Constant Content

Ed, please tell me what you prefer. I'm writing an article about pie crust technique, but felt it was best to include a basic recipe with it. Is it sufficient to say "this recipe is taken from Betty Crocker" or do I need additional information to cite the source? (perhaps as a footnote at the end) It's a very common recipe found in many cookbooks, and I'm not certain Betty Crocker is the original source. Does that matter for something like pie crust?
Thanks,
Emma

Hi Emma,

Unfortunately, we can't accept content with recipes taken directly from other sources.

Thanks,
Ed

Okay. (rats, fooey, darn!)
I'll go do what I can to make it work without a recipe. Thanks for the quick answer!

How about paraphrasing along the lines of:
Make a basic pie crust by taking a cup of flour and cutting it with two tablespoons butter and 1 egg. Chill the mixure for at least an hour before rolling, blah, blah blah. . .

or
Using your favorite pie crust recipe or a store bought pie crust, blah, blah, blah. . .

Years ago I found a good resource that details out how to write recipes. The book is titled: How to Write a Cook Book and Get it Published by: Sarah Pitzer. Cincinnati, Ohio : Writer's Digest Books, c1984. ISBN: 0898791324.

It not only describes how to write recipes, it explains the legalities. Even though it is an older book, it still has very useful information. I recommend checking it out of the local library.

Good luck!

Thanks for chiming in, ladies, and sorry I ducked out so quickly yesterday and missed your replies. Here is what I came up with:

"First, find a very basic recipe, from a respected source like Betty Crocker. The only ingredients you should need are flour, salt, Crisco shortening, and water."

I like Celeste's idea better, but can I use the same ingredients & measures and just write out the directions differently than is found in the cookbook? It really needs to be a recipe using these ingredients, since that's what I know and trust, and the article is all about techniques and tips to make a pie crust from scratch. It's such a common recipe that I'm afraid it will be pretty difficult to make it original. And I'm not sure Ed would be satisfied...

Sorry Ed, but can you make another call on this?

ETA: Thanks so much for the tip for a great cooking reference, REason. I'll go see if I can request it from my library system.

I think your solution is fine. Pie crust is so basic that you can't help but have the same ingredients as 2 million other recipes, but you wouldn't be able to copy the instructions word-for-word. Anyway, I bet that no person makes pie crust the same way, it being such a fickle medium, so instructions should be easy to recreate so they are original to you. For example, if you prefer a particular type of surface to knead the dough on or you have a particular trick for keeping the dough from sticking to your surface, you can include this information. Maybe you suggest the reader dust her hands with flour or you have a particular tip for estimating when the dough has been kneaded enough. Maybe you cut in the shortening in a particular way or have a particular type of flour that works best - or know of one that that doesn't work at all. What part of the process guarantees a flakey crust that recreate's Grandma's results?

A big fan of good pie crust,
Ed

Okay, I'll leave that sentence as is. I guess the point of the article is that a good recipe is only the beginning. Then I go on for about 1,000 words on how to guarantee that perfect crust. Ed, if you lived closer, I'd make you a perfect-pastry pie for the holidays, because you're worthy of that and more.
Thanks, and happy early Thanksgiving!
Emma

That's really sweet! Thank you.

I think a simple ingredients list for pie crust, with measurements included, will be okay and appropriate for this article. I misunderstood and thought that you were referring to the entire contents of a recipe from Betty Crocker - ingredients and instructions combined.

The following is a brief and handy explanation about copyright protection for ingredients:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl122.html

I would like to add, for anyone reading, that we do not generally accept recipes unless they are for a request or unless they are accompanied by more information than the recipe itself. An extensive tutorial about how to make flakey pie crust, perfect guacamole, a killer martini, or some other delicious dish or drink is acceptable.

Thanks,
Ed

Ah, that's great! Thanks for that link.
Emma

Ed,

Where are you exactly? I've been wondering where all the CC staff is from for quite a while. When I say exactly, I don't mean your home address (though how else can we send you pies?), just in general like Quebec or Washington, D.C., or Sydney.

Emma, what is your best pie? Mine is pecan

I just did a whois for constant and they are hiding. http://whois.domaintools.com/constant-content.com

ewww godaddy. I hate godaddy.

Ah, I found s source that say Arizona. But it's the Internet, CC could be anywhere!

I don't think CC's based in Arizona. Try a bit further north, quite a bit.

haha, no, I meant they are hiding behind a privacy registration. That info is the privacy registrar. For something like $6/year, you can hide your info when you register a domain.