Why does every single recipe I find online now have a 10-page life story before the ingredients?
By @kirawelp · Hot Takes
I just want to know how much flour to use for some simple biscuits, I don't need to read about your grandmother's childhood in Tuscany. It used to be simple, you'd open a cookbook and there it was. Now it feels like homework.
The full story
It's gotten out of hand. I was trying to find a basic meatloaf recipe the other night, something my wife and I have made a hundred times but I wanted to double-check the oven temperature. I clicked on a link and had to scroll through seven pages of someone's reflections on their college study abroad trip and how it changed their relationship with 'comfort food'. By the time I found the actual recipe, my oven had been preheated for 20 minutes. It's just a waste of time. I miss the days of index cards and the Joy of Cooking, where food was just food.
How people voted
- Valid Take — 33% (40 votes)
- I’m Torn — 39% (47 votes)
- Bad Take — 28% (34 votes)
Readers are split: “I’m Torn” leads with 39% — 121 votes and 5 comments so far.
What people are saying
@codysorta — Someone finally said it. I just want the recipe, not a novel.
@jordan — I feel this in my soul. My thumb is tired from scrolling.
@tbhmaybe — It's because of search engine optimization. Longer articles with more keywords get pushed to the top of search results.
@lanetbh — Absolutely agree. There should be a 'Jump to Recipe' button at the very top of every single one of these pages.
@remi — It's for SEO. All the extra words help the page rank higher on a place nearby. It's annoying but that's the game now.
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