04 October 2010, 19:21 PM
  • The latest research has revealed over half of the UK's cooks now source recipes from the internet

Recent research sourced from Mintel has revealed over half (52%) of Brits now source recipe ideas from online websites compared to the 46% who rely on cookbooks

The revival in home baking has helped the sector to grow by 13% between 2007 and 2009 to reach a massive £523 million.  And baking mad Brits are not going to stop there, with further estimated growth in 2010 helping the home baking market to reach £576 million. Indeed, it seems consumers have been bitten by the baking bug, as today, 28% of Brits are baking from scratch using raw ingredients at least once a week.

Vivianne Ihekweazu, senior food and drink analyst at Mintel, said: “While cookbooks have  traditionally been the main source of information for baking recipes, consumers now have access to a wide range of sources when looking for inspiration or a specific recipe - and the internet and recipe blogs have become a vital part of this. 

“The importance of the internet for recipes has been driven in part by TV cookery shows and the celebrity chef boom - recipes from the programmes are often available online immediately while books take longer to come out. 

“Online recipes are more personal, free of charge and consumers can just print off the recipes they like.  They are also now an important tool for supermarkets, equipment and ingredients manufacturers as well as cookbook authors and publishers, and have supported the revival in home baking around the recession,” says Vivianne.