Back in the olden days of the internet, in the late 90's, before hosted blogging tools like Blogger, Typepad and Livejournal, it was relatively difficult to post your thoughts and photos online, have people comment about them, deliver almost real-time notifications of updates and get real-time stats on who's been visiting. The challenge then was how to get content online. The challenge now is that it has become so easy, fast and in many cases free to post content online, that the number of blogs and content on niche subjects is overwhelming. Technorati has some interesting statistics on "the state of the blogosphere". Since I started this blog and joined the fray, I've realized that food bloggers are a huge group (271 people have tagged themselves on Twitter as being "foodbloggers" and I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg). The issue for me has been figuring out which blogs I want to read on a regular basis.
There are several things I've come to realize about my use of food blogs in compiling this list. First, I've relied on Twitter way more than Google for referrals and links to new blogs that I wasn't previously familiar with. Second, I definitely have noticed a 'birds of a feather' syndrome - both on blogs and on Twitter. People link to to similar blogs on blogrolls and follow similar 'Tweeps' on Twitter. I started following a locavore food blogger and subsequently was following and was followed by lots of other locavore food bloggers. When I tweeted something about a diet I was on, I got several followers who wrote blogs about diets and nutrition. Third I really don't like using RSS - or I haven't found the right RSS reader. I'd much rather go directly to each blog and read posts in context. I think this method works well for blogs that are updated at most once a day - the general publication scheudle of most food blogs that I read.
Despite all of the blog content I consume on a daily basis, and the fact that I've started my own food blog, I really don't think that blogs are the best medium for recipes. Two things that I want to do with a recipe when I find one are to 'save' it for future reference (a digital version of clipping it from the newspaper and sticking it in a binder or folder somewhere) and/or to print it so I can either make it right away or save it for future use. Neither of these things are easily possible with most blogs in the way they are formatted. You have to use a 3rd party for saving (del.icio.us or other bookmarking tool) and either print a whole long post or cut and paste to print. Most of the online recipe sites have added this sort of functionality, but most blogs don't have it. Lastly, in general Google does a lousy job of finding recipes on food blogs. Unless you know the specific title of the post, or unless is particularly popular, rarely do you get results for blog posts in a Google search. I haven't found a good search tool for finding recipes posted on blogs.
So here's my list of blogs that I've been reading and using in the past few months. It doesn't include blogs that are only about restaurants or the restaurant scene (like Grub Street which I read occasionally). I'll probably add to and remove items from this list in the future.
Blogs by Personalities/Cookbook Authors
In general, these blogs feature mainly recipes - either re-workings of recipes in their books, or what I assume are recipes that they are developing for their next book.
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/ - What a sweet life Mr. Lebovitz has. He writes dessert cookbooks like "Room For Dessert," "The Perfect Scoop," and "The Sweet Life in Paris," and now actually lives in Paris. He blogs recipes and various thoughts on his life in Paris. I like this blog because he posts good recipes, takes nice photos and the writing is funny and inspiring. I don't have any of his cookbooks, but reading his blog makes me want to get his most recent one. He's also a great example of a good 'Tweeter' with funny and interesting Tweets and links to interesting content. Maybe it's just because he actually has an interesting life.
http://www.doriegreenspan.com - I have Ms. Greenspan's Baking Book, and I've had some successes and some failures with it, but I really like her blog. She posts great recipes and always seems to be busy doing something new and interesting which makes the life of a cookbook author seem to be very fun and romantic. Also, because she has a lot of readers, there are usually a lot of comments on her posts. I always find user comments to be generally enlightening when recipes are involved. So many conversations, suggestions, ideas and results are often shared in blog recipe comments.
http://chocolateandzucchini.com/ - This one kind of straddles the line between a cookbook author and personal blog category. Started in 2003 as a personal blog by Frenchwoman Clotilde Dusoulier, she became popular enough to get a cookbook deal and quit her day job - quite possibly the dream of every food blogger. I haven't read either of her books (Clotilde's Edible Adventures in Paris - a foodies travel guide to Paris or Chocolate and Zucchini: Daily Adventures in a Parisian Kitchen - both of which get overall good reviews), but her site has very active forums and she writes a lot about the science of cooking, French food culture.
http://www.101cookbooks.com/ - A great blog by Heidi Swanson a cookbook author and photographer in San Francisco. I haven't read or seen her book "Super Natural Cooking" (sounds a little spooky...) but given the recipes she posts on her blog, I think I need to check it out. Her focus is on natural, vegetarian cooking with some sweets thrown in. There is a fairly usable recipe index with all past recipes listed by date or by various categories (by meal type, dietary restriction or events).
Personal Blogs - Primarily recipes with digressions
http://www.beyondramen.net/
- I really love this blog - the recipes look great with beautiful
photos and good instructions. I haven't made any thing from this blog
yet, but I'm planning on making Lemon Posset -
something I've never heard of before, but it looks simple and amazing.
The only thing I don't like about this blog is that I have absolutely
NO idea who writes it since there isn't any information (that I can
find) about who the author is. In general, even on the web, not
knowing something about the author can be a credibility problem. But
for me, I find knowing a little bit about the author, and their
approach to food and cooking is part of what a cooking blog is all
about.
http://muchdependsondinner.blogspot.com/ - This seems to be a blog written by 3 different bloggers, mainly posting various recipes with nice photos and descriptions of meals, travels and personal stories surrounding the recipes listed. Same as with beyondramen.net, there isn't any "About Me" (or "Us") page that explains who these people are and why I should invest my time reading their blog. The recipes look good, but can I really trust them? I need a little bit of context and explanation before I really know whether or not I want to read this blog on a regular basis, or try some of their recipes. If they have a specific reason to remain anonymous, they should mention it.
http://www.lottieanddoof.com/ - Another personal cooking blog with nice photos and fairly simple recipes. Updated on a fairly regular basis, I don't read this blog regularly and I haven't made anything from it, but I think the personal writing style and thoughts on cooking and food are interesting and funny. I do think that one of the reasons I don't read it regularly though is because they aren't on Twitter.
http://www.thewednesdaychef.com/ - This blog isn't that much different than the other ones listed above - well written, good photos, inspiring recipes. Another blog that I would probably read regularly if there were Twitter updates.
http://www.putsup.com/ - A blog all about canning written by Nina Corbett. This site has some great recipes (Rhubarb Vodka) but I HATE the design. The use of different colors for the text is the worst. If you are a visual designer, or if you care what websites look like, don't go to this blog. It's unfortunate. Nina, if you're reading this, please change the text of your blog to be all the same color and NOT bold. Your readers will thank you. Really the reason I'm including this blog here is because it's an example of what NOT to do.
Media Companies or Publications
I
read some of these blogs on a regular basis - Serious Eats and Bitten
more frequently because I have either signed up for email alerts or
follow them on Twitter. Several of these blogs are just off-shoots of
print publications or bigger more functional food sites.
http://www.seriouseats.com/ - Verging on not being a blog anymore because of the amount of other website functionality here including user profiles and user forums, I've included it here because I read it regularly and I think they have quality content.
http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/ - Mark Bittman, a journalist and cookbook author (including "How to Cook Everything" and most recently "Food Matters") he has several regular columns for the New York Times including The Minimalist (which often has video content as well). His bitten blog features recipes and commentary by him as well as other writers.
http://www.thekitchn.com/ - What apartment therapy did for home decoration and improvement, is now being done with food and cooking. The overall tone, quality and feeling of Apartment Therapy is replicated here. There's a genuine sense of community and a range of content that goes beyond recipes and includes product reviews, 'open threads' and in cooperation with Apartment Therapy, kitchen tours.
http://www.yummly.com/blog/ - Yummly is a new site, what kind of site, I'm not exactly sure. They are promising to "fundamentally change how people discover food" but for now they just have a blog with recipes and other food stuff.
http://www.bonappetit.com/blogsandforums/blogs/consciouscook - One of the blogs for Bon Appetit (a Conde Nast publication) that focuses on healthy and eco-conscious recipes and food ideas.
http://www.epicurious.com/articlesguides/blogs/editor - The blog for Conde Nast's food site Epicurious (which includes content from both Bon Appetit and Gourmet). I find this blog easier to read and navigate than I do the overall Epicurious site, but Epicurious remains a great source for searchable and savable recipes. Obviously, Conde Nast hasn't focused enough on their URL strategy to get URLs for both of these blogs. They really should.
Food Politics
I
feel like I've pretty much always been aware to some extent of how
politics and food mix. My first job was working in a health food
store, both sides of my family were farmers, I was a Brooklyn Food
Co-Op member when I lived in Park Slope and I joined the CSA in my
neighborhood the first year it was available. But in the past five
years or so, awareness of food issues like organics, sustainability and
eating local has really taken off. Part of it comes from books
(Omnivore's Dilemma, and Animal, Vegetable, Miracle)
and movies (30 Days, Food Inc). But I also think the power of blogging
and the internet have helped spread the word, and the locavore
lifestyle that goes with it. In general, I have a hard time keeping up
with these types of blogs for two reasons: First, a lot of them are
about gardening, and I don't have a garden right now (sadly). Second,
many of them kind of say the same thing: eat organic, local, big
agribusiness is bad and you should grow your own food. I try, I really do.
In general, with the exception of the last blog listed, these blogs don't feature recipes.
http://civileats.com/ - One of the more popular food issues blogs, Civil Eats "promotes critical thought about sustainable agriculture and food systems as part of building economically and socially just communities." Includes content about urban sustainable food issues like roof gardens, CSAs and overall environmental issues and how they affect food issues. They have an impressive editorial board and contributors with members from Huffington Post, Dwell magazine, Slow Food USA and Chez Panisse in Berkeley.
http://www.ethicurean.com/ - To sum up, "Being an Ethicurean means simply trying to 'chew the right thing.'” Food policy, food news, food science, gardening but no recipes comprise the content of this blog. I think that they have one of the best "About" pages out there though.
http://www.lavidalocavore.org/ - This blog by Jill Richardson, recent author of the forthcoming "Recipe for America: Why Our Food System is Broken and What We Can Do to Fix It" http://www.amazon.com/Recipe-America-Food-System-Broken/dp/0981504035/ref=sr_1_1 features great content about food safety, gardening, politics and general food issues. I find this blog a little hard to read (very small font) the design is a bit dated, and I've never been able to figure out how to leave comments. Lots of interesting food history and links to other food sources.
http://everytable.wordpress.com/ -
A super active Twitterer, Rob Smart the Author of Every Kitchen Table
has coined the term "Pro Food." Pro Food is primarily focused on
driving entrepreneurial interest in solving the complex food system
challenges we face." His blog features content about this growing
movement that seeks to create a sustainable food economy.
http://kitchengardens.net/ - With the tag line "Where food, cooking and politics meet." A lot of content about raising your own meat, gardening and farming.
http://blog.eatwellguide.org/
- The Green Fork is the blog about food issues put out by the Eat Well
Guide http://www.eatwellguide.org/ - a searchable directory of local
and sustainable food around the country. I haven't used the guide yet,
but I plan on checking it out the next time I go out of town and want
to find places to eat.
http://ozarkhomesteader.wordpress.com/ - Ozark Homesteader is one of the few blogs about sustainable agriculture that features a lot of recipes. Also features content about tools, gardening and the ancient economic form - bartering. The photos aren't as 'pretty' as on some of the blogs listed below, but this blog is the real McCoy when it comes to living off what you grow yourself.
There's a more complete list of sustainable food blogs here: http://www.rocfund.org/panels/panels/sustainable-food-blogs
General Food - Hard to Categorize but worth a read
http://internetfoodassociation.com/
- Funny, non-professional contributors. Has some content about
restaurants and links to other food blogs, food issues and food news.
A good overall well-written food blog with a sense of humor.
http://www.fancyfastfood.com - How to take fast food and make it fancy. Recipes include Spicy Chicken Sushi (Fancy Popeyes Chicken) and Tacobellini (Fancy Burrito Supreme) (torellinis made from the burrito wrapper) Very creative and funny - though I don't think I would ever make anything from this site. Blogs like this make me wonder where people get time to do stuff like this.
For a list of popular blogs (some included here) check out 50 world's best food blogs
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