Let’s face it, being able to get information online has certainly made our life so much easier.

The fact that you can go online and turn a collection of recipes into a beautifully designed printed cookbook at FamilyCookbookProject.com shows you the power of the Internet.

Finding recipes online is also extremely easy. Rather than only having one or two cookbooks to look through as in the past, now you can type in the name of the recipe you want and get hundreds of variations for you to consider.

Although a common question we get is, can we use recipes found online in our family cookbook?

The answer is yes, you can use the recipes you found online in your family cookbook. However, there are some caveats.

I know whenever I find a recipe online and I’m making it for the first time, I usually don’t necessarily follow the recipe, exactly. Rather I personalize it for mine, and my family tastes. We like things, a little spicier, so often I will increase amounts of spicy ingredients and cut back on some of the sweeter ingredients, making the recipe my own.

Whenever you create a new recipe based on someone’s existing recipe, you should always give them attribution. That means in your personal notes you should include the original source that you work from.

However, it is never appropriate to download a photo that comes with the recipe and include it in your online cookbook. While it is generally accepted, that recipes cannot be copyrighted, photos certainly are copyrighted. Unless you have the permission of the copyright owner, it is against Family Cookbook Project’s terms of service to include that photo in your cookbook. If you or family member took the photo, You are all set

So next time you were looking for a new recipe, that is not yet in your family cookbook, find it online and make it your own.

 

Bill Rice is Founder and Co-Publisher of the Family Cookbook Project, the leading online cookbook publisher with a website that helps families and individuals collect, preserve and share food memories by creating their own printed custom cookbooks. He is the author of The Wellfleet Oyster Cookbook and the Cape Cod Cocktail Cookbook (Available on Amazon), both created using FamilyCookbookProject.com. He is also editor of the Donovan Family Cookbook, now it’s third printing and is an avid genealogist tracing his family back to the 1600’s.

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