A few of my more well-loved cookbooks are suffering somewhat from minor spills, splashes, spillages and other kitchen accidents or general lack of care. It's a bad sign when the pages start sticking together due to some ill-defined mould-like substance between the pages. Anyway, there are various solutions already in place for this problem - e.g. combined cookbook holders/covers. These, however, are not a particularly elegant solution, as they require pre-planning on behalf of the user.

I propose that cookbooks come with the individual pages pre-laminated with a water/stain proof covering, so accidents can simply be cleaned off with a wet cloth. Alternatively, the pages themselves could be made from plastic for easy cleaning (I think I've seen childrens' books like this). A (hopefully small) extra overhead on the price, sure - but worth it for the significantly extended lifespan.
-- Achenar, Jun 14 2005

olefin http://www.fabrics.net/amyolefin.asp
[dentworth, Jun 14 2005]

Google hits for *waterproof paper* http://www.google.c...erproof+paper&meta=
[2 fries shy of a happy meal, Jun 14 2005]

Recipes for the Drunk Recipes for the Drunk
My idea for foolproof cookbooks [Detly, Jun 16 2005]

Recipe books with plastic-coated pages have been around for quite a while.
-- angel, Jun 14 2005


Never saw them, [Achenar] means more than a glossy cookbook. +
-- zeno, Jun 14 2005


//Never saw them//
Doesn't mean they haven't been around for quite a while.
//[Achenar] means more than a glossy cookbook.//
Yes, I can read, thanks. I also mean more than a glossy cookbook.
-- angel, Jun 14 2005


I googled and there don't seem to be many cookbooks w/pages that are waterproof. I imagine it would be rather expensive to laminate pages; and the laminate adds bulk. But I slip my recipes into plastic sleeves to address the problems mentioned.

how about olefin pages, the non tear stuff of which your laundry labels are made?
-- dentworth, Jun 14 2005


dent's right. Just use plastic sheet covers. About 2 bucks for about 200 count, at any Walmart, or Staples.
-- blissmiss, Jun 14 2005


I agree with angel, but perhaps a cheaper option would be to have the print stamped into thick foil.
-- po, Jun 14 2005


I thought this would be an idea for not having a surprise at the end of recipies. I lately found the phrase "boil wild rice for 35 minutes and serve" at the end of a recipe. If I'd been thinking, I would have realized this dish was served over rice and I should do something about that early on. Coming upon it after the rest of the meal was ready was less than ideal.
-- Worldgineer, Jun 14 2005


Using a cookbook stand is also useful for keeping your prize Le Guide Culinaire up out of the muck.
-- bristolz, Jun 14 2005


Y'know [World], standard practise in cooking is to read the recipie once or twice BEFORE cooking.

Hang on, aren't you an engineer...?
-- Detly, Jun 15 2005


I thought this was going to be a sort of "alternate ending" recipe book, where, say a collapsed soufflé could be rapidly converted into the filling for a vol au vent. Or dog food.
-- coprocephalous, Jun 15 2005


[Det] My hope was that this idea would remove the need for such a silly "standard practice". Yes, I am an engineer. Hence the difficulty.
-- Worldgineer, Jun 15 2005


It's not quite the same thing, but I quite like the various oily patches and finger smudges that have accumulated on my car's various manuals. They're a bit like scars, tattoos or souvenir T-shirts.
-- DocBrown, Jun 15 2005


//various oily patches and finger smudges//
My Triumph 2000 manual has those on the 'clutch' pages; my Rover 2600 manual has them on the 'front suspension' pages.
-- angel, Jun 15 2005


From the title, I thought this would have recipes that couldn’t be ruined by even the most incompetent cook. Recipes so bad that any mistake would actually IMPROVE the final result.
-- ldischler, Jun 15 2005


She did, and Betty Crocker laminated the category pages, unless you got the index card version, which were all laminated.
-- Shz, Jun 15 2005


“Julia’s Menus for Special Occasions”.
-- Shz, Jun 16 2005


[World], I think you got something there. A cookbook that's written in the style of one of these furniture or grill assembly manuals. I can see it now:

Take 2 eggs (A) and break them on edge of bowl (B)...

It'll get published, plus it may make it easier for robot cooks.
-- theircompetitor, Jun 16 2005


//significantly extended lifespan// this is the problem . it wouldent make sense for a company to make these. for the same reason no one is trying to make dvds indestructable if you have to buy new ones all the time its more money for the companys that sell them.
-- ferox, Jun 16 2005


[tc] Even better: CookML. Precise cooking modeling language that's both computer and human readable.

<mix timeMinutes="2" utensil="wood spoon">
<ingredient name="flour" type="unbleached" quantityCups="2"/>
<ingredient name="eggs" size="medium" quantityNumber="2"/>
</mix>
-- Worldgineer, Jun 16 2005


Submit it to the W3C -- I'll see if we can get Emeril and Wolfgang behind it :)
-- theircompetitor, Jun 16 2005


Nice one [Worldgineer].

Maybe not make them out of plastic ... but certainly, more durable cookbook pages would be good to accomdate for those everyday accidents.
-- Mrlemonjelly, Nov 27 2005


I like coprocephalous's idea. Break two eggs into bowl. If you avoid getting eggshell in the bowl, proceed to step two. Otherwise, proceed to page 23 for a "crunchy cookie" recipee.
-- supercat, Nov 28 2005



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