I absolutely love Instagram for what I’ve discovered in terms of recipes and inspiration. I am surprised how often I recognise a style or recipe and there is no credit to the person it originally came from (but I am not sure if people even think they are doing it). The waters are very muddy. I have to step away from Instagram sometimes just because there are so many possible things to make each one looking more and more amazing and it almost panics me - will this stone fruit ricotta cake be better than that one??? (With almost identical ingredients and technique). I think it’s why I return over and over to the same sources in the end!
So nice to hear your thoughts! It is SO hard to know. I guess with everything there are always two sides of the coin but I agree, more credit should be given to those who have inspired the recipe. And I feel the same way about being overwhelmed by choice. Again, this is both a blessing and a curse. What are your favourite sources? Would love to hear. Xo
In my opinion, the most interesting food posts on Instagram are the ones that actually teach people how to make something at home that is delicious and how to fix things when something goes wrong. The million and one duplicates of some fancy dessert, super holey sourdough etc just gets boring and not very useful fast :)) So I would say, make content that can help 'normal' people, and I think the real followers will stick with you, regardless of whether the photos look pretty or not
Thanks so much Wendy. Lovely to hear your thoughts! What are some of your favourite accounts? Do you prefer the short format videos for learning how to make things? Is there anything you'd love to learn? Hopefully I can help and my recipes translate to home bakers as best as possible. Xo
My favourite accounts are kenjicooks and chefsamblack for tutorials on fermentation, and nicolalamb for baking investigations :)) I'm doing a bit less baking at the moment, mostly just doing bread, since I don't have much of a sweet tooth and I use to just bake for other people, but it sort of got a bit uninspiring after a while. I guess partly why I went down the fermentation rabbit hole is that I actually like to eat the things I make. But I would be interested in learning more about savoury baking, and what you can make beyond pies..
For content-- I actually prefer written posts-- I find it a lot easier to understand and also to go back to when necessary
I do a lot of arts and crafts and I see so many wonderful things that people have created. I admit I do copy, but for me, it is just a process of self instruction. I learn something new and it doesn’t leave my house. More important, it starts as a copy and often grows from there, riffing into something new. As a little girl, the creative process came to me so naturally. I could make things out of materials from outside or little broken bits and pieces and be content for ages making thing. Now that I’m older I find it difficult to concentrate and just get going. Too many worries and other demands on my mind inhibited ability to just wander. So copying is my starting point into inspiration. I think it just gives me way to focus and an entry point into creativity. Long story short, I don’t think you need to mute your inspiration. Just put it away very often, so that you are *doing* much more than you are *perusing*
Thanks for this article! I’m in the midst of writing a book about Ukraine (that sentence even makes me feel uncomfortable - what do I know about writing books!) I rushed out and bought lots of other people’s books on the war. I wanted to learn from them. But I got too intimidated to read most of them. I didn’t want to be too influenced by someone else’s style. They all seemed like ‘proper’ works with huge historical context or specialist knowledge! But I should read them! Aaargh. Meanwhile your shortbread looks delicious… and I’m very glad you still post content!
I absolutely love Instagram for what I’ve discovered in terms of recipes and inspiration. I am surprised how often I recognise a style or recipe and there is no credit to the person it originally came from (but I am not sure if people even think they are doing it). The waters are very muddy. I have to step away from Instagram sometimes just because there are so many possible things to make each one looking more and more amazing and it almost panics me - will this stone fruit ricotta cake be better than that one??? (With almost identical ingredients and technique). I think it’s why I return over and over to the same sources in the end!
So nice to hear your thoughts! It is SO hard to know. I guess with everything there are always two sides of the coin but I agree, more credit should be given to those who have inspired the recipe. And I feel the same way about being overwhelmed by choice. Again, this is both a blessing and a curse. What are your favourite sources? Would love to hear. Xo
In my opinion, the most interesting food posts on Instagram are the ones that actually teach people how to make something at home that is delicious and how to fix things when something goes wrong. The million and one duplicates of some fancy dessert, super holey sourdough etc just gets boring and not very useful fast :)) So I would say, make content that can help 'normal' people, and I think the real followers will stick with you, regardless of whether the photos look pretty or not
Thanks so much Wendy. Lovely to hear your thoughts! What are some of your favourite accounts? Do you prefer the short format videos for learning how to make things? Is there anything you'd love to learn? Hopefully I can help and my recipes translate to home bakers as best as possible. Xo
My favourite accounts are kenjicooks and chefsamblack for tutorials on fermentation, and nicolalamb for baking investigations :)) I'm doing a bit less baking at the moment, mostly just doing bread, since I don't have much of a sweet tooth and I use to just bake for other people, but it sort of got a bit uninspiring after a while. I guess partly why I went down the fermentation rabbit hole is that I actually like to eat the things I make. But I would be interested in learning more about savoury baking, and what you can make beyond pies..
For content-- I actually prefer written posts-- I find it a lot easier to understand and also to go back to when necessary
I do a lot of arts and crafts and I see so many wonderful things that people have created. I admit I do copy, but for me, it is just a process of self instruction. I learn something new and it doesn’t leave my house. More important, it starts as a copy and often grows from there, riffing into something new. As a little girl, the creative process came to me so naturally. I could make things out of materials from outside or little broken bits and pieces and be content for ages making thing. Now that I’m older I find it difficult to concentrate and just get going. Too many worries and other demands on my mind inhibited ability to just wander. So copying is my starting point into inspiration. I think it just gives me way to focus and an entry point into creativity. Long story short, I don’t think you need to mute your inspiration. Just put it away very often, so that you are *doing* much more than you are *perusing*
Thanks for this article! I’m in the midst of writing a book about Ukraine (that sentence even makes me feel uncomfortable - what do I know about writing books!) I rushed out and bought lots of other people’s books on the war. I wanted to learn from them. But I got too intimidated to read most of them. I didn’t want to be too influenced by someone else’s style. They all seemed like ‘proper’ works with huge historical context or specialist knowledge! But I should read them! Aaargh. Meanwhile your shortbread looks delicious… and I’m very glad you still post content!