do you need the visual appeal of a photo in order to cook a recipe?

[Olive]

i cant cook a recipe if there isnt a photo of the end product so please make me feel normal by saying you feel the same!!

[Rouge]

Yes and no. I do love imagery. But I do have cookbooks like Julia Child's cookbook that has zero pics. But I do LOVE blogs with step by step photography.

[Honeybee]

Oh yeah, definitely. I'm the same too.

[Olive]

cai i can bearly even look at those sort of cookbooks i flick and close!! i like step by step too! infact and photo will do

[allycat06]

I think I'm more inspired to try something new if there is a nice photo to look at and am more inclined to buy cookbooks with lots of photos like Donna Hay, Jamie Oliver etc
But like Rouge said I also have those big fat ones with no pics because they are household staples.

[Phteven]

I don't need a photo - sometimes the photo just depresses me because my yummy meal doesn't have the same visual appeal as something that has been styled (when the hell did food get stylists anyway?).

[~Kim~]

I wouldn't say I can't cook without it, but picture definitely influence the cookbooks i buy and the blogs i follow.

[ss_storm]

I can/will cook a recipe without a photo, but I do prefer to have one. At least then I have an idea of what it's supposed to look like at the end! I probably wouldn't buy a cookbook that didn't have photos in it, after all what else are they good for except flicking through and looking at all the lovely pics Lol

[boomba]

Yes and no...I love flicking through to have something catch my eye...but like Onyx i dont like it wheh my meal doesnt lok the same so som,etimes having no pic is good too!

[Fleur]

If it doesn't have a picture, I dont usually bother reading the recipe

- I did say usually

[april86]

im exactly the same.
If the recipe dosen't have a picture then I'm not interested at all in cooking it !

[Daydream Believer]

If it doesn't have a picture, I dont usually bother reading the recipe

- I did say usually

ditto, generally the exception is if I ask for a recipe off someone or someone has told me its a really good recipe

[Just Me]

It depends ... if I am looking for a recipe and I know what I want to make then no I don't need a visual picture but if I am looking for inspiration or new ideas for cooking then I tend to look at the picture before I even read what it is. I grew up learning to cook from my Mum's Day to Day Cookery book and there are no pictures in that. I don't use it much anymore, but I think it taught me to cook without a picture of the end product.

Having said all that, I do far prefer recipes with pictures even when I am looking for something particular because recipes can vary so much for the same food so I like to check that the colour and texture of the end product is the same as what is in my head. I can do it a bit by checking the ingredients and method list but it still sometimes turns out different to what I expect if I don't have a picture of what it is to start with.

[Asparagus and Lemons]

It does help.. but if the recipe sounds nice enough then I will make it when it has no picture. BUT I prefer a picture for sure!

[Jennifer13]

Nope. Stephanie Alexander is my favourite and there's no recipe photos in her books. I prefer decent indexing - by ingredients please! - and nice clear sections.

I used to work at a food manufacturer and you wouldn't believe what food stylists do to food for it to be photographed. And none of it is edible! So that puts me off the fancy photos anyway. I know varnish and hair spray are definitely used. And unless they put those ingredients in the list I can't see how my food is going to look the same.

Kinda like what they do to real life models as well. I rest my case.

[Astrid]

Depends. I don't need a photo for soup, but I like one for a biscuit or cake, especially when I am trying to work out sizing or how much to flatten a biscuit.

[Just Me]

Nope. Stephanie Alexander is my favourite and there's no recipe photos in her books. I prefer decent indexing - by ingredients please! - and nice clear sections.

I used to work at a food manufacturer and you wouldn't believe what food stylists do to food for it to be photographed. And none of it is edible! So that puts me off the fancy photos anyway. I know varnish and hair spray are definitely used. And unless they put those ingredients in the list I can't see how my food is going to look the same.

Kinda like what they do to real life models as well. I rest my case.

I watched a documentary on food styling and they used the process of a fast food restaurant commercial for their subject. It was very interesting and I have never ever looked at fast food on ads the same again. Not appetising at all - lots of hairspray, varnish and glue. Gross

I have never thought a lot about it looking at a recipe book though. Maybe that's a good thing ... I might find it all very unappetising

[Rouge]

Jen! Thanks for the reminder.

I guess I have to say no too, I use Stephanie Alexander all the time I have a lot of reference books I use actually including the Larousse Gastronomique!