What makes a recipe accessible?

Text is large and in a color that are easy to see
Text and images can be read by a digital screen reader, or there is an audio version available
Layout is simple and consistent to navigate
Avoid flashing images

There are thousands of recipe websites out there. Some do these things pretty well, most do not. When we search for a recipe, some of the accessibility problems we see are:

It’s hard to find the recipe. You have to scroll through a lot of other distracting content to get to it (see cookieandkate)
Large, complicated website menus (see allrecipes)
Lots of moving pop-up ads and videos (see gimmesomeoven)
Many sites can’t be used very well by a screen reader, voice navigation, or keyboard navigation. You often can’t tell by looking at a site unless you use those tools or look at the code. (see tasteofhome)

We shared the sites above as examples of accessibility problems, but they also do some things we like. We like the checkbox feature on All Recipes. It helps people keep their place in a long list of ingredients and steps. We like the big text size on Taste of Home. We like that the recipes on all these sites have a printer-friendly option

So why aren’t very many sites accessible? Sometimes it’s because people making the sites don’t know they should use these practices or don’t know how. People often make websites and recipes for the way they think the “average” person uses them. They don’t think about people having different abilities. Another reason is cost. It can take more time to make a site more accessible - that means paying someone to do that work. A lot of websites also make money by advertising. Often they get a better payment for including videos and moving ads. That’s why you see so many annoying pop-up ads all over websites. We know it can feel hard for companies and people to make their websites and recipes accessible. But we think it’s worth it. We also think these sites are missing out on a big audience by not making their content more accessible.

The other thing is that just because a book or website is technically accessible doesn’t mean people can make good use of it. The recipe and other content can create barriers. Recipes often imply steps that are not written because they assume you know certain things about cooking. Articles can use big words and special terms that are hard to understand.

What sets Cookable Kitchen apart is that we think making recipes accessible is the least we can do. We go several steps further and strive to make our recipes inclusive. To us, inclusive means content made for people with different abilities, experiences, and interests. A lot of resources claim to be made for the “general public” but don’t account for ways people are unique. It’s okay that there are resources for different people. The problem is that some people get left out more than others. We see a huge need for cooking resources for people who have difficulty with things like:

Remembering
Problem-solving
Focusing attention
Reading
Math
Understanding written and spoken language
Understanding complex symbols and pictures
Sensitivity to the ways things feel, smell, look, taste, and/or sound
Hand and wrist strength
Being able to do something for a long period
Moving around easily

This includes people who have a diagnosed disability. It also includes many other people who have some of those challenges but do not have a diagnosis.

We design recipes, classes, and resources with those needs in mind. But that doesn’t mean our recipes are only for people with those needs. That’s what’s great about taking an inclusive approach. When you make something with a particular need in mind, it is usually good for a lot of other people, too. Someone who struggles with reading may need pictures to complete a recipe. But pictures are helpful even if you don’t struggle with reading.

When we design recipes, we think about ways to help people overcome obstacles. We think about whether each ingredient is easy to find and work with. We think about which parts of the recipe could be confusing and break down each step. We think about safety. We know we can’t meet every person’s unique needs. But we try to meet as many needs as we can.