Survey highlights changes in recipe usage

Since 2012, Internet recipe site Allrecipes.com has been surveying its users to determine trends in how people use digital resources to plan, shop for, prepare, and share meals. The site recently shared highlights of its survey to the public.

The trends reported probably won’t surprise EYB Members. Allrecipes found that online resources outpace other forms of recipe inspiration, with nearly 80% of respondents saying they used websites to get ideas for meals (an obvious answer Despite this high percentage, almost 70% of those surveyed said they also look in cookbooks for inspiration. (EYB Members get the best of both worlds being able to search online and get results from their cookbooks at the same time.)

What are people most frequently looking for when they go to a website? According to the survey, “chicken” is the number one search term worldwide. A large percentage of home cooks “are using recipe sites to influence their immediate purchase behavior; 48% say they shop within 48 hours of viewing a recipe.” Most food shopping is done at supermarkets, but the number of people who said they shop for food online is growing, according to the report. About 18% of people said they had tried online food shopping last year, up slightly from the previous year.

Another interesting finding is that tablets are quickly become a cook’s best friend. Tablet usage increased by 31% over the previous year, with nearly 40% of survey respondents saying they used a tablet to search for and view recipes in the kitchen. Cooks in the UK “are the most avid tablet users; 51% say they use tablets when viewing online recipes in the kitchen, compared with 43% who prefer printing recipes.”

It wasn’t a shock to see that people who looked for recipes online also vastly prefer home cooking to eating out. The survey found that overall, 84% of people prefer preparing meals at home. Cooks in New Zealand, Australia, Italy, and Quebec were the most passionate about home cooking.

Photo of Herb-roasted chicken and vegetables from MarthaStewart.com by Everyday Food Magazine