Cooking by Kindlelight

by Kitchen Maus on April 13, 2009

Working at Amazon.com has its perks. When the Kindle 2 came out recently, I had definite gadget lust. You know what I'm talking about. I really wanted a Kindle, but frankly, since I spend 100% of my time a) working, b) chasing after a toddler, c) cooking something for someone, and d) sleeping, there really is little room in my life for e) reading. In fact, there's approximately 45 minutes per week, broken up into 5-minute chunks as I drift off to sleep each night, equating to approximately 3-1/2 pages of magazine reading or 2 pages of book reading per day.

So, I decided I should check out the Kindle 2 before buying another gadget I would only feel guilty about not using after the first few weeks. That's when it really pays to work at Amazon, where I was able to borrow a Kindle for a few days. Now that I've given it back, I'm left wondering if maybe I really do "need" the reader. And, not because I've found more time for e) reading. But because it can support my vast amounts of time c) cooking something for someone (which is sometimes related to a) working).

One of the things that really caught my eye when the Kindle 2 first came out was the The Cook's Illustrated How-to-Cook Library, billed as the largest digital cookbook, which, by the way, is completely free right now (and only for a limited time, I understand). As a longtime fan of Cook's Illustrated, I already own many of their annual compendiums, plus the little multiyear index that helps you find what you need across all the annuals. I also own quite a few of their regular cookbooks, always a great resource for any cooking conundrum.

If you're a CI fan, you're already familiar with those cute little How-to books. Their small size makes them supremely collectible (you can never have just one...), and they come in flavors like Cookie Jar Favorites, Pasta Sauces, and Pot Pies and Casseroles. Well, the Kindle edition has 25 of these little guys--all available, all the time, anywhere you go with your Kindle. Browse 25 cookbooks while waiting at the bus stop. Find the perfect stirfry recipe as you also browse the produce specials at the grocery store. Its go-anywhere form makes it the ultimate reference--like carrying around a cooking encyclopedia wherever you go.

The Kindle version is also nicely navigable. You can click directly to individual guides and into recipes from the Table of Contents. You can also search the whole library using the Kindle search function. For instance, let's say you have some extra rhubarb on hand. Search the library and you'll instantly find 10 locations of the word "rhubarb." But, probably the thing I liked best of all was the Kindle's internal dictionary, where you can find out the meaning of any word you come across. I was looking at a clam recipe and had no idea what a quahog clam was. Luckily, Kindle knew the answer.

The biggest advantage for me on cooking with the Kindle wasn't having my own Cook's Illustrated digital library, of course. Or the fact that there are already more than 2,500 cookbooks available on the Kindle, at your fingertips at any given moment (you can even download a free chapter of any cookbook before deciding to buy it). What I loved was that it actually made my way of using cookbooks easier. I am a cookbook reader. I read cookbooks like other people read novels. I start at the beginning, and read every page. I also annotate my cookbooks in various ways so that the next time I pick a cookbook up, I can quickly flip to the recipes or technique chapters I'm most interested in. Seriously, I should buy stock in those Post-it flags. My cookbooks are a rainbow of them. With the Kindle, you can bookmark anything you want, no Post-it necessary. You can also annotate any passage you like. Say you make a recipe and decide it needs more salt--just annotate that section and next time you make the recipe, you'll have the note handy.

Another cool idea I discovered on the Kindle was using the annotate feature to make grocery lists on the fly. You can add little notes to yourself within the recipe, "Buy quahog clams," "Need more parsley." When you head to the grocery store, just take out your Kindle and you've got your list right there. Plus, you'll be able to see just how much you need of the ingredient. No more wondering, "Did the recipe say 1/2-cup of milk...or 1-1/2 cups...?" Also, you'll have instant fame and popularity as all the other shoppers gasp and say "Oh! Is that the Kindle?!" (I can vouch for this.)

Well, as you can see, I'm in love. I might just have to break down and treat myself to the Kindle 2 (pssst! my birthday's in June...). Not that the Kindle is the perfect cookbook-lover's library. For instance, the Text-to-Speech feature didn't live up to my hopes. It's really made to read running text aloud and doesn't have anything built in to deal with recipe formatting and paragraph breaks. Plus, it's unable to read fractions. So, you might find yourself putting 12 teaspoons of baking powder in that cake instead of 1/2 teaspoon. Oops.

Also, to my knowledge, there's no waterproof/splatterproof transparent sleeve for use in the kitchen. Luckily, I solved that problem easily (and cheaply), simply by putting my Kindle in a Ziploc bag while in the kitchen. Worked perfectly, though it didn't do much for Kindle's ego, especially next to my shiny KitchenAid mixer.

Have you tried the Kindle in your kitchen? Add a comment and let me know your thoughts--and especially your trademark tips on making the Kindle a culinary wonder.