The oldest problem in computing - Recipes - How do you solve it? | Hacker News Reader

The oldest problem in computing - Recipes - How do you solve it?

6 pointsspice10 comments

When trying to explain to the general public why a computer in your house would be useful, it always seemed to boil down to recipes. From the $10,600 Honeywell H316 Pedestal (with cutting board) in 1965 to 1980s Apple II ads in the 80s to articles about the internet in the early 90s. I even observed an argument for a tablet here on HN where convenient access to one's recipes was the primary demand.

I still can't do any better online then I would do with a modest kitchen bookshelf. Obviously it's no problem pulling up a recipe for anything. ABout.com seems to have a top search result for just about an 'recipe x' query. But there's no way if figuring out which is better. You usually even end up with less pictures then you get in a cookbook. If I want to go a step further (eg 'an introduction to making pâtés), I get nowhere.

I have two questions for HN:

- How is it possible that this isn't solved yet?

- Where do a learn about pâté?

I think the answer lies in "choice and themes". When you select a book for the kitchen shelf you have selected an author whose recipes you trust or you have selected a particular niche. Hunting for a recipe in your bookshelf is relatively "safe" and the limited choice an advantage when you come to actually making a selection (albeit on available ingredients or the style or mood of a meal).

Compared to the relative intimacy of a recipe book a computer based search (or worse, probably, an Internet search) seems sterile in comparison.

The answer might be somewhere in web 2.0 land though. Would you trust the recommendations of friends more than those on your bookshelf? Could the software learn what you like and come up with better selections in future? Solving this problem might require an understanding of just what it is in any given dish that characterises it and thus appeals or not to any given consumer. Analysing those characteristics could provide an excellent basis for a recommendations engine.

Well one very web 1.0 solution would be a big online cookbook with good recipes & articles & such. I'd settle for that.

Such exist ( as a search for just "Recipes" in Google shows) but as I thought your question, that is the foundation of this thread, pointed out - they do not seem to represent a "solution" to the computer in the kitchen.

Well, 'good' is important. I also need to know that it's good.

We are getting there - you want some sort of peer review.

However, will you just go with a majority or would you prefer the positive reviews of a selected group? Tastes vary! Much as I love my visits to the USA I think US food is far too sweet so I would probably avoid the guidance of west Coast hackers. I also know that food styles vary - I live in France and here food tends to be simply prepared (well in the countryside anyway) and dishes concentrate on a simple combination of flavours - perhaps with more dishes served in succession during a meal than would be normal elsewhere. Thus a recipe suitable for my neighbours might fail if presented to some visitors from the UK.

So - back to my original response I think...

Actually, I wouldn't worry too much about differing tastes. I think that there is some sort of semi-objectivity to food. A good recipe is a good recipe.

Accounting for tastes could be taken care of reasonably well in well named recipes: 'country style ratatouille' Thai style ratatouille, a new twist on an old favorite.'

But anyway, I think there's more to it then just recipes. I want to make pate. Could be trout, could be pork, could be goose. Where do I start. What kind of pate do i want. A really good solution would let you find new foods.

Ah - I see. You are looking for a recommendation for an on line (presumably) recipe resource. Not quite the sort of thread for HN.

Is it not? I'm saying that the problem identified as the home computer's raison d'etre is not solved. Is it is, I want the solution (like I said, I want to make pate). If it isn't, I think working out why is an interesting sort of a thread.

maybe not.

Anyway, if you can come up with a way to recommend a recipe specifically for my tastes, available ingredients & all that Jazz, I'm in. But first I'd like to know why the simple solution isn't working.

Hardware. It's a hardware and interface problem. Books are pretty battle-hardened for the kitchen. They do not require batteries or a power source. They do not give up the ghost if you drop them into cake batter, and most importantly they carry on their pages a permanent record of previous adventures written in pencil and flecks of flour dough.

Assume you're willing to use a computer. Still no real good solution.

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