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Food.com is a website dedicated to all things edible. Users can find an enormous collection of delicious recipes sorted by categories including crock pot, casserole, Mexican, chicken, healthy, pasta, appetizer, chili, dessert, and holiday themed recipes. The homepage features seasonal goodies that entice users to try a new recipe. Recipes come with directions and a full color image of the finished dish. Users can also provide reviews and star ratings to others can decide whether or not the recipe is worth a try. Food also includes numerous cook book categories so users can check for themed recipes. A social networking element is also incorporated through food related forums that allow users to converse and share their food related opinions and knowledge.

Food.com is a part of the Scripps Network, which introduced HGTV in 1994. The network includes the Cooking Channel, the DiY Network, and the Food Network. Scripps is currently based in Knoxville, Tennessee. The team includes Senior Vice President of Digital Media Lisa Choi Evans, Senior Vice President of Ad Sales Jeff Meyer, Executive Vice President of Business Development Ron Feinbaum, and President John Lansing. Food was created as another detailed resource for users to find recipes and learn about food. Today, the site still serves the same purpose, enhancing family meals and giving users a way to create delicious dishes at home.

The Food.com website isn’t really terribly unique. Many other websites offer extensive databases of recipes for all occasions. That being said, Food stands out in its depth. The site doesn’t just offer tasty recipes. Users can also participate in forums and connect with other users. The site also has a compilation of cookbooks so user scan find themed recipes or narrow down their search.

New visitors to the Food.com website will find that it is well organized while present many options and categories. The homepage and each recipe page include full color images that will make the user’s mouth water. There is no better way to entice someone to try a recipe online than including an image of the finished product. Unique category listings help organize the large recipe collection into manageable sections. User can easily navigate using helpful links across the top of the homepage, which include cookbooks, food, menus, community and the Food shop.

Visitors that wish to become Food.com members can do so by clicking on the blue “Join Food.com for Free” link found at the top right hand corner of the homepage. The registration form is very cut and dry, asking for an email address, username, password, and choice of user avatar (for use on the Food.com forums and user profiles). The user can also enter text to describe themselves or share something they feel is relevant through their profile. Additional fields ask for gender, location, country, and terms of use agreement.

Anyone can create a Food.com account for free. There are no subscription fees or other fees to use the tools offered. In fact, users can search for recipes without logging in. The site does offer a Food shop where users can purchase cooking related items, like small appliances, cutlery, cookware, and cookbooks by popular brands such as KitchenAid, Cuisinart, Calphalon, and Le Creuset. How much the user spends depends entirely on them.

Food.com is an excellent resource to pick up new recipes or meet with others who love to cook. The site is intended for anyone, with a cooking focus. The free access is great for encouraging people to share the site and enhance the user community.

• Read and post on the Food.com forums
• Search for new recipes
• Purchase cooking related items from the Food.com shop
• Leave reviews and ratings for recipes you have tried
• Browse categories and cookbooks

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