You can’t copyright a recipe. It’s why the 23-year-old apprentice pharmacist who invented the banana split never got rich when Walgreen’s took the idea nationwide, or why chef Dominique Ansel trademarked the word “Cronut” to protect his donut fried from croissant dough but could do nothing to stop Dunkin’ Donuts from selling its own “Croissant Donut.” It’s also why, when you search for any recipe online, you’ll find 1,000 bloggers all claiming to have invented a recipe, pretending they didn’t simply copy or adapt someone else’s.
As a journalist who loves to cook, this lack of proper attribution makes my stomach turn. But finally, one recipe platform seems to have addressed the problem in a big way. To Taste is a new site that lets you find new recipes, put your own spin on them, then easily (privately) save or (publicly) publish your fresh take.
By Mark Wilson