Log Keeping Software


 
Lew Newby

Lew Newby

R.I.P. 1/26/2024
I know that some people keep a cooking log and some don't. I find that I can do better and learn faster if I can refer back to previous cooks so I keep a log. I started out just creating an MS Word file and my log was more of a narrative and didn't contain much useful information. My grown daughter suggested that I use MS OneNote so I gave it a try. After a few cooks I found a BBQ cooking log online and that's what I use now. OneNote 2007 can be found online for under $25 and the 2010 version will run over $50.

I don't know if this of interest to you but I really like the software.

Here's a Screenshot of my last cooking log.

I have no connection to Microsoft but if you get this off Amazon please remember to go to Amazon through the TVWBB link and help Chris earn a penny and keep this great site alive.
 
Hi Lew,

Screenshot looks great. I've found personally that after being at / near / with a computer for Monday to Friday, 10+ hours a day, by the time I want to light up the grill or smoker (or even make a batch of homebrew) I like the slow pace of keeping track in a paperback journal. Just find there's something relaxing about flipping through the pages looking back at past sessions.

When you do use OneNote are you tracking on paper first or have the computer nearby to enter data as you go along?

Just my two cents worth.

Have a great one.
 
I smoke on the patio behind our sun room and the computer is in the room. I can set my Maverick receiver just outside the window at the computer and monitor my temp's from the air conditioned room. The Maverick signal will not penetrate the glass so the receiver has to stay outside.

I started on paper and transferred to MS Word. I didn't like that and as I was building an Excel template my daughter suggested OneNote. What I like about it is that I can keep cooking logs, smoking recipes, cooking techniques, etc all in their own section and setting up a new section is a piece of cake. When I'm on this forum and I see a recipe or information I want to use I just copy and paste into OneNote. I call it my desktop PDA.

I'm a tad enthusiastic about OneNote because I've only been smoking for 9 months and it has really helped me repeat my successes and do something different to avoid repeating my failures. Brisket comes to mind immediately.
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My wsm arrives today. I plan on firing it up this Saturday and using an iPad for logs. I couldn't find a smoking/grilling log app so copied the sample excel log from tvwb to Dropbox (free) and plan on using the spreadsheet editor in QuickOffice Pro HD ($14.99) to fill in the spreadsheet. I'm sure there are other cloud type alternatives to Dropbox (you may have seen the recent security lapse at Dropbox), but I'm not keeping any sensitive information there and am not too concerned about my smoking logs falling into the wrong hands. Has anyone else come up with a good way to use an iPad to keep a cooking log?
 
i made a web app for it, but right now its single user

i was thinking about opening it up and letting other people use it, but wasn't sure if it'd get used.
 
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