I’m new here. How do I get started and enter a recipe?
First of all, welcome! Tasty Kitchen is all about community, and every member is an important component of that community. It’s what makes us one big family. (With the added bonus of not having to do chores for one another.) As we all know, families tend to congregate in the kitchen, and Tasty Kitchen is built upon all of you generous souls who are willing to share your treasured recipes with everyone. So, thank you.
To enter a recipe, simply click on the button on the right side of the page that reads Submit A Recipe and Join the Fraternal Order Of The Mitt. (Yes, the Order of the Mitt really does exist. We’re waiting for the incorporation papers. And a few live chickens.) You will then be taken to the Add A Recipe page, where you can begin entering your recipe information.
A few pointers:
- Related Link: If you have a blog post featuring the recipe that you are entering, we want to see it! It’s a great way for everyone to discover new blogs and make new friends. Please remember to enter the link to the specific post, and not just a general link to your blog’s home page. This will help others find additional recipe-related information or photos much easier without having to search through your entire blog for the recipe.
- Category: Please choose a category for your recipe. That way, when members search via category, your recipe is sure to be properly included in its category.
- Tags: Tagging your recipe with the appropriate keywords or short phrases will help others find it when they perform searches. For example, if your recipe has tree nuts, you might want to include “tree nuts” or “nuts” in the tags so that others who perhaps have severe tree nut allergies can immediately be alerted to it. Just use the “+” button to add each tag.
- Prep Time and Cook Time: Enter these using the drop-down menus so our members can plan how much time to set aside for your recipe.
- Ingredients: We’ve been trying to make the ingredient list entry as intuitive and as functional as we can. While some may feel that it would be easier to just enter each ingredient freehand without using the drop-down menus, those preset unit measurements make it possible for us to perform our handy-dandy instant conversions (more on that below). So please use them as much as you can. It also helps to be specific with the measurements, for the sake of those who may not have access to the same packages that you have. For example, “1 package (small) instant pudding” or “1 can (large) diced tomatoes” may be confusing to some. Entering “4 ounces, weight package of instant pudding” or “28 ounces, weight canned diced tomatoes” would go a long way in helping members plan for your recipe. The measurement list also includes “whole,” which is a good fallback unit of measurement. For instance, “2 whole eggs, beaten” or “1 whole onion (medium-sized), chopped.”
- Instructions: Do remember to specify oven temperature, cook times, stove top heat levels, crock pot settings, etc.
Please review your recipe for any typos and check it for accuracy and completeness. If you find that you need to modify the ingredient list, you might find these tips helpful:
- Adding a new ingredient is as easy as simply entering it and clicking the “+” button at the end of the entry line. The new ingredient will show up at the bottom of your list. To move this, or any other entry on the list, simply position your mouse over the ingredient entry and “drag and drop” it to its new position within the list.
- If you need to edit an entry, just click on the little pencil to the left of the item. This will bring the ingredient line back up to the entry area, where you can now make changes to it. Remember to click on the “+” button when you are done making changes, so that the edited entry goes back to the list. (It will show up at the bottom of the list, so you may need to drag it back to its old position.)
- If you need to remove an entry from your list, just click the little red “x” to the left of the item, and it will magically disappear!
If you’re done and you’re ready to share your recipe with everyone, then just go ahead and click on Save and View Recipe. If you aren’t ready to submit your recipe just yet, click the Keep This Recipe Private button under the Privacy section, right above the Preparation Instructions area before saving your recipe.
Please note that after you submit a recipe, it goes through our “review and approve” process. This means that an actual live and getting-hungrier-by-the-minute editor goes through your recipe to do a final check for completeness and accuracy. Our goal is to have your recipe reviewed and published within the next 24 hours or less, although this could sometimes vary based on site traffic.
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Do I really have to use your system for entering ingredients? Can’t I do it my way? You’re just being picky, aren’t you?
No, we’re not being picky. Honest! Of course, we can’t force you to do anything, but there really is a reason why we designed the recipe entry system a certain way. Not only does it help keep the printable recipes in a more or less consistent format, but it also makes it possible for us to offer you that nifty little converter function. Have you seen it and played around with it yet? It’s really cool.
When viewing a recipe, you’ll notice that each one has a standard summary of prep time involved, cooking time, number of servings, and the system of measurement used (US or metric). You can easily convert a recipe from one system to the other by simply selecting your chosen system and clicking Update. Voila! Instant conversion. But did you know that you can also scale down or double a recipe and customize it to however many servings you need? Just change the number of servings (go ahead, you won’t break the recipe) and click Update. The ingredient amounts will now be adjusted accordingly. Neat, isn’t it?
And that’s why we really want the ingredients entered a certain way. We’re not trying to be picky—there really is a difference between entering ‘2-whole-eggs’ using the proper boxes, as opposed to simply entering ‘2 eggs’ entirely in the Ingredient Name box. When a member uses the conversion tool to halve the recipe, the first entry will correctly show ‘1-whole-eggs’ and the second one will still show ‘2 eggs.’ It may not sound grammatically correct, but grammar won’t mess up your dish. (Trivia: Did you know that, as we go through every recipe, if the ingredients aren’t entered properly, an editor actually goes in and manually corrects every single entry? It may mean it will take more time to approve your recipe for publication, but it also ensures that the conversion utility works properly for every recipe published.) If you’re having problems entering some tricky ingredients and measurements, feel free to drop us a line and we’ll be happy to walk you through it.
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How do I upload a recipe photo?
We love pictures! Once you have uploaded your recipe, you’ll see an empty space waiting for your photo. 
To submit a photo:
- Click on Upload New Image below the photo box.
- A blank dialog box will be displayed. Click on the Browse button to locate the file on your computer. (It’s a good idea to keep your photo resolution to 800 x 600 or smaller.)
- Once you have located the photo on your computer, click the Open button to select it. You should now see the file in the ‘Select An Image’ box on your recipe page.
- Click Upload to start uploading your photo. Once this is complete, the photo will be attached to the recipe for all to enjoy!
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How do I change the resolution or size of a recipe photo? How do I crop a photo?
Typically, 800×600 pixels or less is a good size to shoot for and should allow for successful uploading to Tasty Kitchen. Instructions for resizing and/or cropping a photo vary widely based on each user’s system specifications. However, we found a website that might help! Resize.it offers some easy-to-follow instructions and utilities that will walk you through the photo resizing and cropping process if you require additional assistance.
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Why can’t I see my recipe after I enter and save it?
Don’t worry, your recipe isn’t gone. It’s in good hands.
After you submit a recipe, it goes through our “review and approve” process. This means that an actual live and getting-hungrier-by-the-minute editor goes through your recipe to do a final check for completeness and accuracy. Our goal is to have your recipe reviewed and published within the next 24 hours or less, although this could sometimes vary based on site traffic. Generally, we simply want to make sure that all ingredients listed are accounted for, and all necessary instructions are present. This process was implemented to address quality control concerns voiced by many members who were halfway into a recipe only to find out that something was missing. We hope you understand!
Once approved, your recipe will be available publicly to everyone to enjoy.
(This necessary review process also means that if a previously approved recipe is changed or modified, it will have to go through a final review once more. Be assured that we are doing our best to re-publish these recipes as quickly as possible.)
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I submitted my recipe, and now it’s in my Recipe Box marked ‘Private.’ What happened?
When a submitted recipe is set to Private, that usually means that it needs more information or clarification. If so, you will see a comment from us in the Reviews section at the bottom of the recipe page, requesting the necessary changes. Once the changes have been made, simply re-submit your recipe, making sure to click on the Allow Recipe To Be Visible On Tasty Kitchen button under the Privacy section. Your recipe then goes back into the review queue, and should be published shortly. Oh, and don’t worry. When the recipe is approved for publication, our editor’s note requesting additional information will be removed. No one will ever know!
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Can I enter my all-time favorite recipe even if it’s from another source? How about photos?
The intent of Tasty Kitchen is for folks to submit their own recipes and creations. We’ve had a few people ask if they can submit their all-time favorite recipe from another source, and we say go for it—provided the recipe is not copyrighted material. But if you do this, please make sure to give credit where credit is due and quote the source at the bottom of the Preparation Instructions section of the recipe. You can also give credit in the Short Description.
You can view more information about copyright laws as they apply to recipes here. Basically, ingredient lists are fair game, but recipe instructions aren’t. So if you have a favorite recipe from another source that you’re dying to share with everyone, please make sure the instructions are in your own words and help us keep the feds happy.
Additionally, we love photos on our site, but we request that you please upload a photo of the finished product that you took, and not one that you found from another source. So when you add recipes to the site, make sure to take your own photos and pop them in for everyone to enjoy!
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Any tips on getting a recipe featured?
We love your recipes, and wish we could feature them all. They say that we feast first with our eyes, so an eye-catching photo always goes a long way. If you need some food photography tips, you can read this for starters.
Here are a few additional tips:
- A photo that’s too small just won’t look right when it has to be enlarged for the front page.
- As you’ve probably already noticed, all the featured recipes on the front page are in landscape orientation.
- Try to avoid adding borders, watermarks, or text to your photo. They may look wonderful on their own, but these additional elements tend to clutter up the page.
- If you take a photo of your recipe at a later time and think it’s better than what you originally posted, feel free to upload it and replace the older photo!
