Content

• Steps
• What do you need

Good recipe books are often passed down from generation to generation. However, even before the advent of cookbooks, many housewives used cards to write recipes. If you have a collection of these cards or traditional family recipes, it is a good idea to preserve this culinary heritage for posterity. One good way to do this is by creating a cookbook. You can do it on your computer or using creative templates. After reading this article, you will learn how to make a cookbook.

Steps

1. 1 Choose a format for your recipe book. This usually depends on the functionality of your gift: a cookbook used for its intended purpose, a souvenir, or a gift for the family. Below are the general format options you can choose from:
   • Buy a spiral or bound notebook with blank pockets or pages. This is the best format for a cookbook that will often be used for its intended purpose. You can collect recipes and put them in transparent pockets, where they will be protected from splashing in the kitchen. A spiral or three-tiered notebook is easy to place on your kitchen counter and easier to use.
   • Buy a special album from the store where you can add pages as new recipes emerge. This is the best way to preserve family recipes. You can insert pre-written recipes into pockets or glue them directly to paper pages. You can use a variety of additional materials such as stamps, stickers, ribbons, and colored paper to decorate your family cooking book.
   • Go to book-making sites such as Blurb.com, TheSecretIngredients.com, or Shutterfly.com. These sites can help you create a printed, professional book that will be a good memory for all family members. Add recipes, photos, beautiful backgrounds, and more for a bound book. You will most likely need to download software to create the layout of your book.
2. 2 Collect all of your recipes. Organize them however you see fit. For example, you can sort them by date, type of cuisine, or by author.
3. 3 Come up with a theme for your recipe book, if you have an idea. Some good ideas: a holiday recipe book, a summer recipe book, a baking recipe book, a simple cookbook recipe, or a family recipe book.
4. 4 Use cardboard or heavy paper to create a cookbook. It doesn't matter which option you choose for your cutout album, the book will likely be used occasionally for cooking. If possible, choose glossy paper that can be easily wiped off if it gets dirty.
5. 5 Save old recipe cards as a relic. You must redefine all cards that have been passed down from generation to generation as priceless historical artifacts. Prepare a secure pocket or plastic bag for cards in the book, and then rewrite the recipe on a new page.
   • When rewriting recipes, you can use a computer if your handwriting is not very good. The prettier the font, the more your recipe book will look like a heirloom, even if you just use a handwritten font on your computer.
6. 6 Try adding the following items to your recipe book: photos of the authors of the recipes, stories about the recipes or the people who made them, lists of ingredients in the beginning, magazine clippings, signatures and other clippings for decoration.
7. 7 Take the time to decorate each page on your computer with a book creation program or by hand. Use illustrations that match the recipe, such as photographs of the food, or details that remind you of the recipe author. Use a triple hole punch and hole clamps, and then staple the finished sheets into one folder.
   • If you are using book creation software, you will need to upload the blanks to a dedicated site. They will usually send you a revised version, which you correct very carefully. Once you give the final confirmation, they will send the book to print. Order as many copies as you would like to make for yourself and your family. Typically, these sites offer discounts when buying multiple books at once.
8. 8 Place plastic bookmarks at the beginning of each new section. Sign your bookmarks and place them a short distance from each other along the edge of the book. This will make it easy to find certain types of recipes.
9. 9 Present your family cookbooks to friends and family. This is a good way to preserve both new and old recipes that have gone through several generations. Leave blank pages at the end where everyone can add their own favorite recipes.

What do you need

• Binding
• Spiral notebook
• Blank album
• Recipes
• Photos
• Computer
• Book creation program
• Stories
• Ingredients / list to buy
• Paper, stickers and / or stamps
• Typing software
• Printer
• Plastic bookmarks