Member Notes can save the day

April 25, 2023 by
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Trying new recipes is one of my favorite pastimes, although there is a drawback to constantly making dishes new to you in that things don’t always go to plan. That is why I (along with many of our Members, I’m sure) appreciate the Notes feature in the EYB Library. Going to the listing of notes you can see how popular this feature has become: there are over 5,400 pages of recipe Notes, which means more than 136,000 Notes!

Before I make a dish I always check to see if anyone has posted a Note about it. I can’t begin to count how many times reading a recipe Note has saved me from disappointment. Members point out inaccuracies or inconsistencies in the amounts and timing, suggest tweaks to improve the dish, or warn of pitfalls that I wouldn’t necessarily anticipate. Sometimes I just skim recent Notes looking for inspiration from a dish another Member has raved about.

When I am searching for something to make for dinner I will immediately gravitate to results that have several Notes because there’s a good chance I will be striking gold with that recipe. I especially appreciate it when someone mentions a substitution that I might have contemplated because as we all know, those can be hit or miss. Notes about yield are also important to me as there are only two of us most days and I am not keen on leftovers (don’t @ me).

I’ve even picked up newsworthy information by skimming Notes. I learned that in some areas pasta packages have shrunk in size and are no longer the standard 1 pound size. I wouldn’t have thought about that before embarking on a new pasta dish, but knowing this allows me to be better prepared when making my grocery shopping list (although so far I have not encountered this phenomenon in the Upper Midwest).

Some people are probably more diligent than I am and post a Note immediately after making the dish, but I have noticed that others are like me and add comments to several recipes at the same time. Whichever method works for you, please continue to add your opinions about the recipes and a huge thank you to everyone who has contributed to this feature!

Category: Antipasto

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7 Comments

  • pomona  on  April 25, 2023

    Notes are so useful! And a lovely way to share with other cooks!

  • dbuhler  on  April 25, 2023

    The notes feature of this site is the reason that tipped me over the edge to join. For me, the most useful feature of online recipes and food bloggers are the comments sections where I can glean real life information about the recipes from other people trying them.out. When I discovered that this site provided the same feature but for individual cookbook recipes I knew I had to join right away!! I also feel like I want to reciprocate and post my own reviews in hopes to be helpful in the same way that others comments have been helpful for me, but I’ve not quite figured out the best way or rhythm for me to post my notes yet. I also love to read through the recent notes or I will even go to the profile of a few posters that seem to have similar taste that I do, and read through their recent notes to get inspiration on what to cook next! Thank you, thank you, thank you to all who post their notes!!

  • jzanger  on  April 25, 2023

    Yes! And in addition to others’ great input, my own old notes from years ago sometimes help me remember something I’ve long forgotten about my past experience with it!

  • Fyretigger  on  April 26, 2023

    I remember reading a note where the recipe had left out the title ingredients — no prep instructions, when or how to add it, nothing. They saved me from recipe- roulette.

  • SheilaS  on  April 26, 2023

    The star ratings don’t help me out much but I love, love, love EYB’s notes feature! I try to add a note whenever I try a new recipe but there are a lot of old favorites that I should go back and add notes for. Even a simple comment can be helpful, but the more specific, the better!

  • Skamper  on  April 26, 2023

    I also love the notes feature. I often recognize names of other users who have some of the same cookbooks. For example, if I’m making an Ina Garten recipe I can usually count on the fact that @anya_sf will have made it and and left a useful note.

  • breakthroughc  on  April 26, 2023

    I love reading members notes and is a part of my morning coffee ritual. I always look to see if there are notes before making a new recipe, I feel like I have gotten to know some of you through the notes you post. Keep them coming!

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