Translating for recipes and cookbooks.

by Target Language Translation Services

- November 25 2021

“Heat oven to 200 °C.” “Add the ingredients to a big pan.” “Cook for 20 minutes.” – Translating recipes and cookbooks appears to be a simple task at first sight, but that is only one's first impression. A menu looks like a simple food-list, and cookery books might be regarded as a list of recipes with sets of ingredients and simple instructions. However, in practice recipe and cookbook translation has a variety of challenges. It involves a huge degree of localization, thorough research and an experienced project manager who knows exactly what to look for in a recipe.

Recipe and cookbook translation challenges

Cooking tools

Cooking tools and availability are different in various countries. As an example: certain moroccan recipes need a tagine. If you are translating a Moroccan cookbook to English and the intended market will be in England, readers may not have access to a tagine. It is here, were we also recommend not only translating the word to have a precise and authentic recipe, but also advising substitution cooking tools. In addition to including a detailed description of what a tagine looks like and how it works and the intended outcome. It is going above and beyond simple translation, but putting in extra work to make sure that your intended audience can actually benefit from the content you are providing them and contextually providing them with solutions.

Measurements

Measurement varies in different countries. The older generation in the UK is used to pounds, ounces, fluid ounces and teaspoons/ tablespoons, while the new generation has gone metric and talks about grams and millilitres. In the US, they prefer cups. Translators have frequently included a chart that shows measurement equivalents, however in a longer recipe, or in a cookbook it can be frustrating for the readers to have to continuously have to refer back to that page. We highly recommend taking translation a step further and actually customizing the content to the intended audience. So converting measurements to the system used in the country where you will publish your work. More than convenience, it is crucial to the recipe and for the quality of food that there be consistency of measurements. Without this, you are sure to have disappointed readers.

Ingredients

Ingredients can also cause problems. Certain items in exotic recipes cannot be found or is extremely expensive in other places. Here it is highly recommended to keep the original ingredient, but also have a list of substitute ingredients. This allows for the recipe to truly be used globally and account for any issues the user may run into along the way. It provides options which means happy readers.

An exotic recipe from the Philippines in the “Aubergines” publication, for instance, calls for the “heart of a banana flower” and although international trade has brought many an ingredient to Europe, chances of finding banana flowers are extremely limited…The solution is an alternative ingredient with a similar taste and consistency. In this case, palm hearts or apples do the trick.

Oven temperatures

Oven temperatures also need to be localized, depending on the intended market or the publisher’s preferences. We need to make sure that the conversion between Fahrenheit and Celsius is correct, and some publishers choose to include the Gas Mark, as well.

It might sound like a lot to keep in mind but don’t worry: our expert project managers know their onions and they can advise you if you are in doubt. After working on hundreds of cookery books, we certainly know the recipe for a successful translation so that you can help people around the world find a way to come together and share a meal in a whole new, different and convenient way.

If you are interested in having a cookery book translated, get in touch for more information.

This article is reprinted from TranslationDirectory, First Edition Translations and protranslate.

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