Recipe Book Stands and Holders for the Kitchen | The Game Larder
Recipe Book Stands and Holders for the Kitchen
Recipe book and stand means a stand, holder, easel, or clip frame that props an open cookbook on the counter at a working angle, and the kitchen model that suits a game recipe book is the A4 or A5 book easel that holds 2 to 4 pages of a softcover at about 60 to 90 degrees. A stand holds the book open at the page you are reading so both hands are free for the pot, the knife, or the thermometer, and the right size depends on the book you are holding: a standard hardback cookbook is about 28 by 23 cm (11 by 9 inches), an A4 pad is 297 by 210 mm (11.7 by 8.3 inches), and a small A5 pad is 210 by 148 mm (8.3 by 5.8 inches).
Choose the stand to match the book first, not the other way around. If your main book is a softcover such as A recipe book for wild game, a light clip easel is enough; if it is a heavy hardback, you need a frame with a weighted base or a wall mount so the spine does not fight the fold. The best book for a busy game kitchen is one that is organised by species and cut, and a stand that keeps that book open at the current recipe does more for the cook than any second book on the shelf. Keep a note of the three books that do the most work in your kitchen so you size the stand for the largest of the three.
What a recipe book stand is and what it is not
A recipe book stand is a frame or easel that holds an open book at the counter, and it is not a shelf, a stand for a tablet, or a box for storing the collection. The stand does two jobs only: it supports the book so the spine opens flat enough to read across the gutter, and it angles the pages toward the person cooking. When a hardback cookbook is held flat, the gutter closes the centre of the page and hides the middle columns of a table, and a stand relieves that pressure by lifting the front pages. The two main shapes are the clip-on easel and the open frame, and each suits a different book. The clip-on easel clips to the bottom of the pages and tilts them back, which is ideal for a softcover pad such as a game recipe booklet or a A4 ring binder. The open frame is two rails that the book rests between, which is ideal for a heavy hardback where the clip alone cannot hold the weight.
Clip easel versus open frame
The clip easel wins on price and storage, and the open frame wins on heavy books, and the choice is usually the weight of the book. A clip easel holds a softcover of up to about 300 pages comfortably, while an open frame with a base holds a hardback of 500 or 600 pages without tipping. The table below compares the two shapes on the points that decide the choice.
| Feature | Clip easel | Open frame |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Softcover pads and ring binders | Hardback cookbooks over 300 pages |
| Typical price | 8 to 15 pounds | 20 to 60 pounds |
| Weight it holds | Up to about 0.6 kg of book | Up to about 1.5 kg of book |
| Footprint on the counter | About 20 by 10 cm | About 30 by 18 cm |
| Storage when not in use | Folds flat to 2 cm | Stows against a shelf |
| Angle it gives | 60 to 80 degrees | 45 to 90 degrees |
Decide by weight, then by how often it moves, because a heavy frame that you have to shift for every dish is a nuisance, and a light clip that you leave in place is a tool. If your game book is a softcover pad, buy the clip easel and keep it on the counter permanently.
Choosing the right size for your book
The right size of stand is the one that matches the book it holds, so measure the book before you buy the stand. Measure the width of the book when closed, add about 5 cm for the stand to grip either side of the pages, and check that the back rail is long enough to take the depth of the spine. A standard hardback cookbook of 28 by 23 cm (11 by 9 inches) needs a stand with a rail of at least 35 cm (14 inches) to hold it without the pages spilling off the edges. An A4 ring binder of 297 by 210 mm needs the same rail, and an A5 pad of 210 by 148 mm works on a stand rated for A4 with the pages centred. If you own both a hardback and a pad, buy the stand for the hardback and it will hold the pad too, because a stand that fits the larger book always fits the smaller one, and not the other way around.
Materials and how a stand holds a game recipe book open
Material decides how a stand holds a game recipe book open, because the clip, the rail, and the base are what do the holding. The four common materials are wood, steel, plastic, and a wood and steel mix, and each behaves differently at a hot counter. Wood is the most common and the most forgiving; it does not scratch the page and it takes a soft rubber strip that grips without creasing, but it warps if it sits in the steam of a slow cooker or the splash zone of a frying pan. Steel is the strongest and holds the heaviest book, but a bare steel edge can mark a softcover, so look for one with a silicone or felt liner on the rails. Plastic is the cheapest and the lightest, and a plastic clip easel of 8 to 12 pounds is fine for a softcover pad, but it creeps under a heavy hardback and the angle drifts over a long cook. A wood and steel mix combines a wooden rail with a steel back, and it is the best all-round choice for a game kitchen because the wood protects the pages and the steel holds the weight.
Where to put the stand in the kitchen
The place for the stand is the counter at the position where you read while you work, which is usually within 40 cm (16 inches) of the stove or the cutting board. Put the stand where your eyes naturally fall when you are stirring, not across the room on a shelf you have to walk to for every recipe. A stand on the counter stays at arm reach for the whole session, and the book stays open at the current page, so you read a step, then act on it, without putting the book down and losing the page. Keep the stand clear of the sink and the drying rack, because water and the stand are a bad pair, and keep it out of direct sunlight, which fades the printed recipe over a year of use. If the counter is too small for the stand and the pan, mount a small frame on the wall above the counter, which frees the counter and keeps the book at the same reading angle.
Buying a recipe book stand in the UK
You can buy a recipe book stand in the UK from the same places you buy kitchen tools, and the useful range is 8 to 60 pounds. A clip easel in plastic or wood is 8 to 15 pounds, an open frame in wood is 20 to 40 pounds, and a steel or wood and steel frame with an adjustable angle is 40 to 60 pounds. A UK retailer that ships within the same region delivers in about 2 to 5 days, which means you can order the stand before a game weekend and have it ready to hold the book. Buy for the largest book you own, not for the smallest, so you do not need a second stand later, and check that the listing states the maximum book size and the maximum weight it holds, because a stand that does not list these is a stand that has been tested by someone else, not by the seller. If the book is a softcover pad, the 8 to 15 pound clip easel is the right buy, and if it is a hardback, the 20 to 60 pound frame is the right buy.
Matching the stand to the game book you cook from
The stand works best when it is matched to the book you actually cook from, so pair the stand to a book that is organised the way a game kitchen works. A good game cookbook is organised by species, then by cut, then by method, and a stand that keeps that book open at the current cut means you find the next recipe in a few seconds instead of leafing through. The Best Cookbooks and Recipe Books for Game are the hardback titles that hold up to a season of use, and a frame built for a hardback is the right stand for them, while a light clip easel suits a softcover pad you fill in yourself. If you cook the same few game dishes often, keep a pad of the core recipes in the stand so the stand holds the daily book and the shelf holds the reference titles. Blank Recipe Books for Your Own Wild Game let you build a pad that lists your own cuts and your own methods, and a small clip easel sized for that pad keeps your personal system open at the current dish. Even a simple pad held by a stand keeps the kitchen moving, because the book is open, the hands are free, and the next step is visible at a glance. When the pad is full and the recipes are the ones you reach for, move those pages into a hardback and put the hardback in the frame, and the stand and the book grow together through the seasons.
Keep the stand, the book, and the kitchen in the same rhythm, and the rice side that finishes a game dish stays on the page where it belongs. A recipe for a game joint pairs well with a simple grain, and a stand that holds the book open keeps the grain method in front of you at the same time, so you read Rice: Stovetop and Rice Cooker and the game recipe on the same counter without switching books. The stand does not cook the game, and it does not choose the recipe, but it keeps the recipe open, the book flat, and the hands free, and that is the whole of its job, done well. Size the stand to the largest book you own, place it within arm reach of the stove, and the book stays open at the page you need for the whole cook.