Food.com

It's not your typical media site. It's more like an application: a web-wide recipe search, a universal recipe box, and a toolbar. The whole point is that we make it easy for you to search across the web for recipes, and give you one beautifully designed place to access them all.

Easy: start searching. Search for recipe names, or a course (like "appetizer"), or better yet, list the ingredients you want to cook with. Click the link in a result on the search results page, and we'll take you to that site to see the full recipe. If you like, add it to your recipe box. There is an " Add to recipe box" button next to each result on the search results page. You can also use the toolbar to add it to your recipe box.

You can also upload your own recipes to your recipe box, and if you care to share, we'll make them accessible in Food.com results.

We've got some handy images for you to click through that show a variety of tips and tricks. Check out the carousels to your right.

Food.com - the site - works great in the latest versions of most A-Grade browsers

• Mozilla Firefox
• Internet Explorer
• Safari

The Food.com Toolbar is only available for Firefox and IE during Beta.

Here's the deal: we all know there are some fantastic search engines out there. We've become accustomed to them and have grown to love them. The thing is, they're big and general so you get all sorts of results in the mix, not just recipes; a bit like the proverbial "canon to kill a butterfly." On the other hand, there are some fabulous food sites online. You can go to each one individually and search, then compare, but who has time for that? That's where we come in: we are specialized. We search recipes, and only recipes. And we pull from multiple sources. So no more sifting through "chicken wire" results when you are looking for a good Chicken Milanese. And no more whiplash as you bounce from site to site until you find the right result. You can come straight here at 4:00 PM when you are scrambling to figure out what to feed the family for dinner. We have nearly a million recipes indexed from over thirty of the best recipe sources including Food & Wine, Epicurious, Martha Stewart, Food Network, RecipeZaar, chow.com, and myrecipes.com, just to name a few. And our index is growing.

We make it easy for you. On the search results page you'll see a panel to your left. The options, or dimensions, listed there are ways in which the recipes are tagged. By interacting with these dimensions you can winnow out some of the results that aren't quite what you are in the mood for. The refinement dimensions we offer currently are:

"Courses, Dishes, Meals" ("Main", "Appetizer", "Dinner," that sort of thing)

"Cuisines" (from around the world)

"Main Ingredient" (whatever has been tagged by the source as the recipes main ingredient)

"Methods & Techniques" ("Braise," "BBQ," "Slow cook," "Steam" - you get the idea)

"Recipes From" (The original source of the recipes listed in the results)

"Specialized Diets" (Anything from Vegan, to low-carb, to Kosher)

"Total Time" (based on the information in the recipe, the total time it takes from start to finish)

When the page first loads, we'll show you all the results that match your search. The "Recipes From" dimension will be automatically open in the panel on the left, so you can see all the great sources. You can choose to view recipes from one, or many, sources - totally up to you. Simply click the sources you are interested in within that dimension, and your results will refresh accordingly. Once refreshed, you'll see confirmation of the refinements you made at the top of the page.

There are two ways:

On the top of the page we show you confirmation after a refinement has been applied. You can click the little "X" box next to each one, to undo refinements one at a time.

Or, you can simply reset the whole thing by clicking the green "Reset filters" button at the bottom of the panel.

Not to worry, they don't disappear entirely. We simply moved from the left, to the top of the page, to distinguish them from the ones you haven't interacted with yet.

It's all about the tagging, and the taxonomies, and how things are indexed and... Suffice it to say, we probably agree with you (that Eggplant Curry recipe really should show up as Vegan, or…). We are working hard to map more recipes against more tags and metadata. And soon, we'll add the ability for you to tag the recipes the way you see fit.

To the source, of course. If you have the food.com toolbar installed you can then add that recipe to your recipe box on food.com.

When you are on a search results page there are two ways:

The classic: There is a little orange button with a "plus" on it next to each result. Simply click that.

The geeky: We've added drag n' drop functionality. Drag the recipe you want, down to the recipe box on the orange bar at the bottom of the page.

Tell us about your site: feedback@food.com. We are adding more and more as we grow.

And if it's just a few recipes you want included, well then that's easy: use the Upload Recipe function (on the site: check under the Chef's Hat in the Navigation Bar. If you've installed the toolbar, you can initiate the upload directly from there).

Inside the box: Is a search through recipes inside your recipe box. A quick way to help you sort through things you already saved.

Outside the box: Searches our entire index; nearly a million recipes indexed from over thirty of the best recipe sources including Food & Wine, Epicurious, Martha Stewart, Food Network, RecipeZaar, chow.com, and myrecipes.com, just to name a few.

The recipes in the results come from all over the web. Different sites have different ways of presenting that type of information. We show � what the source site offers. This means one result may be different from the next, but each result is true to its source.

It's the easiest way to search for recipes across the web, and to add recipes from nearly any food site to your recipe box. You don't have to come to the site first, since it's right there in your browser.

If you've never downloaded the toolbar before: you'll see a brown badge in the top right corner of the screen promoting it (yeah - the thing that looks like a Reese's Pieces hanging off the navigation bar). Hover over that with your mouse, and you'll see:

a. A button that initiates install straight from there.

b. A link to learn a bit more about it before you install, should you choose.

If you've already installed the toolbar, but for some reason need have to reinstall, there is a link in the footer of every page for "Download Toolbar".

Internet Explorer: Go to the Start menu on your computer → Control Panel → Add or Remove programs → Food.com → Remove

Firefox: In the Firefox browser menu, Go to Tools → Add-ons → food.com → Uninstall.

For Firefox, try these:

• Select view → toolbars → food.com
• Press Ctrl-F11
• Try disabling other extensions to see if there is a conflict. If there is a conflict, please let us know. Mail bugs@food.com.
• Try reinstalling

For IE try these:

• Got to view → toolbars → food.com or try reinstalling
• Try reinstalling

Firefox: In the Firefox browser menu, Go to View → Toolbars → Food.com or press Ctrl-F11

IE: In the IE browser menu, Go to View → Toolbars → Food.com or press Ctrl-F11

It works just like the search on the food.com site.

Outside the box: Searches our entire index; nearly a million recipes indexed from over 30 of the best recipe sources including Food & Wine, Epicurious, Martha Stewart, Food Network, RecipeZaar, chow.com, and myrecipes.com, just to name a few.

Inside the box: Is a search through the recipes inside your own recipe box. It's a quick way to help you sort through things you already saved.

Currently other browsers lack features the food.com toolbar requires for installation.

If you are not using one of these browsers, but want to try the Food.com toolbar, the easiest way is to install Firefox.

While we only support Firefox and IE currently for the toolbar, you can still use the Food.com site in other browsers.

Sometimes this can happen in Internet Explorer if you log into the toolbar after clicking out to a recipe from a search result.

To get things in synch, follow these steps: ( If you're on IE7 start from step 1. If you're on IE6 start from step 2.)

1. 1. Right click on the chrome and select "Show Menu Bar" or press Alt+T
2. 2. The "Tools" menu should be open. Select "Internet Options"
3. 3. Select the "Security" tab
4. 4. Select the "Trusted sites"
5. 5. Click the "Sites" button
6. 6. Type the url into the textbox and click "Add" to add the website to the zone. If the url begins with an "https:// <https://> <https:// <https://> > " be sure to first uncheck the "Require server verification" checkbox.
7. 7. Click the "Close" button
8. 8. Click the "Ok" button

The answer is simple and good (although mildly annoying): security reasons.

You can fix it by adding Food.com as a "trusted site" in your browser. To do so follow these steps: (If you're on IE7 start from step 1. If you're on IE6 start from step 2.)

1. 1. Right click on the chrome and select "Show Menu Bar" or press Alt+T
2. 2. The "Tools" menu should be open. Select "Internet Options"
3. 3. Select the "Security" tab
4. 4. Select the "Trusted sites"
5. 5. Click the "Sites" button
6. 6. Type the url (http://www.food.com <http://www.food.com> <http://www.food.com/> <http://www.food.com/> ) into the textbox and click "Add" to add the website to the zone.
7. 7. Click the "Close" button
8. 8. Click the "Ok" button

If you are on Food.com: On the Food.com navigation bar there is a picture of - you guessed it - a recipe box. Simply click on that icon.

If you are someplace else: There is direct access to your recipe box in the toolbar

There are a few ways…

If you are on search results:

The classic: There is a little orange button with a "plus" on it next to each result. Simply click that.

The geeky: We've added drag n' drop functionality. Drag the recipe you want, down to the recipe box on the orange bar at the bottom of the page.

If you are on a recipe on another site and you have the toolbar installed:

Go to the Recipe Box icon in the toolbar → "Add to My Recipe Box"

On certain sites, we may ask for your help in identifying the recipe. You'll get a pop-up asking for a recipe title.

If you don't have the toolbar installed, you can only add the recipe when viewing it in your food.com search results.

If you are on one of the sources we index, then you'll be able to add a robust abstract with ingredients, and more.

If we don't index the recipes on a given site (yet), well then — we don't know anything about those recipes. But we still give you the opportunity to add a bookmark for them.

Under the name of each recipe you'll see a set of icons (actions really). "Delete" is one of them. Click the icon, and the recipe will be removed.

You can have hundreds of recipes in your recipe box, but we're betting you've got some that stand out above the rest: your favorites. We've given you a way to mark them as special.

There are two ways:

1. 1. Click the little heart next to each recipe title. When the heart is filled in, it's a favorite.
2. 2. Click the little orange "Favorite" icon.

Just the opposite of creating one:

1. 1. Click the little heart next to each recipe title. When the heart is filled in, it's a favorite.
   
   OR
2. 2. Click the little orange "Favorite" icon.

Exactly what it sounds like: a collection of recipes. There are four system collections, and as many custom collections as you care to create.

A system collection is a collection we create for you based on actions you've taken. The system collections are:

• Recently Added
• Uploaded
• Favorites
• Bookmarked

Custom collections can be anything you want, from "Best Comfort Food Ever" to "Grandma's Best" to "Quick Dinners". It's your recipe box; they're your collections.

Two ways:

1. 1. When you are in your recipe box the "Create a collection" option will be active in the global navigation bar. Hover over the Recipe Box and you'll see it.
2. 2. On the bottom of the control panel on the left you'll see a "Create a collection" button.

The classic: There is a little orange button with a "plus" on it under each recipe title, with an "Add to collection" prompt.

The geeky: We've added drag n' drop functionality. Click and drag the recipe over to the orange panel on the left and drop it on whichever collection you want to add it to.

Absolutely.

On the bottom of the orange panel on the left, you'll see a "Manage collections" button. Clicking that will take you to an editable list of all your custom collections. From there you'll be able to delete, or rename a collection.

On the bottom of the orange panel on the left, you'll see a "Manage collections" button. Clicking that will take you to an editable list of all your custom collections. From there you'll be able to delete, or rename a collection.

If you are having trouble adding a recipe, email us the exact site/URL you are on and what platform and browser you are using: help@food.com

If you are trying to add something other than a recipe, well then — that's your answer.

"Simplified" is a just that — a simple list view. "Expanded" includes an image if one came with a recipe, the ingredients, etc…

Scroll…

On the far right of your recipe box there is a thin vertical bar. Click on it to see more columns.

It means that for whatever reason, the owner of that recipe has decided not to share it any longer. The owner could be the original source site, or another member of Food.com, or… We will let you know, when we can, if that has happened.

Different sources have different ways of presenting that type of information. We show — what the source site offers. This means one recipe may be different from the next, but each recipe is true to its source.

We're working on it! Until we launch those features you can always recommend them to become part of the Beta. Then they can start their own Recipe Boxes and put your recipes in it.

Adding a recipe refers to adding a recipe from Food.com or another site online. "Uploading" refers to those recipes you've got offline, which you personally upload to your online recipe box.

On the site global nav bar you'll see a chef's hat. Hover over that, and you'll find a link to upload.

That same chef's hat exists on the toolbar as well.

Private means it's just for you. It stays in your recipe box. No one else but you sees it. Public, means we included it in Food.com search results, where the rest of the world can find it. Anyone who finds it and has a craving for it can add it to his or her own recipe box. Once Food.com is out of Beta, anyone on the web will be able to see it and appreciate it.

By tagging your recipe, you help insure it shows up in the search results exactly the way you want it to.

It takes some time for our systems to process newly uploaded recipes, usually about an hour. In the meantime you can find your recipe immediately in your "Uploaded" system collection folder.

We're working on it! Until we launch those features you can always recommend them to become part of the Beta. Then they can start their own Recipe Boxes and put your recipes in it.

We're really sorry about that. It's a bug we know about, and are working on. Until we fix it for real you can make it go away: If you are in IE click "No" in the popup (the script will continue and we'll be able to capture the information you are uploading). If you are in Firefox click "Continue".

In the footer on every page there is a link to "Your Account."

Your user name is the email address you used to register. Use this, along with your password, for logging in to and out of the site.

Your alias is the moniker everyone will see on any of the recipes you have uploaded and designated as public. It is how the Food.com community will come to know you.

Your preferred initials are something we will use to personalize the site for you in the future.

Some say it was Ruth Wakefield, owner of Toll House Inn. While mixing a batch of cookies, Mrs. Wakefield discovered she was out of baker's chocolate. They say she broke some semi-sweetened chocolate into small pieces and added them to the cookie dough as a substitute. Mrs. Wakefield expected the pieces to melt and the dough to absorb chocolaty goodness, making chocolate cookies. She was quite surprised when she pulled the pan from the oven to see that the chocolate had not melted into the dough, and her cookies were something other…

Others say it was a bit of a team effort: Mrs. Wakefield, an accomplished baker, would give fresh homemade sugar cookies with each meal she served at the Inn. She apparently knew enough about baking and the properties of chocolate to realize the chips would not melt thoroughly into the batter during baking. One day, while mixing up a batch of the sugar cookie dough, the vibrations from the large electric mixer she was using caused bars of chocolate stored on the shelf above to fall into the mixer's bowl. The chocolate was immediately broken into the mix. Mrs. Wakefield was ready to toss the dough, thinking it was ruined, when her Head Chef, Mr. Boucher, stopped her and talked her into saving the batch. His reasoning, they say, was based more on frugality than any belief in its potential for yumminess.

Whichever version of the story you choose to believe, one thing is for sure, great and tasty things can come out of mistakes made in the kitchen. Don't forget to store yours here.