Digitize handwritten recipe cards
That card in grandma's handwriting should not live in one drawer. Photograph it once and everyone in your kitchen can cook from it.
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How to turn a recipe card into a recipe
Lay the card flat in good light
Daylight near a window works well. Keep your shadow off the card and get the whole card in the frame. Both sides written on? You will photograph each side.
Open Add, then From a photo
In Snap and Simmer, tap Add, then From a photo, then Choose photo(s) to take the picture or pick one.
Add the back of the card
Tap Add another photo for the other side. A recipe that carries over is joined back into one.
Tap Read the recipes, then read it over
The card comes back typed: title, ingredients, steps and tags. Handwriting can be hard to read, so check it against the card once. You can edit any line, and add the story behind the recipe in its notes.
What we do with what the card leaves out
Old cards skip things: "bake until done", "butter the size of an egg". We write down what the card says and leave the rest for you. We do not fill in an oven temperature or an amount that was never written. If the card has no title, we give the recipe a plain descriptive one that you can rename.
After the cards are in
- Invite the family to your kitchen so everyone has the recipes.
- Tag them so they are easy to find: "Nana", "holidays", "family".
- Gather them into a cookbook and print it.
For the whole project, from shoebox to printed book, see how to preserve family recipes.
Questions
Can it really read cursive?
It reads most handwriting, including cursive. Faded or very cramped writing is harder, so read the result against the card once.
Is the original photo kept on the recipe?
The photo is used to read the card. If you want the card itself shown on the recipe, add it as the recipe's photo when you edit.
What about a card with two recipes on it?
Each recipe shown in full becomes its own recipe.
Can I do a whole box at once?
You can add up to six photos at a time, and each full recipe is saved separately. Then tap Photograph another page and keep going.
Keep going
Preserve family recipes
From a shoebox of cards to a recipe collection the whole family can open, and a printed book.
See how ›📸Turn a cookbook page into a recipe
Photograph the page. Every full recipe on it is saved.
See how ›📖Make a family cookbook
Chapters, a dedication, an introduction and a print-ready PDF.
See how ›Good food is better shared.
Start your kitchen, save your first recipe and invite the people you cook with.
Start your kitchen, freeFree while we are in beta. No credit card.