New & NowCommunity
What Do You Want to See on Food52?
by Food52
• March 27, 2013
• 146 Comments
Today, we want to know what you (yes you!) want to see on Food52.
As community members of Food52, you've been right with us every step of the way -- when we're looking for a new recipe, a new best recipe, when we're struggling with pastry dough.
And we've tried our best to do the same for you. We unearth genius recipes each week, and we're always striving to think of every last photo tutorial, how-to, or quick weeknight meal that'll make every mouth around the table a happy one. We even help you when you might be struggling with pastry dough, too.
Because our relationship is symbiotic one -- we couldn't grow as cooks without you, and you without us -- we want to do more. We want to know what you want to know. Is there something you wish we'd write an article about? Tell us everything: your biggest picture wishes (more content about cocktails?) and smallest wants (the cherry pie recipe to end all cherry pies) alike. Are you yearning for an entire column on eggs? Do you think we should shut up about eggs already?
What would you turn to Food52 to learn? Tell all in the comments, and we'll get right to work.
Comments (146)
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Did you know that the editors do not want any suggestions about the site's features and functionality in comments to this post? Within a few seconds, literally, after I made several recommendations regarding functionality, as one of the very first posts here, I was chided thus by Kenzi, an assistant editor: ". . . The purpose of today's post is more to inspire new editorial content, but of course, always feel free to email us about site changes at [email protected]." So please, everyone who commented here, send the editors your suggestions via email. ;o)
over 3 years ago Kenzi Wilbur
Kenzi is the Managing Editor of Food52.
Yes, that is correct, and still stands. Thanks for reminding everyone!
over 3 years ago LE BEC FIN
well PHOOey, aj. seems reasonable to expect the ones who created the 'comments plse' invite-- to take responsibility for communicating clearly what they are looking for- in their invite.
As I have just reread said invite, I do see that CONTENT is what they are asking about; but obviously, from the many technical responses, they need to have ended their invite with 'this is content related. Please- do not list any technical wants here."
over 3 years ago BoulderGalinTokyo
Well, I think this is a "content" request, but I hope no feathers are fluffed if not. When I submit a recipe, the Holidays are extremely limited. Last year we did St. Patrick's, Cinco de Mayo, Girl's and Boy's Days, and Octoberfest. Holidays are a great excuse to party!
over 3 years ago drbabs
Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Here's another technical suggestion. I participate in another forum where, if you put an @ in front of the person's user name, they get an email that they were tagged in a discussion. I posted a recent hotline question about New Orleans food and mentioned that I made Antoniajames' pecan pie. She saw it and jumped in, but she might not have. It would have been nice if I could have just tagged her.
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Great idea! ;o)
over 3 years ago LE BEC FIN
My biggest shout outs(and thank you for asking):
--Fix photo sequencing in Recipe uploading
--Alphabetical and categorical listing options for archived recipes
-- a Site Talk option separate from Hotline
-- a program that removes contestant I.D.'s from their recipes when the Editors/Judges see the recipes for judging. This would allow for the recipes to be anonymous and the judging to be unbiased.
over 3 years ago boulangere
Cynthia is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I would love for there to be an edit function for submitting recipes. Suddenly, when I copy and paste from Apple Pages, odd characters appear. I've received IT responses to the effect that that is the case, but once a recipe is submitted to a contest, no edits are possible. The submission program is a bit cumbersome; I've too often discovered that if I hit the Delete button at the wrong moment, all disappears and I have to start all over again. It's ultimately much easier to write the recipe, its headnotes and ingredients in Pages and use the cut and paste function. An edit function would cut the corner between the two.
over 3 years ago Droplet
Within the frame of the New Recipe submission form, it would be nice if the list of ingredients allows for shuffling of the order (moving a given ingredient upor down) because for some reason once you submit a recipe, an ingredient or a few in a row, go missing. When you enter the edit mode to retype the missing ones you want them to follow the initial logical order that you intended, but the only way to do that is to retype all of them.
over 3 years ago inspiredbyyou
yes, such a pain.
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
The odd characters are appearing in documents from my Word documents as well. And for some reason, crucial punctuation in old recipes (typically single quotes/apostrophes)has disappeared altogether. Very strange, and disconcerting for those of us who take great care to submit high quality copy. It seems to be a bug of some sort. ;o)
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
I'd love to see a little ticker, up by the "saved" button, that says "Tried this." Not everyone has the time or inclination to write a comment, but they might, after using a recipe, indicate that they made it. People could tic it every time they made the recipe. Then you could see which recipes are real keepers. The number of views is interesting, but that seems increasingly driven by the links in from other sites that display FOOD52 recipes. I've long wanted to know what recipes people are actually using. This seems like a simple coding project, because the tic does not actually need to do anything but count. ;o)
over 3 years ago sdebrango
Suzanne is a trusted source on General Cooking.
Great idea!!
over 3 years ago krusher
Excellent idea. I have had the same thoughts.
over 3 years ago cookinginvictoria
Love this -- button could even say "Tried this and would recommend this recipe."
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Or maybe, simpler, "Tried and liked". I usually comment when I make a recipe, even the second or third or fourth time, but then I start to feel kind of silly. Having a count would let people like me, who have dozens of FOOD52 recipes that they use over and over again, to give them meaningful endorsements. A separate feature could be a page that's updated every week that lists (with links) the recipes that have been made most frequently during the prior week (to allow for seasonal ferreting out of great recipes that others are making!!) Now, wouldn't that be wonderful, to be able to get ideas based on what other members of the community are actually doing. I suspect that once the system was up and running for a few months, and community members realized the value in this data, they'd more frequently come back to a recipe after trying it. I suspect the comments would increase, too. ;o)
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Also, a "tried and liked" count would in fact be a nice truly (100%) community-based complement to the "Community Picks" -- which actually say nothing more than that one person (or more, but not known or accounted for, except where the submission was photographed by FOOD52) liked something that the editorial staff thought might be good. ;o)
over 3 years ago Bevi
Brilliant.
over 3 years ago Bevi
And it actually places value on comments, when a cook has actually made a recipe.
over 3 years ago Droplet
AJ, this sounds like it would allow for an actual Community picks category,in addition to the EPs.
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Yes, the "sounds great" or "love what you've done here" comments, while of some value, really are not nearly as valuable as knowing that someone has actually tried a recipe. I suspect that we'd get more comments that are useful and informative for those of us who constantly search for and try recipes here, by people coming back to tic the "tried and liked" recipe. Actually, I'd love to see a "tried and didn't like" button too, but I can see problems inherent in that. ;o)
over 3 years ago cookinginvictoria
I am a long-time food52 user and I love this site. I like so many of the ideas brought up here: especially more global recipes and cooking features; pantry supper, easy entertaining and kitchen safety posts; and more slideshows and/or cooking videos especially of daunting or somewhat challenging recipes, such as the recent Wildcard winning pierogi recipe.
Here are some other ideas that I don't think have been brought up yet: I enjoy many of the new food52 features, but would love to see a baking column (w/slideshow and/or videos) demystifying baking for the home cook. Also will the garden column be returning? I learned so many things about growing food last year that I put to use in my garden. That column was the impetus for me trying to grow seed potatoes this year. Or how about a column about cooking from your CSA box every week?
I would also like to make a pitch for more content about pantry and freezer organization and for making the most efficient use of a small kitchen. Doing kitchen renovations on a small budget would be great to read about.
I realize that it's a fine line balancing curated content with home cook content. However, I would love to see more content about and featuring home cooks on the site. Some of my all-time favorite posts from last year were the big feasts, antoniajames writing about pork belly, hardlikearmour writing about the cookbook Flour Water Salt and Yeast, and fiveandspice writing about yogurt in the Halfway to Dinner column. We have so many talented cooks on the site. I would love to read more work by them and about them!
In addition to the retired feature Cook Spotlight, I really loved how you used to highlight blogs by members. Would you consider doing that again -- perhaps as a weekly feature on feed52? On that note, I would also be interested in having some sort of regular feature updating us on what food52ers are up to, whether it's writing an article about preserving in the NY Times (mrswheelbarrow) or publishing their first cookbook (Jennie Perillo).
I can't resist asking for a few things on the technical side: Is it possible to be able to sort saved posts in collections similar to what you've done with Recipes? And it would be so great if we had the ability to save hotline posts. Lastly, I would love to see more international shipping options on shop items.
Thanks for asking for feedback. Looking forward to continuing to be a part of this site as it evolves and moves forward!
over 3 years ago Lemongrass&Lime
Thanks for asking for feedback. I'd enjoy more middle eastern recipes & features. More how to videos for advanced cooking techniques as opposed to basics like separating eggs and chopping broccoli. A better search tool (that allows you to search the whole site in one go). Features on artisanal products from all over the globe - not just from USA. Even if I can't get my hands on it easily I'll still enjoy hearing about it.
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Would love to see a cookbook shop+discussion forum where community members could write reviews, and especially provide details about which recipes within the books are particularly good, but also warnings about unexpected results (failures, unimpressive recipes, etc.) Whenever there's a question or feature about cookbooks on FOOD52, there is always so much spirited discussion. This could be a place not just for new releases, but also for books that have been around for awhile, that people have actually used. Community members could nominate books with a short (100 - 200 word) review that includes discussion on, say, at least three recipes. You could even feature the best of those weekly or bi-weekly. ;o)
over 3 years ago cookinginvictoria
Love the idea of a cookbook feature!
over 3 years ago Kitchen Butterfly
I really miss being able to see the conveyor of latest recipes uploaded to the site from the community, not only those of the contributing writers.
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
On the Recipes page, in the top menu on the left, is a link to "Newest," which displays the most recently added recipes. ;o)
over 3 years ago Kitchen Butterfly
Oh wow - thank you!
over 3 years ago krusher
I'm with you on this one!
over 3 years ago ATG117
more content generally, especially on sparse days
over 3 years ago Judith Piper
I loved your 1852 movie clip which looked like my girlfriend and me for sure! I want to see how to use all the different greens I get in my CSA box. I'm a confirmed organic, local produce person. Also non GMO!
over 3 years ago gustus
I would like to echo Ellenl's comment below about searching within saved recipes. Take a look at how Cookstr does this if you want to see the ideal model.
over 3 years ago bonnie59
One of my favourite topics on the website are the videos of Amanda and Merrill cooking! Please add more to the website.
Thanks
Bonnie
over 3 years ago krusher
I love food52. What is frustrating for me is living in Australia where the seasons are opposite to yours in the US for example. Your competitions are usually seasonally based - for very good reason. Mostly I cannot contribute. We are are mid-autumn and it's getting to feel a lot like winter while you are about wax lyrical about the wonder and joy of spring bounty after a long tough winter. Nothing we can do about it but it is frustrating for me a lot of the time.
over 3 years ago krusher
Oh I forgot. Better search function would be magic please.
over 3 years ago Lfole
Love the site but better search functions would make it easier to find what I am looking for. The filters often do not respond to more than one category. Thanks for asking!
over 3 years ago Kitchen Butterfly
I would absolutely love to see culinary expeditions on food52 - writers familiar with little known and little understood cuisines sharing their history and expertise, and most importantly bringing it back to the fact that though we may be different, and our foods different, we have and do use ingredients in very similar manners!
Of course, I offer first hand to share what I know about West African (mostly Nigerian) cooking!
over 3 years ago Panfusine
Love the idea Kitchen Butterfly, Hope we can experience WEst African Food thru your perspective soon!
And would love to contribute about traditional South Indian cuisine, the kind thats never seen in restaurants (even though there's a high probability that I'll be completely ignored!!)
over 3 years ago BoulderGalinTokyo
Yes, Kitchen Butterfly, I love your idea. Road Trip Please!
over 3 years ago RossC
Searching for a recipe, this site came up... That was 4 days ago.. I forgot the recipe and just have been going from page to page..
How enjoyable...*S*
over 3 years ago ellenl
Please make it possible to search our own saved recipes---e.g., soups, lamb, etc.
over 3 years ago monkeymom
Hi ladies. You know I love this site and feel very connected to all the great people who have made it a success. Congrats! One thing I have valued is that the space you have created is respectful and open-minded. However, I have often been frustrated that there is a real homogeneity about the content of the site. If your goal is "to make this the best food site in the world" then I would say it would be important to make concerted efforts to diversify not only the content of the site, but the people who work to contribute to it. I look at the food52 team pictures and see very little ethnic or socio-economic diversity. Please consider seeking out contributors who will bring more true 'flavor' to the site from all over the world and across this country. Surely there must be good food writers who represent different ethnicities and experiences (Latin, Indian, Asian, African, Southern...to name just a very few...)? I'm sure that being invited to share their wisdom on this great site would be welcome. I know that many of the readers of food52 would be thrilled to learn about such cuisines, particularly if accompanied by beautiful step by step pictorials and videos to help know how to cook unfamiliar food. Featuring pictures of these diverse folks on the site would also definitely help to make this a site where all folks, regardless of race or other factors, would feel welcome. It would really distinguish your site from so many others...which also suffer from a similar problem. Thanks!
over 3 years ago AntoniaJames
AntoniaJames is a trusted source on Bread/Baking.
Hear, hear. ;o)
over 3 years ago LE BEC FIN
Absolutely. And how 'bout some older folks? the ones with a lot of exPERience!
over 3 years ago zephyr050
i love the "genius recipe" feature and the unique shop items ("Mom's Stuff" is my favorite find--almost ever!)
And, i'm a teetotaler and would love to see more creative beverage ideas for those of us who do not imbibe.