Choosing cooking magazine recipes that suit your taste and lifestyles

Choosing cooking magazine recipes that suit your taste and lifestyles

If you enjoy cooking, cooking magazines can be a great temptation. It all looks so good and you never tire of reading about cooking techniques, new gadgets for the kitchen and trying out some new cooking magazine recipes. Even with the millions of recipes available online, there's just a certain pleasure to be had by curling up in a chair and turning the pages of a hard copy of a cooking magazine. However, I certainly had to curb my appetite for the cooking magazine recipes when the prices began to approximate that of a hard copy cook book! Nonetheless, I just am more discerning now and find a couple of must-haves, still sneaking into my grocery cart every now and then.

Here's what I discovered when the cooking magazine prices began to soar. I realized that although, at formerly reasonable prices, I bought a few each month. I'd read each one, cover to cover, and derived several hours of armchair cooking pleasure. However, when it came to actually cooking, there were only a couple of magazines that contained cooking magazine recipes which tempted me sufficiently to give them a try. My 'virtual' cooking experiences really weren't worth the expense.

Before you just grab a cooking magazine and put it in your cart because that artisan bread photo looks so good, check the table of contents. Also check the cooking magazine recipe index and see just how many recipes you're getting. Be aware that a recipe for southern-style corn muffins may be listed several times, under 'breads', 'sides', 'baking lessons' and 'snacks', making the number of recipes look far greater than is actually the case. Browse the feature stories that caught your attention. If you love to bake and there are several recipes you think you'll actually cook and serve, it's worth the price. On the other hand, if the artisan bread feature has a recipe that contains fifteen different flours and hours of coddling to produce, you might as well spend your money on a book! Some cooking magazines contain more ads than recipes.

By browsing the cooking magazine before you buy, you'll soon find that there are certain magazines that consistently contain recipes you cook and enjoy, adding to your repertoire of family favorites. Maybe you have dietary restrictions which make the low-fat or sugar free cooking magazines more attractive. You might enjoy making complicated, ethnic dishes to broaden your cooking horizons. Love all hot foods? There's a magazine dedicated to spicy foods. Are desserts your weakness? Chocolate? Italian? These focused magazines are bound to have cooking magazine recipes you'll make again and again.

Once you've found your niche, one or two cooking magazines that suit your palate and lifestyle, you'll want to consider a subscription. You'll save money on the cover price and be guaranteed some good reading material each month, as well as the pleasure of dining on these tasty dishes.