Monday, January 08, 2007
I can be picky with food, and it's my mother's fault. A longtime subscriber to Gourmet, my mother loved to try recipes that were different from our culture's cuisine. She was the first on our block to make sushi. She was big on making her biscotti and her own pasta. She is the "OG" (Original Gourmet) in my family.
I've carried that same enthusiasm for food into my adulthood. When I have time, I'm always game for trying some new and exciting recipes. When I vacationed in Thailand, I didn't ride any elephants or check out the silks at Jim Thompson. Instead, I opted to take a cooking class on the island of Koh Samui.
Now, with the launch of Google's Custom Search Engine, I can make my own search engine for recipes. Just the recipes, baby!
How is that different from a Google Search? What if I wanted to search for recipes that have beef and corn as ingredients?
Here's a Google.com result:
Recipes appear in the search results, and you can refine your query. A Custom Search Engine for recipes only searches recipes and pages from specific sources I designate. This gives me more control over the content I see. Here's a result from a Google custom search engine:
Great - now I have recipe-specific search results and the option to refine even further. Maybe I want to use beef and corn as ingredients and use a crockpot to prepare something. The search labels allow me to find recipes according to cuisine style or preparation technique, which is so useful for busy parents like me who don't have a lot of time to run out and get something to make a recipe work. Instead, I can get the recipe to work for me according to what I have in mind or have handy in the pantry. You can also collaborate with people who are interested in cooking and sharing recipes. Also, if you search for recipes quite often, consider adding a nifty Google Gadget to your Google HomePage :
Marketers and website publishers can benefit as well by adding a Google Custom Search Engine to their website or blog. Check out how easy it is to add the code and set it up. The upside: provide your visitors with more comprehensive information, make the search engine look and feel like your own, and leverage your expertise in a value-add on your site. You become an even better resource (and web destination) for your users. Here are some examples of sites using Google's Custom Search Engine.
Enjoy, and bon appétit!
