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Are you more likely to use a recipe if there's a pic of it?
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would you buy a cookbook with no pictures?
yes  
 40%  [ 50 ]
no  
 54%  [ 68 ]
other  
 4%  [ 6 ]
Total Votes : 124



graphixmom




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 05 2012, 10:21 pm
I totally read the poll wrong! I only buy cookbooks with pics. I clicked on yes thinking it was asking if you would buy a cookbook that has pictures. lol
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bigsis144




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 05 2012, 10:53 pm
I rarely buy cookbooks (I mostly look up recipes online or take cookbooks out of the public library), but a good photo (in a book or online) makes a big difference in convincing me to try something.

If I was at someone's house and actually tried something and got their recipe, I'm fine with just copying the recipe to an index card, though.
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zaq




 
 
    
 

Post Sun, Aug 05 2012, 11:40 pm
I'm more likely to look at the recipe, because a photo grabs the eye, but I'm not really more likely to try it. The recipe has to sound good, and if it doesn't, it doesn't matter how stunning the picture.

A cookbook is a tool, not an art form. I won't even consider a cookbook in which the photography takes up more space than the recipe. You know the ones I mean. They're fun to leaf through and drool over, but I can't take them seriously. A cookbook should not look as if it will run away screaming in horror if it gets splattered with beaten eggs or spattered with oil. You're paying for all that photography and food styling, you know. You get far more value for the money from a recipe-dense work like Joy of Cooking.

OTOH cookbooks with pictures showing step-by-step techniques DO have value.
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ChaniH




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2012, 12:20 am
my 2 fav cookbooks have no pictures ( spice and spirit, and second helpings)
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33055




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2012, 12:21 am
I usually know what I am trying to cook when I look for a recipe. My kids will look at cookbooks and find recipes they want me to make for them so the pictures help them.
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celestial




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2012, 1:49 am
I promise I'm not saying this just to be contrary, but I love cookbooks without pictures. I love reading through the recipe and trying to visualize how it will look without some highly stylized photo. It makes it less fun/challenging/creative for me when there's photos. Although, I do love food photography - just not in cookbooks!
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Happy18




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2012, 9:24 am
I'm guessing that many of the people on this thread are visual learners. I know I am, and that's why I prefer cookbooks with pictures.
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Merrymom




 
 
    
 

Post Mon, Aug 06 2012, 12:09 pm
It's kind of hard to visualize a recipe unless the photo is attached. Maybe if it came with a description like "This is my Bubby's recipe that everyone has been trying to duplicate for years, which she's only disclosed to me after 20 years of begging". Then I would have to try it but otherwise no. In fact I think even with a photo you need to have some kind of description about the recipe to make it more enticing.
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bamamama




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Aug 07 2012, 2:52 am
When I was a new cook, I definitely preferred cookbooks with photos. Now that I understand more how recipes and different ingredients work, I feel confident enough to tackle recipes on their own. The very best kind of cookbooks, however, are the kind where each recipe has a story.
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Health is a Virture




 
 
    
 

Post Tue, Aug 07 2012, 7:04 am
call me old fashioned, but the picture really doesn't mean much to me at all. I have the cookbooks that I grew up with and love and so when I got married I purchased those (food processor cookbook and spice and spirit). occasionally, I'll pick a reciipe from a magazine, but totally based on ingredients (if healthy and/or I like them), nothing to do with the picture. but I am also a more intellectual type of person then a person aroused by sights (like I won't even realize what people are wearing necessarily or that they repainted their house.)
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