Here’s an interesting aspect to the growing debate about traditional books vs. e-books. Will the growing trend in digital literature extend to cookbooks? I can see it now: a happy homemaker preparing dinner from a new recipe plastered atop the stove – via magnets affixed to the back of a Kindle. Hey, it could happen! Purists may never relinquish the love of touching paper (I count myself in this group), but even I know nothing can stop some technological advances. The traditional book vs. e-books argument reminds me of snail mail vs. email; thirty years back, no one would have thought we could send birthday greeting cards in a matter of seconds. And, just a decade ago not many people imagined reading a book on a mini-TV screen. But, cookbooks? For some reason, they seem to be the last bastion of the digital divide; the final holdout. Yet, in 2011, Jamie Oliver’s recipe apps were among the top downloads – both free and paid versions. Even the Culinary Institute of America (CIA) has created a digital edition of its bible: The Professional Chef. Since e-books are still a new phenomenon, it’ll be fascinating to see if the printed cookbook will suffer the same fate as the electric typewriter. You’ll just have to wipe grease stains off the Kindle before storing it next to the old fashioned nutmeg!
Chief Writing Wolf 