How to make a family cookbook

Every family has a recipe box: cards in three people's handwriting, a clipping with no source, the cake only one aunt knows how to make. A family cookbook gets all of it into one book before the cards fade. Here's how to do it in an afternoon or two.

1. Collect the recipes

Go through the box, the cookbooks with notes in the margins and the family group chat. Ask relatives for the dishes they're known for. Photograph every card now, even the ones you're not sure about; it's the photo that survives.

2. Digitise them in one format

The biggest difference between a pile of recipes and a cookbook is consistency. WithGridRecipe, a photo of a card becomes a grid recipe: ingredients down the left, every step right next to what it uses. Mixed units are a one-tap fix, metric or US cups for the whole book, and you can type in the ones that only exist in someone's head with the recipe card maker.

3. Add the stories

Who made it, for which occasion, what they always said while making it. Put it in each recipe's notes. In twenty years this is the part people will read first.

4. Put them in order

By course (starters, mains, baking), by person ("Grandma Ruth's"), or by season. Pick one and stick to it. Save every recipe to your library so the book is always one click from a new edition.

5. Export the cookbook PDF

In your library, tick the recipes, give the book a title and export. You get one PDF with a cover, a contents page and one recipe per page, on A4 or US Letter, in a colour theme and font of your choice. Cookbook export is part of GridRecipe Pro, $12 once.

6. Print and bind it

Print at home, or take the PDF to a print shop and ask for coil binding so the book lies flat on the counter. Order one copy per household; it makes a better present than almost anything you can buy.

Questions

How many recipes should a family cookbook have?

Twenty to forty is a good first edition: enough to feel like a book, few enough to finish. Start with the dishes people ask for at every holiday and add the rest in a second edition.

How do I digitise handwritten recipe cards?

Photograph each card in good light and let GridRecipe read it. Check the result against the card (old handwriting fools everyone), fix anything it misread, and add the card's story in the notes.

Can I make the cookbook PDF for free?

Building and saving every recipe is free, and each recipe can be downloaded as its own PDF for free. Exporting them together as one cookbook with a cover and contents page is part of GridRecipe Pro, $12 once.

How do I get it printed?

Print the PDF at home, or take it to a print shop and ask for coil binding so the book lies flat on the counter. A4 and US Letter both work.