Holiday Cooking and Cookbooks

The holiday season must be here since it seems like every other post I'm writing has something to do with the holidays.  And what's a big part of the holidays?  Eating!  And what comes before eating?  Cooking!  And what often helps in cooking? An app???

A couple of days ago The New York Times published an article asking "Are Cookbooks Obsolete?" That article really got me thinking about holiday cooking and cooking in general.  Which family doesn't have recipes, either painstakingly written by hand or typed on an old typewriter, that have been passed down through generations to recreate beloved culinary delights?  Nowadays, more and more people are getting their recipes off their iPads.

Back in August I blogged about e-readers and technology.  I discussed how I was for technology but wasn't completely sold on some of it.  That basically sums up how I feel about the iPad or other technologies replacing the traditional cookbook.

Now, I will confess that I'm a lazy cook.  I cook more out of necessity than out of a real love and desire to make edible works of art; I much prefer enjoying the end result rather than the means taken to get to it.  I'm also not the most organized cook, but then who can be organized when you have a miniscule kitchen with just part of one counter to prep on?  It's hard enough for me to keep my print recipes clean and in good condition; I'm imagining the hassle of trying to keep an electronic device clean from food splattering on it.  And let's not forget those devices and apps are still rather pricey and out of the financial reach of many.

Then again, if you can afford the price tag, it's convenient to be able to watch videos of each part of the recipe, to actually see in motion how the recipe is done rather than try to figure it out from still pictures. I'm a visual person, and I'm more likely to try a new recipe if I've seen how it's done on a cooking show rather than from a cookbook without photos.

In my opinion, I don't think print cookbooks are going the way of the dinosaur just yet.  If my library is any example, cookbooks are among the more popular checkouts.  Sure, technology will keep progressing and recipes will be brought into the digital age more and more, but in one format or another, won't there always be room for grandma's apple pie?

Getting "rumbly in my tumbly" on the perch.