Man's Feast

What do you think? Can apps happily coexist with printed cookbooks?

(Image: Emma Christensen)

Comments (11)

Publishers don't realize that a lot of us don't have fancy phone, Ipads, etc so having a cookbook only available as an app is very short sighted. I don't have a kindle because I like to hold a book in my hand - I like the weight of a book.

I would like my printed cookbooks to come with a code or something to get a discount on the corresponding app. Sometimes if I realize that I need to stop at the store on the way home to make dinner, I wish I had my cookbooks available to scan quickly to make sure I pick up all of the necessary ingredients for the recipe I've been meaning to try... I usually have my iPad with me when I'm out ad it would be fantastic to be able to whip it out and access my cookbooks.

When I was in culinary school I got in the habit of making notes in the sides of my cookbooks. Little scribbles of edits to recipes, thoughts, etc. Its just not the same with a digital "book."

I probably have maybe 500-600 cookbooks on the wall behind me as I type this. I would LOVE to have those at my fingertips at any time but I'm not overly excited to take my iPad to the kitchen where things get spilled, dropped, etc. And really, who wants to finger around on their iPad when it's covered in flour, grease, and butter to scroll thru a recipe? :)

Videos are helpful for some things (learning techniques) but I loathe trying to follow a video recipe. I read so much faster than video plays that I quickly grow impatient

I agree completely. I love the How to Cook Everything app for quick reference, but there are so many beautifully written, well designed cookbooks that just wouldn't be the same as an app. Nigel Slater's Tender is beautifully printed and bound, all of which would be lost in digital form. It also reads like a novel, and it lived on my bedside table for weeks before I actually cooked from it. I don't see myself curling up in bed with an app.

Book! I love cookbooks! Esp the classics! Or the ones that have been passed down from your mother or grandmother! Not only are they filled with invaluable information, but also LOOK amazing in your kitchen!

Book. No question. I make full use of the internet looking for recipes and tips, but to me there is nothing better than getting a new cookbook.

Definitely book if there's any cooking going on. And definitely book if I'm just drooling over the pictures.

But I did enjoy the search and shopping list functions on Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" app on my iPod -- until I dropped the iPod until a cup of tea. I sure was glad I had the hard copy after that event. Heck, I could probably drop the book into a pressure cooker and still be able to use it.

edit - make that "dropped the iPod INTO a cup of tea"

I prefer snuggling up with a cookbook and educating myself vs. reading online, however both are great, just prefer the actual book in my hand. so much more satisfying!!