Concept
A structured idea with provisional yield, timing, nutrition, and directions. It is not presented as kitchen tested.
Provenance before volume
Every recipe should tell you where it came from.
The current large catalog began as a structured product prototype. Its generated entries are now labeled as concepts while we migrate to cited historical sources, compatible open licenses, and kitchen testing.
Source backed
Adapted from a cited public-domain or compatible open-license source and reviewed for modern measurements, clarity, and food safety.
Kitchen tested
Prepared by a human tester, checked for yield and timing, and paired with an image of the finished version.
Photography is a separate rights question.
Even where a recipe method is public domain, modern photographs and expressive prose may still be copyrighted. WorkLife will use commissioned imagery, our own photography, or media with a verified compatible license and attribution record.
Public-domain foundation
Historical cookbooks selected for editorial review
These books are useful starting points, not automatic publication feeds. Older recipes still require modern food-safety review, measurement normalization, and duplicate detection.
The Boston Cooking-School Cook Book
Fannie Merritt Farmer · Public domain in the United States
Primary candidate for measured recipes, foundational methods, and source citations.The Whitehouse Cookbook
F. L. Gillette and Hugo Ziemann · Public domain in the United States
Historical American dishes, menus, preserves, breads, and household cookery.The Century Cook Book
Mary Ronald · Public domain in the United States
Broad recipe coverage with useful technique and menu context.Good Things to Eat
Rufus Estes · Public domain in the United States
Historically important American recipes with clear creator attribution.Science in the Kitchen
E. E. Kellogg · Public domain in the United States
Plant-forward preparations, grains, fruits, breads, and household food guidance.Domestic Cookery, Useful Receipts, and Hints to Young Housekeepers
Elizabeth E. Lea · Public domain in the United States
Regional American food history and source material for carefully modernized adaptations.Open-license candidates
Useful when every obligation is preserved
Recipe Commons
License declared per recipe book; the project and examples use CC0
Promising Git-native format for recipes whose individual provenance and license pass review.Wikibooks Cookbook
Generally CC BY-SA 4.0 and GFDL; page-level review and attribution required
Community-maintained recipes that can be used only with complete attribution and ShareAlike compliance.USDA FoodData Central
CC0 / United States public-domain nutrition data
Preferred source for ingredient nutrition calculations, with USDA citation.Not approved for bulk import
Large does not automatically mean legitimate
RecipeNLG
Its published terms limit use to non-commercial research and education and disclaim non-infringement.
Scraped publisher datasets
A repository license does not necessarily prove that the uploader had rights to republish scraped recipe prose or photography.
Unlicensed recipe APIs and GitHub dumps
A public repository is not the same as public-domain or commercially licensed content.
Publication workflow
Source → normalize → safety review → cook → photograph → publish
- Capture the original title, author, year, URL, rights status, and page reference.
- Normalize measurements while preserving a visible adaptation record.
- Review temperatures, canning, raw egg, meat, and storage guidance against modern standards.
- Kitchen test the yield, active prep, total time, substitutions, and leftovers.
- Use a unique commissioned or properly licensed image and store its rights record.
- Publish the citation, adaptation note, test date, and reviewer on the recipe page.
This policy describes our publishing process and is not legal advice. Cultured Spirits, LLC should have counsel review the final licensing and contributor terms before a large commercial import.
Browse the labeled preview catalog