As a programmer and someone who likes food and cooking, I’ve often daydreamed about a variety of possible side projects using technology to manage recipes. This week, the conversation came up on Les Orchard’s weblog (see Building the Recipe Web). Of course, Les and I aren’t the only people who’ve ever thought of this, and one response came from people who have actually cut some code about it.

Troy Hakala, the author of the response, contributed to the RecipeML specification, and has since gone on to co-create RecipeZaar, which bills itself as “the World’s Smartest Cookbook.”

From a quick review, it looks like that’s not just boastfulness. The site slices and dices (sorry) its recipes several different ways, and helps you assemble them into cookbooks and even shopping lists. It also allows all its readers to help by contributing and correcting recipes. It’s a free, advertising supported service, and it seems to deserve a closer look. Check it out!