Every foodie has their favorite recipes. There are many ways of organizing recipes, from storing them on Google Drive to pinning them on Pinterest. While these methods are great (trust me, I’m a Pinterest addict), nothing beats a good, old-fashioned, handwritten notebook of your go-to recipes.
Here are seven reasons to take a break from homework, buy a journal, and start writing down your favorite recipes right now.
1. The nostalgia factor is intense
Photo by Wade Penix
My mom always talks about her favorite things she ate growing up that my grandma would prepare for family dinners, like stuffed green peppers. Stumbling on the recipe my grandmother used and made changes to in her cookbooks is pretty cool, but it also allows the recipe to be prepared exactly as it was when my mom was my age.
Years down the line, you’ll get to pass your favorite recipes down to your kids, and they’ll think of you every time they see your handwriting.
2. Handwritten recipes are more heartfelt than keeping a recipe typed on a computer
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Sure, keeping your recipes typed on your computer is great and all, but it’s just not the same as investing the time to write them down. When you hand down your recipe journal to your children a few decades from now, they’ll truly appreciate having the recipes they grew up eating written down in your writing.
3. Paper works without electricity
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Electricity is great — until it goes out (or your laptop battery dies in the middle of preparing your fancy dinner party meal). Avoid that “oh no” moment by writing your recipes down in a special notebook.
4. Journals will last longer than a computer
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In addition to not requiring electricity, recipe notebooks can last for decades as long as they’re well taken care of (the constitution’s parchment has lasted 234 years — take that, computers). And, you won’t forget to click “save” and lose all the effort you put into recording the recipe.
5. It’s more convenient than a cookbook
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Cookbooks are great, but if you keep your favorite go-to recipes in a notebook, you won’t have to pull out a 1,153 page behemoth and lug it through the house every time you want that blondie recipe. Your new recipe journal will take up less space in your cramped dorm room or apartment than your copy of The Joy of Cooking.
6. The stains and wear add character and a rustic look to your recipe collection
Photo by Wade Penix
As an added bonus, if you spill coffee on your notebook, it won’t completely ruin it the way it would ruin your laptop.
7. Time travel, duh
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Yes, time travel. Your favorite family recipes are likely to have been written way before you were born. When you dig up that recipe for Mississippi mud cake, you’re going back in time to all the birthdays that your family ate that cake at.
Odds are, 100 years from now you’ll be at your great-great-great grandchild’s birthday party while they’re enjoying a slice of Mississippi mud cake just like you used to make. That’s some serious #SpoonTravel if you ask me.
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#SpoonTip: If you’re looking for an easy, affordable, meaningful gift for your BFF, write down a few of your beloved recipes in a nice journal so you can give them a place to keep their recipes along side yours.