Recipe within another recipe

[Kasia]

Hi guys, I hope you could help me figure something out, I would love to hear your opinion.

Let’s say we’ve got a recipe for a cake. One of a key ingredients is a very specific type of jam. It cannot be substituted for something else, and it’s hard to buy in the shops.
We’ve got a recipe for that jam on our blog already, it’s a keyword on it’s own merit.

So in that cake recipe, would you:

• just mention that special jam in the ingredients (with a link to the jam post)
  or
• repeat all the steps for the jam recipe?

I’m not sure what would be better, especially from the UX perspective… any tips?

[megan]

Personally, I would mention the special jam recipe and link to it. Especially since it’s a unique recipe, users would have to click over to it. Plus, if you ever use the jam as an ingredient in another recipe, it would be set up to link to!

But maybe @BethanySmith could weigh in with a UX perspective?

[Kasia]

I’m worried that people will get annoyed, as they don’t have the complete recipe in one place…

They’ll print the cake recipe and then think:
“S*&t! I don’t have that special jam! Now I have to go back to the blog to find it!”

[BethanySmith]

I agree with @megan to link to the other recipe.

But I would make sure it’s very obvious that it’s a whole other recipe. So do more than just the one link in the recipe. Link it in the directions and also make a special note somewhere within the recipe card that you need to make this other recipe also.

Also, which I’m sure you’re doing, make sure to explain in the actual blog post why that recipe is so special.

[Kasia]

Makes sense. Thank you!

[Cathy]

Thank you for this! I’m also in a similar situation, so I’m following your advice.

[mysustainablekitchen]

Great question! I often wonder about the same!

I usually add all the steps in the recipe because that’s what I want when I’m using other people’s recipes. I don’t like opening and switching between multiple tabs when I’m in the middle of cooking!