You may also want to read The rec.food.cooking FAQ and conversion file

UPDATE: rec.food.recipes essentially no longer exists. USENET has mostly been killed off by new technologies. We no longer accept new posts from rec.food.recipes and have fully integrated the old posts into our existing recipe database.

NOTE from CDKitchen.com: If you post to the USENET newsgroup rec.food.recipes your post WILL be archived at CDKitchen and distributed through our mailing list. You can find details about the list at [email list and newsgroup are both now defunct for the most part]. Both this archive and the mailing list are fully authorized by the rec.food.recipes newsgroup moderators.

Because of the massive size of this archive, we are unable to take modification/deletion requests. We are not responsible for the content, accuracy, or copyrighting of any posts made to the newsgroup or housed in this archive. Please contact the original poster of the recipe if you have any questions about a particular recipe via USENET, NOT through CDKitchen.

Frequently Asked Questions rec.food.recipes Last Change 3/3/06

Changes: updating archive list, minor corrections throughout text

Welcome to rec.food.recipes, a moderated newsgroup for recipes and recipe requests. The purpose of this newsgroup, as stated in our charter, is to provide a noise-free place to find recipes. Rec.food.recipes is not any sort of commercial recipe service. It is friendly cooks donating their time and effort to the net. You should think us as a group of friends swapping recipes. You don't have to simply respond to requests, you can submit your favorite recipes or even new recipes you have recently found and have enjoyed. No one gets paid for doing this nor for moderating the group. The list is maintained by a human beings not by computers. We ask that you be polite and courteous in all your e-mail correspondence.

****Who does all this?

The newsgroup is moderated by a team of volunteers.

recipes@swcp.com (Patricia Hill) [Lead Moderator]
l.jongens@xs4all.nl (Leo Jongens) [Moderator]
rfr@cdkitchen.com (Valerie Whitmore) [Mailing List/Web Site]
arielle@taronga.com (Stephanie da Silva) [Archives/Recipes CD]

****How do I post to this newsgroup?

If you are not certain how to post to this newsgroup, email your message to recipes@swcp.com. Please send your message in plain text, since we can't read html. If you are new to newsgroups we encourage you to about newsgroups at the news.newusers.questions Web site:

http://members.fortunecity.com/nnqweb/

****Do you save the recipes that are posted in the newsgroup?

The recipes posted each day are placed in a searchable calendar format at http://www.cdkitchen.com/rfr

An archive of the last 54,000 recipes posted to this newsgroup is available at Google http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&group=rec.food.recipes

Once recipes have been posted in the newsgroup *some* of them are placed in the archives. We encourage our readers to consult the archives. There are lots of good recipes there, culled from years of posts to the newsgroup. http://recipes.alastra.com/

****Do you have a mailing list?

We maintain a mailing list, both single recipes and digest format. Please note we will send you between 10 and 30 recipes a day. This is a lot of mail for some people. If you prefer not to receive that much mail, please don't subscribe.

When you wish to subscribe or change your subscription options to the rec.food.recipes mailing list, you should go to the the online form at

http://www.cdkitchen.com/admin/lists.shtml

****Are any recipes rejected?

Rejection is a harsh thing and we are kind. If your recipe is not quite in the proper form our editors will work with you to rewrite your recipe. Our mission is to post recipes and we post as many as we can.

****What may a recipe contain?

A recipe must contain ingredients and the directions for assembling those ingredients. A recipe may contain your suggestions or comments relevant to that recipe. From time to time the Lead Moderator may decide to post an article explaining a recipe or technique in more detail.

For this newsgroup, a recipe is defined as a list of ingredients with a set of instructions on how to put those ingredients together. We prefer the form where the quantities and ingredients are listed first followed by the directions. It is great to add tips or comments on a recipe. These make the newsgroup more interesting. We also post articles discussing a particular topic, but every post must contain a recipe. The final decision of what constitutes acceptable format rests with the moderator.

****How do I know this is a good recipe? Do you test them?

The recipes posted to this group are not kitchen tested to ensure they are valid recipes and work. They are checked for stylistic and subject content only and for the most part they are posted AS they have been received. It it appears to be a valid, cookable recipe, we post it. They are intended for the enjoyment of the reading public. If you try the recipes, we are assuming you know enough about cooking and the usage of the ingredients contained in the recipes to make their own decision regarding using the recipe. Use the recipe at your own risk. If you notice an error or omission, please write the original submitter of the recipe. Then we can post a correction.

Readers should be aware recipes are posted which do not meet current food safety recommendations. We are not competant to evaluate recipes so we urge readers to be aware of the issues especially in the following areas:

raw eggs - can be contaminated with salmonella. It is recommended you cook all egg products
paraffin - used to improve chocolate handling in candies. Not recommended for consumption
paper bags - Don't use paper bags for cooking or shaking up caramel popcorn since the bag may be made of recycled toxic substances or be contaminated
botulism - anerobic, low acid environments can support botulism contamination. This includes cakes baked in jars and oils infused with garlic and other vegetables
refrigerator breads - dough which is stored in the refrigerator can be contaminated with bacteria

A source for more details is http://www.extension.iastate.edu/foodsafety/ Canning info: http://www.canning-food-recipes.com/

http://www.homecanning.com/usa/ALBasics.asp

http://extension.usu.edu/publica/foodpubs/canguide/cangui0.pdf

http://hgic.clemson.edu/Site3.htm

****How do I make a request?

You can post the request to the newsgroup or send an email to recipes@swcp.com. We compile the requests into a list of requests which is posted each day.

****I don't want to get spam mail from posting --How can I stop it?

If you post to a newsgroup using your email address, you will start getting spam. You can prevent this by using a temporary mailing address such as hotmail, or yahoo. Or you can tell us to omit your correct address and we will post your recipes with recipes@swcp.com as the address. If you have written us and do not get an answer, ask yourself if you are sending us a valid address.

****Why won't you post a recipe in CAPITAL LETTERS?

In the language of the Internet, all capital letters generally indicates a raised voice or shouting. It is considered rude and would disturb our gentle readers.

****What style should I use? How should I type my recipe?

These are some tips that will help us post your recipe as soon as possible.

Use plain text, not html. Avoid special characters such as fractions or degree signs. These become corrupted and we must guess at their meaning when we edit the recipe.

List your ingredients in one column. This newsgroup is particularly popular with blind readers and one column is much easier to understand. Chack yur spellling. Use measurements that are widely understood. For example, when someone uses "a stick of oleo" as an ingredient we get messages asking how big a stick is and what is oleo.

All measurements and ingredients must be stated in a manner that makes sense to most people. Measurements need to a specific size or quantity - a package of cream cheese could be a large package (8 oz) or a small package (3 oz). In either case it is vague if just called a package. Watch for specific products - It is fine for a recipe to call for something like Rotel, but it is better to put an explanation of what Rotel is--15 ounces canned tomatoes seasoned with onion and chile. This gives a person who lives outside Rotel's distribution area to have a fighting chance at finding an equivalent. From time to time commercial companies wish to advertise products by including recipes using their products. These recipes need to have acceptable substitutes indicated.

The recipe must clearly state the ingredients. Although it is acceptable to write a recipe in narrative style, it is necessary that the recipe clearly indicate the ingredients and the quantities needed. Moderators usually generate an ingredients list.

The recipe should be useful. It should not be trivial, or a prank. We can assume that all our readers have access to a standard basic cookbook and we can assume they know basic cooking techniques.

Signature files should be trimmed down to include the name of the user and information related to the address or telephone number. Mottoes, humorous remarks and pictures are removed. They should not exceed the Internet standard of four lines, except in unusual circumstances. Some organizations send us recipes as a means of advertising. We remove unseemly exhortations to our readers leaving information that allows people interested in the product or service to connect with the provider.

This is a recipe exchange, not a medical forum. Our charter does not permit comments discussing healing therapies or food allergies. It is great to print a gluten-free bread. It is not appropriate in this newsgroup to post about gluten allergy.

We do not knowingly violate copyrights. We watch for recipes that include information indicating a copyright is being violated.

****Why do you keep posting the same requests and the same recipes over and over?

There are some requests that are *made* over and over and over. Readers will send in their recipes, then someone else will send in another version. Remember, there are lots of people seeing this newsgroup for the first time each week. We will often post several versions of a recipe which are only slightly different from each other. We started doing this when we observed how many recipes do not propagate all the way through the Internet. If you see lots of similar recipes be thankful you have such an excellent newsfeed.

****Why is there a delay in posting my recipe?

When we receive recipes, we look at them to see if they are in the proper format. If they are, they are generally posted the same day. If they are not, they must be edited. This delays posting. Also remember we are people with lives, families, jobs and unanticipated life events which may interfere with moderation

****I have several recipes. Can I send them together?

We call more than one recipe for the same dish a collection and we mark them in a special way: It should be followed with the word Collection and the number of recipes. An example:

Cheese Soups (3) Collection

We do this since many people do not want collections and kill them unread. If you object to collections, please do not read them.

Some newsreaders have limitations on the size of a single post. A good rule of thumb is a maximum of five or six recipes in one collection, although sometimes, if the recipes are short, we will post more in a collection. Another rule of thumb is to limit your collections to 120 lines.

****What can not be posted?

Notices for a new web site unless they appear at the end of a recipe

The $250 Cookie or other urban legends.

Joke recipes. An example of this is the rum cake that proliferates during the holiday season, where the "author" tipples at the rum and the description becomes more and more garbled as it progresses.

Items that may be considered 'controversial' in nature. This might include ingredients for endangered species or perhaps ingredients that might be considered too dangerous, exotic or disgusting for most of our readers. In short, if we think it might generate a number of negative responses, we will reject it.

****What if my recipe never appears in the newsgroup?

We swear, we promise, we guarantee that if we do not post your recipe or request in the newsgroup, we will send you a note explaining why. If you do not see your recipe or request appear in the newsgroup and you do not hear from us that means something disappeared in transit. Write us and tell us. We will look into it. If you do not see your article within two weeks, instead of resubmitting, email Patricia Hill at recipes@swcp.com asking about its status. Please include your recipe so we know which one to hunt for.

Make sure you are are using a valid email address. Every day people send us urgent or angry communications, demanding responses from us but they do not use a valid email address. We cannot reply to you if you do not give us a valid email address! Sigh.

Just because you haven't seen it, don't assume it wasn't posted. It may have been posted and it hasn't propagated back to your site yet. Or we may not have even received it! You might be surprised at how much recipes-related email bounces or gets eaten. The net is not 100% efficient and not all articles make it to all sites. We're not 100% efficient either, and on occasion, we'll lose a file or delete something by accident.

****Oops! I sent in a recipe with a mistake. What do I do now?

If you discover that your article was posted with an error, then send the *Corrected* recipe with a brief explanation of the error to Patricia, (recipes@swcp.com) and your corrected version will be posted.