Some cookbooks include measurement conversions, and there are charts you can download and print- but for food bloggers, sometimes the best solution is an online calculator. Here are our top 3 favorites:

Gourmet Sleuth’s Cooking Conversions

Actually 6 different calculators, including a highly-precise Cooking Conversions Tool that we have to love. Using the calculator involves a few steps, as you first search for a keyword, then select from a list of possibilities, then type in the amount you need to convert.

Traditional Oven’s Calculators

I’ll admit that, as a baker, these are the online calculators I use the most- especially their Flour and Butter calculators. Easy to use, with calculators for Sugar, Honey, Oats, and more.

The Kitchen Calculator iPhone App

Kitchen Calculator iPhone App

(warning: link will open the App Store in your iTunes)
For those of us who never go anywhere without our iPhones, iPod Touches, or iPads, this $1.99 app might just be worth every penny- especially with its support for fractions.

What do you use to calculate your measurements?

The good news is that using LinkWithin couldn’t be easier. Here’s how we did it for FoodBloggers.net, which is running on self-hosted WordPress:

After submitting your preferences and details, download the plugin, install and activate. Then go into the plugin Settings and select whether you want it shown only on Single posts (in our case, yes):

And voila. Yes, it’s that easy.

A little customization is possible- for instance, if you know how to edit your blog templates, you can select exactly where to place the LinkWithin widget with this bit of code:

<div class=”linkwithin_div”></div>

Or edit the text that appears above the widget with this:

<script>linkwithin_text=’Your custom text:’</script>

So far, I’ve been really pleased with the LinkWithin service- and have no problem recommending it highly. You can see it in action at the bottom of this post.

Do you use LinkWithin? Has it increased reader activity on your blog?

Your light source can be the light shining through a window or the simple desk lamp discussed recently in General Tips for Home Food Photography.

This time we will be reflecting light off our light source onto our food subject. For this, you can use a shiny cookie sheet.

Just hold the flat side against your light source, on the opposite side of your food subject from your light source. Your light source should be casting a light from your subject’s back to almost the front, leaving your subject’s front area darker.

By reflecting the light towards the front of your subject you are balancing out the exposure, but since the reflected light won’t be as intense as your light source from the back, the front of your subject will still be darker thereby keeping the original visual depth created by the manipulation of light and decreasing the contrast to give you better detail.

Other items you can use are cake boards that are white or lined with aluminum foil. You can even use a frying pan’s shiny side as well as it’s lid or a white plastic chopping board. Just about anything white or shiny white. I normally use a white styrofoam (expanded rigid polystyrene plastic) board.

You can use a dining chair as your light stand by taping or tying your shiny kitchen stuff reflectors on it. Once you have your reflectors in the right place, pointed towards your subject in order to cast the reflected light onto the front of your subject and spread out towards the back of your subject, just one reflector, you can shoot away. Just make sure your focus is spot on and the exposure is set for the center of your food subject.

First you need a good light source.

A simple desk lamp will do. Your bulb should be a white (daylight) fluorescent one, as bright as possible. A 15 to 30 watt daylight type fluorescent bulb should give you ample illumination.

Next you need a piece of white translucent paper

Such as Vellum or Tracing paper, about 1 foot by 1 foot square up to about 2 feet by 2 feet square. You will use this to soften your light by placing it in front of your lamp about six inches away from the bulb.

Position your food on a table.

Position the lamp at the back (left, center or right) of your food with the translucent paper about six inches in front of the bulb. Make sure the lamp casts a light from the back to almost the front of your food subject.

Try to keep the center of your food in focus.

Use your auto-focus for this. If you so desire you may want to use manual focus instead. Anything outside your subject can be out of focus to give more attention to your food. With your auto-exposure try to lock-in on your subject’s center. The back may be slightly over exposed, the front darker, richer and the center perfectly exposed.

The result should be something like this…

Or like this.

Many food blogs are mostly recipe posts- and that’s why we love them. Recipes written by the cook, whether original or from another source and tweaked to perfection, are always more personal and, many times, just better.

When writing your recipes down for other, it’s always a good idea to stick to what I like to call “Recipe Writing Standards”:

Always start with the recipe Title, Number of Servings, and Serving Size

Give your recipe a good, descriptive title. For example, Salted Caramel-filled Chocolate Cupcakes with Truffle Frosting is much better than Mary’s To-Die-For Cupcakes.

Begin with a List of Ingredients

Keep these in mind when listing your ingredients:

• List ingredients in order of use.
• Use numerals. Example: 10 eggs instead of ten eggs. This goes for writing out your Method as well.
• Spell out all measurements. teaspoons instead of tsps.
• Use lowercase, unless you’re referring to proper names. Examples: bittersweet chocolate or Callebaut bittersweet chocolate.
• Include simple prep instructions after the ingredient. Examples: chicken breast, diced or cheddar cheese, grated.
• List necessary equipment. Example: 2 9-inch cake tins

Write out your Method or Process

Tips for writing out the process of your recipe:

• For oven-baked dishes, always begin with a preheating instruction. Example: Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Use paragraphs. A recipe written as one long paragraph is very difficult to follow. Break up the process into steps, and use separate paragraphs for each.
• Include sizes of bowls and pans. Examples: In a large bowl… or In a medium frying pan…
• Approximate times and include visual clues and cues. Example: Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Include storage instructions and/or shelf-life details. Example: Keeps in an airtight container for 2 weeks.

Strive to Write Better Recipes

The following tips are not necessary, but are always nice:

• Include step by step photos. At the very least, include a photo of the finished product.
• After the title and serving information, write a short description or story behind the recipe.
• Include ingredient or equipment substitutions. Examples: pastry flour or all-purpose flour, 1 9-inch cake tin or 2 loaf pans
• At the end of the recipe, include tips for success and/or options for “gilding the lily”. Example: Try rolling your truffles in crushed walnuts instead of cocoa powder.

What are your recipe writing tips?

Now, much has been said about Twitter killing blogs (with reasons like “it’s easier to write/read”). And I can sort of see their point when it comes to news blogs, but food blogs? In spite of my obvious addiction to the service, I do NOT believe Twitter will kill food blogging. Here’s why:

Poor photo support.

The best food blogs are rich with photos because food blog readers like to see them. To post photos on Twitter, you need to use a third-party service such as TwitPic.

Recipes are longer than 140 characters.

Oh sure, you could post a recipe in a tweet, like say a simple ganache:

Ganache: Bring 1 cup heavy cream to boil. Pour over 1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate. Let stand 5 minutes. Mix until melted.

But the truth is that most recipes require much more than Twitter’s 140 character limit to post.

Searching through tweets is a pain.

I often find myself returning to my favorite food blogs to search for posts and recipes I remember reading in the past- sometimes a long time in the past- which is why the search function of a blog is so important to me. Because Twitter is so “real-time”, tweets even from just a few hours ago can be difficult to find.

Of course, Twitter is a great tool for those who have an existing food blog- you can use it to post real-time updates as you test recipes, try out a new restaurant, or simply alert your readers to new posts on your blog. Twitter’s usefulness can’t be denied- we have one for FoodBloggers, after all- but it won’t kill food blogs.

Do you tweet rather than food blog?

*Update!: We’ve released our very own Food Blog theme. It’s sweet and cupcakey and free! Check out the Winnie WordPress Theme.

The FoodRecipe theme has been around for a while, but it’s still one of the nicest food-related blog themes out there. A wood-grain background gives it a homey warmth, it supports widgets and gravatars, and allows you to highlight your “featured” posts as well.

Cutting Board is a little bolder, and certainly more obvious, with an extra-tall header featuring a knife, salad and- of course- chopping board. Still, it’s a nicely made theme, with a bright red background that most food photos will look good against.

Maybe I was drawn to this theme because strawberries are my favorite fruit ever. Strawberry Blend is a sleek black, white and red theme with two columns. I like how clean this theme looks- and honestly, if strawberries aren’t necessarily your thing, the header photo can be replaced with a photo of your choice quite easily.

I really like In the Kitchen because it’s girly without being overly so, with a nice choice of light colors and rounded corners for softness.

Finally, the new (released just days ago!) and free iRestaurant theme has got to be my favorite. Perfect for a restaurant, but just fine for a regular food blog, it’s got everything from an options page to ad-ready banner spaces to areas for featured videos and featured content.

Do you use a food-related theme on your blog?