This Free Site Lets You Cook Like a New York Times Editor
A cup of Buzzfeed + a pinch of Pinterest, stirred by Sam Sifton = Cooking With The New York Times? Somehow this math doesn’t seem right, but you know what they say about cooking, it’s an art, not a science. And The New York Times’ latest online offering is a masterpiece, serving up a buffet of over 15,000 NYT-approved recipes.
You might not be the type of person who turns to the Times to tell you what to make for dinner, but NYT Cooking could change that, especially if it continues to be accessible (read: free) to the public. In this open beta kitchen, recipes are grouped into clickable headlines like, “10 Things You Can Put on a Tortilla,” “It’s Way Too Hot to Cook (Recipes to keep you off the range)” and “Things to Do With Avocados When You’re Sick of Guacamole.” We’ll never get sick of guacamole, but we like where this is heading.
The masthead features “Our Cooks,” the editors in the virtual NYT Cooking kitchen. Click on an editor’s recipe box and you’re taken to a very, very Pinterest-like profile with all of their saved recipes and even their very own creations. Dishes are displayed with beautiful pictures or drawings and feature stickers that shout “hey, this one is easy!” or “this one is good for you!” + small text that reveals prep time. Hover over each recipe to save them into collections in your own recipe box.
Sure there’s also an easy to search ‘n’ sort database where you could filter all the vegetarian recipes and then find ones that fit your favorite cuisine or preferred prep method, but searching through curated collections by editor keeps the site special and unique to the Times. Earlier beta screenshots of the site show videos and how-tos, but in its current state, NYTC is mostly all recipes.
The New York Times has been busy this year bringing their publication even farther into your digital life. While they’ve had successful launches of NYT Now and nytOpinion, NYT Cooking is the first that feels less like an NYT-branded product and more like a slick new social network the greater public will find inspiration in. The site is currently in beta with plans to launch the complete product later this year. Here’s hoping they keep the paywall outta the kitchen.
Where do you find recipe inspiration? Would you turn to NYT Cooking? Share your secrets + thoughts with us below!
