Recipe database software?

I have all my mom's recipes and cherish them.

To save you from a lot of typing and errors I suggest scan and store them on a flash drive as jpeg images. Create different folders for dish types and subfolders for main ingredient. Meaning you can have a soup folder, a chicken folder in that, and then chicken noodle soup and chicken tortilla soup recipes in that.

Feel free to send me a copy once you get it all scanned and organized :W

2112 wrote:


To save you from a lot of typing and errors I suggest scan and store them on a flash drive as jpeg images. Different folders for dish types and subfolders for main ingredient. Meaning you can have a soup folder, a chicken folder in that, and then chicken noodle soup and chicken tortilla soup recipes in that.

Double ditto. Scanning them into a jpeg will also preserve her handwriting which makes it more personal and a tribute to her memory than simply typing them.

Thanks for the suggestion.
I thought about scanning, but there are many that are printed small and taped to a page of binder paper, 6 or so to a page. Could use a camera and crop them I guess.
Many are 60 - 70 years old and badly faded and yellowed too.

DW uses MasterCook. I Googled free ones and there was a review of 10.

Scan them with a higher resolution scanner which might be better than a camera. Then:
1. Save for a historical copy as a picture. You could also copy to Word, add title, picture file name, page number and TOC.
2. Crop to an individual receipe, magnify and save as Word, narrow margins might help. You could then add title, TOC, page numbers, etc. Then save that as a pdf if desied.
3. Wondering if there might be a program or service that would convert them to text. There certainly are for an image of typed text.

FYI Some scanners can adjust the scan parameters which might yield a clearer picture.

magnusfide wrote:

2112 wrote:


To save you from a lot of typing and errors I suggest scan and store them on a flash drive as jpeg images. Different folders for dish types and subfolders for main ingredient. Meaning you can have a soup folder, a chicken folder in that, and then chicken noodle soup and chicken tortilla soup recipes in that.

Double ditto. Scanning them into a jpeg will also preserve her handwriting which makes it more personal and a tribute to her memory than simply typing them.

Good ideas. Word with different title levels could also be used.

Another option (which will lose the handwriting) is to make an actual recipe book. Add old family photos in between the recipes.

Lulu.com is great. You can print one or a thousand copies.

CA Traveler wrote:
FYI Some scanners can adjust the scan parameters which might yield a clearer picture.

Yep. The handwriting can be made darker digitally using features from the scanner or even photo mill.

What I would do: Scan them with a high resolution scanner and save the picture. If desired create a Word and PDF document of the pics. Cut out any recipe on a page that you want, zoom out and include it and any text translation into another document. These docs could evolve over time.

Scanning output to BMP format if possible or conversion to BMP might help preserve the original digital digital image. BMP format is lossless unlike other formats like JPG. But the files are VERY large. A good camera setup is an alternative with better resolution.

I would maintain two or three files for each image:

TIF - this would be your master file as saved from the scan. It will retain all the data for the image. This is optional. As standard quality, format, etc changes occur, this file will retain all data from the original scan to make new working copies.

High-res large JPG (working copy) - this will be print quality and a large image (at least 8x10 print size at 360 or greater resolution). If you choose to print the recipe, this is the file you would use.

Screen-res smaller jpg (working copy) - make a copy (save as) of the high-res jpg file, then reduce the image size and resolution to fit the average computer screen (around 1920×1080 at 96dpi). This will result in a smaller file size for emailing, yet provide a decent resolution for viewing on a computer/tablet screen. It is the file you will open to follow the recipe.

Whatever format you use, the main thing is to never resave or save over the file. Always use the "save as" and create a new file. That will ensure you don't lose any data with a jpg.