Forum

I understand that EYB is a recipe index and didn't expect to find the recipes themselves here.  However as an "index" of what is in various books I did expect the page number to be listed for a specific recipe in a book.

Is there a reason this can't be included?

If I have to look in the index of a book to find a page number for a recipe, then I might as well go straight to the books and skip spending time looking things up on the computer.

I can see where you are coming from; however, I still feel very strongly that this is a worthwhile service.  Sure you can look up a recipe based on one ingredient (say, zucchini) and find all the recipes in one cookbook that use zucchini.  But that is about as detailed as you can get with a traditional index.  You can't look up recipes calling for the zucchini, red onion, and feta cheese you want to use up before they go bad.  Only on occasion, if the title of the recipe includes all the ingredients you want to use, will you luck out by searching for a multi-ingredient recipe in a traditional index.  With EYB you have at your fingertips a list of ALL the recipes in ALL your books (well, the indexed ones anyway) that use those particular ingredients as opposed to searching through them one by one.  Not to mention all the different ways you can narrow down your search to zero in on exactly the type of recipe you are looking for (say a side dish or a main course using said zucchini, red onion, and feta cheese).  If you can count the number of cookbooks you own on one (or two) hands, I could see why you might not want to bother, but the more cookbooks you own, the more helpful this site truly is.  

We are thinking about having page numbers as wiki.  We will have to work out how we can have each edition with separate numbering, even though the recipes data is shared between the books (i.e. just one edition is indexed).  We are planning on grouping books so all the member data - Bookshelves, ratings, notes, reviews - can be shared.  So I think we would add the page numbers feature then.

Whenever I bookmark a recipe and write a note, I've been added the page number for my information.  I can then find my favorite recipes quickly.  If others have the same edition, then they can use the page # - if not, they can look it up.  (Although I haven't written many notes or reviews, I'm trying hard to start including one of these whenever I try a new recipe.  I hope to get better at this!)

Mari

eyepaint - the information is not stored on your computer but is on our server.  A large database like EYBs plus the memory required for the search engine would be a huge drain on your computer's resources.  So whenever you access EYB you are doing it on the web.

You can add the page numbers of recipes to your personal notes - make a Note and tick the box for keeping it personal.

Using EYB helps you make a much narrower range of choices than you had before all the recipes were indexed.  As Cati pointed it this is a huge timesaver in terms of the number of options you now look in, particularly if you own a lot of cookbooks.

Whenever I bookmark a recipe I put the page number in the "notes" field -- works like a charm.

If you have the book, you can find the page that the recipe is on.

But if you don't know that you want to use that recipe, or if you don't even know you HAVE that recipe ... well, that's where EYB comes in. EYB is a brilliant tool that allows you to look into your recipe collection (all the books, personal recipes, and online items) quickly, easily and accurately, even if you've got thousands of recipes in your collection.

It is incredibly useful at these kinds of times:

- when you have some miscellanous ingredients in your fridge that you want to use

- when your CSA box was overflowing with a particular ingredient and you're looking for a new twist on that

- when you'd like to try an ingredient that you've never used before

- when you have a taste for something but don't already have a go-to recipe

- when you've had something at a restaurant and want to make something like it

- when you are trying to put together a party

- to keep track of recipes that you've made and REALLY liked

And probably a zillion other scenarios. Jane, you should start a contest about "what's your favorite reason to use EYB"!

Although I understand the general reluctance to include page numbers because of inconsistent editions, eventually I would like to index some older and/or foreign cookbooks that have poor indexes or none at all!  Being able to include page numbers would make those books much more usable!