5 ms·

It is even worse in internet recipes. The authors tend to go on and on about their feelings, family and personal stories before finally getting to the point how

by nn3 7y ago

It is even worse in internet recipes. The authors tend to go on and on about their feelings, family and personal stories before finally getting to the point how to actually cook the dish. I usually have to skip several paragraphs.

kaycebasques 7y ago
I always assumed that this is an SEO practice?
- scolby33 7y ago
  I think it’s because the recipe itself cannot be copyrighted but the blog post around it can. I know I read this somewhere, but can’t find the reference now. So, take this with a grain of salt or a starting point for your own research :)
  - aetherson 7y ago
    More people read those blog posts as entertainment than use the recipe.
- dspillett 7y ago
  I'm not sure how a section of information that is often largely irrelevant to the recipe (despite mentioning a few key terms) is going to be a valuable SEO practise. I assume people are trying to be the next online cooking personality who gets to publish a book. I've seen a couple in shops with pictures of YouTube recipe demonstration people on the cover. Also, more text is more "content" to mix adverts into.
  - zimpenfish 7y ago
    > I assume people are trying to be the next online cooking personality who gets to publish a book. I just assume that they associate recipes and foods with times and places and people (generally happily) and it's akin to "do you remember that time mother cooked weasel?" kind of conversations you'd have with people, except on a blog.
    - dspillett 7y ago
      That it probably the case for those that are put together more as a blog for friends and family to peruse. But a lot of the sites I've seen don't feel that way. They feel like they are desperately trying to feel that way though (the old "sincerity is key: once you can fake it you win" skit).
  - kaycebasques 7y ago
    > Also, more text is more "content" to mix adverts into. Ah, yes. Of course. This is the most plausible explanation IMO.
- Steve44 7y ago
  Something I read a couple of weeks ago discussed this. From what I remember it’s to increase the time a user spends on a page, this increases the page ranking in Google; ISTR it was called dwell time.
  - EForEndeavour 7y ago
    ISTR = I Seem To Recall(?) Acronym expanded for the benefit of anyone else who's browsing HN before coffee and would have taken a similarly embarrassing length of time to infer the likely meaning of this one, which I'd never seen before.
    - Steve44 7y ago
      I've always known is as "I Seem To Remember" and I thought it was in common use. It's been around for as long as I can remember, apologies for assuming.
nsxwolf 7y ago
This Chrome extension extracts just the recipe from those long winded blogs. It's more vital to me than ad blockers. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/recipe-filter/ahlcdjbkdaegmljnnncfnhiioiadakae?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/recipe-filter/ahlc...
oh_sigh 7y ago
My trick is to ctrl-f for 'tbsp' whenever I hit a recipe blog site. In their prose it is always referred to as 'tablespoons'(if at all), and the first reference to tbsp is usually in the ingredients list at the actual recipe.
- zwieback 7y ago
  Genius! I'm so tired of scrolling over 20 pictures of utensils and ingredients.
jbattle 7y ago
I think that 'fluff' is actually interesting content to the bulk of people landing on that page. I know folks who read recipes for fun, I expect they genuinely enjoy reading the color commentary just like I might enjoy reading some 'extraneous' content in a movie/album review
- adelie 7y ago
  am one of those people! depends a lot on the commentary, though - i probably don't care about your feelings (sorry) or descriptive prose. on the other hand, when i'm looking up a recipe from another culture, i really value commentary on the background or history of the dish.
- munificent 7y ago
  I follow a lot of cooking subreddits. I think it was charming in the earlier days of food blogging, but today it seems every recipe reader is beyond tired of it. Part of the problem is that almost every food blogger is emulating the exact same character. It's the same harried but still whipping something creative together, educated but conspicuously mentions liking a glass of wine, love-my-kids-but-man-do-they-get-on-my-nerves persona. It's the 2010's white sitcom parent writ large. I'd read a lot more of the prose on these blogs if they didn't all sound the same.
munchbunny 7y ago
That was the first thing that came to mind for me too. Usually the recipes come after two pages of exposition and 5 ads. It gets especially bad on my phone because then all I see are ads. That's why I love King Arthur Flour's recipes (among others). Short intro, and then it gets right into how to get more consistency and quality out of the recipe or how to do variations on the recipe. It's not another long winded essay that boils down to "I cook this for my family."
asdff 7y ago
Some websites still have a print friendly view that spits out the recipe nice and succinctly usually on one page

by nn3 7y ago

kaycebasques 7y ago

I always assumed that this is an SEO practice?

scolby33 7y ago
I think it’s because the recipe itself cannot be copyrighted but the blog post around it can. I know I read this somewhere, but can’t find the reference now. So, take this with a grain of salt or a starting point for your own research :)
- aetherson 7y ago
  More people read those blog posts as entertainment than use the recipe.
dspillett 7y ago
I'm not sure how a section of information that is often largely irrelevant to the recipe (despite mentioning a few key terms) is going to be a valuable SEO practise. I assume people are trying to be the next online cooking personality who gets to publish a book. I've seen a couple in shops with pictures of YouTube recipe demonstration people on the cover. Also, more text is more "content" to mix adverts into.
- zimpenfish 7y ago
  > I assume people are trying to be the next online cooking personality who gets to publish a book. I just assume that they associate recipes and foods with times and places and people (generally happily) and it's akin to "do you remember that time mother cooked weasel?" kind of conversations you'd have with people, except on a blog.
  - dspillett 7y ago
    That it probably the case for those that are put together more as a blog for friends and family to peruse. But a lot of the sites I've seen don't feel that way. They feel like they are desperately trying to feel that way though (the old "sincerity is key: once you can fake it you win" skit).
- kaycebasques 7y ago
  > Also, more text is more "content" to mix adverts into. Ah, yes. Of course. This is the most plausible explanation IMO.
Steve44 7y ago
Something I read a couple of weeks ago discussed this. From what I remember it’s to increase the time a user spends on a page, this increases the page ranking in Google; ISTR it was called dwell time.
- EForEndeavour 7y ago
  ISTR = I Seem To Recall(?) Acronym expanded for the benefit of anyone else who's browsing HN before coffee and would have taken a similarly embarrassing length of time to infer the likely meaning of this one, which I'd never seen before.
  - Steve44 7y ago
    I've always known is as "I Seem To Remember" and I thought it was in common use. It's been around for as long as I can remember, apologies for assuming.

nsxwolf 7y ago

This Chrome extension extracts just the recipe from those long winded blogs. It's more vital to me than ad blockers. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/recipe-filter/ahlcdjbkdaegmljnnncfnhiioiadakae?hl=en https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/recipe-filter/ahlc...

oh_sigh 7y ago

My trick is to ctrl-f for 'tbsp' whenever I hit a recipe blog site. In their prose it is always referred to as 'tablespoons'(if at all), and the first reference to tbsp is usually in the ingredients list at the actual recipe.

zwieback 7y ago
Genius! I'm so tired of scrolling over 20 pictures of utensils and ingredients.

jbattle 7y ago

I think that 'fluff' is actually interesting content to the bulk of people landing on that page. I know folks who read recipes for fun, I expect they genuinely enjoy reading the color commentary just like I might enjoy reading some 'extraneous' content in a movie/album review

adelie 7y ago
am one of those people! depends a lot on the commentary, though - i probably don't care about your feelings (sorry) or descriptive prose. on the other hand, when i'm looking up a recipe from another culture, i really value commentary on the background or history of the dish.
munificent 7y ago
I follow a lot of cooking subreddits. I think it was charming in the earlier days of food blogging, but today it seems every recipe reader is beyond tired of it. Part of the problem is that almost every food blogger is emulating the exact same character. It's the same harried but still whipping something creative together, educated but conspicuously mentions liking a glass of wine, love-my-kids-but-man-do-they-get-on-my-nerves persona. It's the 2010's white sitcom parent writ large. I'd read a lot more of the prose on these blogs if they didn't all sound the same.

munchbunny 7y ago

That was the first thing that came to mind for me too. Usually the recipes come after two pages of exposition and 5 ads. It gets especially bad on my phone because then all I see are ads. That's why I love King Arthur Flour's recipes (among others). Short intro, and then it gets right into how to get more consistency and quality out of the recipe or how to do variations on the recipe. It's not another long winded essay that boils down to "I cook this for my family."

asdff 7y ago

Some websites still have a print friendly view that spits out the recipe nice and succinctly usually on one page