Basics : Recipe Clipping

No aspect of the Food Section redesign has gotten more comment than our new recipe format--it seems you either love it or hate it. And judging by the letters, if you collect your recipes on 3x5-inch cards you definitely hate it. Ironically, we are frustrated 3x5-inch card users ourselves. We’ve got drawers full of index cards with recipes in the old format glued on in yellowed bits and pieces. We hated cooking from those cards--the recipes hardly ever fit on one side and it was a chore to clip and paste the recipes in tiny sections so that they would fit in such a small space.

That’s why we came up with the new format. A recipe can be cut out in one piece, stuck on a card and folded until we’re ready to use it. Then we just unfold the paper and have the whole recipe before us. We realize, of course, that we didn’t give instructions with the new format. And so, following the suggestion of Edith Roselinsky of Long Beach, here is our step-by-step Basics column on recipe clipping.

1. Most of our recipes are just a little more than 4 inches wide, perfect for a 3x5-inch index card. Staple the recipe to the top of the card.

2. Fold the overlapping bottom portion of the recipe behind the card and file. Unfold the recipe when ready to use.

3. Occasionally, a recipe will run just more than 6 inches wide to accommodate more complex instructions. Attach the top left-hand corner of these recipes to the 3x5-inch index card as directed in Step 1. Fold the overlapping right-hand portion of the recipe behind the index card.

4. Fold the overlapping bottom portion of the recipe behind the card and file.

5. When ready to use, unfold the recipe. You will have the complete recipe before you, no card turning necessary.