These days it's rare to find a cookbook that isn't filled with dozens (if not hundreds) of gorgeous, perfectly-styled photographs that accompany the recipes. Not only do these photos make one's mouth water, they also provide valuable context for the recipe. I've frequently used an accompanying photo to clear up confusion on how a dish is to be assembled or to reconcile an apparent conflict in the instructions. Since the default seems to be more photos rather than fewer, food writer Dianne Jacob wonders if cooks are becoming too reliant on these pictures.

Jacobs admits to feeling "like a dinosaur" because she has focused on the words of recipes for decades only to now become aware of a seismic shift in the way people learn things. With the rise of social media the video format reigns supreme, and many people profess that they simply can't cook unless they see a photo of the dish. While this may be anathema to cookbook writers and editors who note that adding photos drastically raises the price of creating cookbooks, some are embracing the trend. Chef and television host Adam Liaw says he will "spend more time getting the photo right than [he] will the written recipe in a book because the photo is the more communicative part. A written recipe is actually a fairly poor format for communicating information relevant to cooking. There’s a reason nobody learns to ride a bike from a numbered list of instructions."

EYB Members well understand how important visual clues can be to a recipe's success; hence the more than 30,000 images Members have uploaded to the site since we rolled out the option to do so. (Thanks!) We've discussed the role photos play in a recipe before; in particular I'm recalling the article on whether people make the "orphan" recipes in cookbooks. As several Members pointed out in the comments there, this is largely (although not exclusively) an age divide, with those of us who started cooking from books before photos were widespread not relying on the pictures as much as later generations. Although I fall into the former category, I am a fan of more photos rather than fewer because I use them not only for context but for inspiration. It's easier for me to get excited about a recipe that I can see versus one that is only written. How about you?