The demise of "Fine Cooking" magazine

[blue_dolphin]

This may have been discussed but I couldn't find a dedicated thread.  It seems that Fine Cooking will no longer be published.  Too bad as it used to be one of the good ones but not surprising since Meredith pretty much killed it off when they booted the test kitchen staff and sold all the equipment back when they bought Fine Cooking from Taunton Press back in Sept or Oct 2020.  Original content tapered off once they published what was in the queue and was largely replaced by recipes reprinted from other Meredith publications like Better Homes & Gardens, Eating Well, Food & Wine, etc.  Existing FC subscribers will get Food & Wine instead.  Not sure what happens if you are already a F&W subscriber.  The online archive of FC recipes is still intact and accessible.  Not sure if it will be merged into a fee-only Meredith site at some point like Bon Appetit/Epicurious is doing.  

 

Should that happen, one route to access past issues is through the Fine Cooking Community on Facebook.  You may recall that when Taunton Press sold Fine Cooking to Meredith, the FC website fell through the cracks and disappeared.  While it was gone, the Facebook group uploaded copies of all the back issues, first to the group files and eventually to a Google drive to maintain access.  After a couple of months, the FC website was restored but the Facebook group has remained active.  Instructions to access the Google drive are in the Facebook group FAQ. 

[ElsieD]

I am sad to read of this.  I am a current subscriber to Fine Cooking and looked forward to receiving it.  I'm not sure when my subscription runs out but am unlikely to re-new to Food and Wine.  Cooking Light no longer ships to Canada but I do have a digital subscription and have access to both old content and the new issues.  I used their recipes quite often when  I was working on knocking off some weight and some recipes are still favourites.  That is one subscription I'll keep up.  I don't know if i'll pay for past Epicurious content.

[liamsaunt]

This is very disappointing.  I already have a subscription to Food and Wine, which I was not planning on renewing.  Eating Well just stopped publishing too.  They tried to give me a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens to fulfill the remainder of my subscription, but I refused and was able to easily obtain a refund.  I guess I will have to look into that for Fine Cooking too.  I think that leaves Milk Street as the only printed magazine I still get.

 

Can you provide a link to where you are seeing this information?  I am not finding anything my Fine Cooking account.  It's a pricy subscription and I am pretty sure I paid a couple of years up front so I want my money back!

Edited March 27, 2022 by liamsaunt (log)

[cyalexa]

On 3/26/2022 at 2:28 PM, blue_dolphin said:

You may recall that when Taunton Press sold Fine Cooking to Meredith, the FC website fell through the cracks and disappeared.

There was a fun, active forum associated with that website. It deteriorated after the sale and after trying a couple other forums I found eGullet. A number of the members of the original Taunton forum migrated to a Delphi format as CooksTalk Classic and then to Facebook Cooks talk Classic FB group. The Facebook group is a different group that the "official" Fine Cooking FB Community. The Delphi group is not very active but the Facebook group maintains a core of long-time Taunton hold-overs. 

[blue_dolphin]

11 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

Can you provide a link to where you are seeing this information?  I am not finding anything my Fine Cooking account.  It's a pricy subscription and I am pretty sure I paid a couple of years up front so I want my money back!

 

Around 3 weeks ago, several people in the Facebook Fine Cooking Community group reported receiving an email notification that their FC subscription had ended and will automatically convert to Food & Wine.  They said there was a link to opt out and that it worked very easily. 

 

Sounds like you're not seeing this in your account, but when I go to the Fine Cooking website, scroll down to the bottom and click on "Manage My Subscription," I am taken to a magazines.com page with contact email addresses for various magazines that are ceasing publication.  There used to be a "Subscribe" button at the top of the FC home page and there was also a "Subscribe" link down at the bottom.  Both are gone.

 

[Smithy]

What a shame. I've been with Fine Cooking for, well, a long time. Well over 10 years. 20? Not sure. As long as eGullet? Again, not sure. I'll miss the magazine.

 

I'm trying and failing to remember what cooking magazine to which I subscribed that died (last year? two years ago?) and for which I was offered a replacement subscription to Magnolia. I looked at it once and knew Magnolia wasn't for me. After some discussion (all truly cordial) I was refunded half my subscription, and the other half went to extending my Fine Cooking subscription. I think I'm still subscribed 3 years out. I'll have to see what happens next.

[ElsieD]

13 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Around 3 weeks ago, several people in the Facebook Fine Cooking Community group reported receiving an email notification that their FC subscription had ended and will automatically convert to Food & Wine.  They said there was a link to opt out and that it worked very easily. 

 

Sounds like you're not seeing this in your account, but when I go to the Fine Cooking website, scroll down to the bottom and click on "Manage My Subscription," I am taken to a magazines.com page with contact email addresses for various magazines that are ceasing publication.  There used to be a "Subscribe" button at the top of the FC home page and there was also a "Subscribe" link down at the bottom.  Both are gone.

 

 

I'm a subscriber and did not receive an email.  Plus, I logged in to my account, and can't access my subscription.  The reason given is that they "are no longer publishing".

[blue_dolphin]

With all the food and cooking magazines that Meredith had, it would seem they have significant recipe collections that I might be willing to subscribe to but after gutting the actual cooking expertise of those publications, would they actually invest in combining the various archives into something cohesive with user-friendly functionality? It would surely be an expensive proposition.  

[ElsieD]

I just looked for the Food and Wine app.  It is only for Apple users.

[liamsaunt]

14 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

Around 3 weeks ago, several people in the Facebook Fine Cooking Community group reported receiving an email notification that their FC subscription had ended and will automatically convert to Food & Wine.  They said there was a link to opt out and that it worked very easily. 

 

Sounds like you're not seeing this in your account, but when I go to the Fine Cooking website, scroll down to the bottom and click on "Manage My Subscription," I am taken to a magazines.com page with contact email addresses for various magazines that are ceasing publication.  There used to be a "Subscribe" button at the top of the FC home page and there was also a "Subscribe" link down at the bottom.  Both are gone.

 

 

Thank you!  I have emailed them.  

 

Here is a funny Fine Cooking magazine story: My husband really hates Fine Cooking. Years ago, they use to do a year long "Cook the Issue" contest, where you would cook as many recipes as you wanted/could from their magazine for an entire year, and then submit a photo and review of the recipe.  The person who cooked the most recipes would win a prize.  Well, I love a challenge, so one year I decided to participate, and being the kind of person I am, cooked almost every recipe from every issue for the entire year.  My husband would groan "NOT another Fine Cooking recipe!" when I would bring whatever odd thing I had to make to finish off the issue to the table.  I won the contest, never used the prize, and he has never forgiven them.  I did get a good salmon burger recipe from that contest though 😂

[Honkman]

8 hours ago, liamsaunt said:

never used the prize

What was the prize ?

[liamsaunt]

12 hours ago, Honkman said:

What was the prize ?

 

It was a CD rom (I think?) containing every back issue of Fine Cooking from the year it was published through the year of the contest I participated in.  I think I gave it to my local library.

Edited March 29, 2022 by liamsaunt (log)

[Chefsaresty]

I got my postcard in the mail today announcing that Fine Cooking is no longer, to be replaced by Food & Wine. I am in mourning. i have been a devoted fan of Fine Cooking maybe since its inception, 25 plus years ago....So many recipes in our home have come from this magazine that was always focused on technique. And great menus. Our Xmass and Thanksgiving dinner menus, all Fine Cooking. Granola; pound cake; peppermint brownies; gratins; it just goes on and on. And the web-site. What is going to happen to the web-site? So I have been downloading like mad to capture as much as I can before it goes dark or is 'blended' into F&W. Oy. Sad day in our house. I feel like I grew up as a cook with this magazine. On the bright side, I have passed the joy of culinary arts onto my three daughters and we certainly celebrate this joyous magazine in our home. Too bad Merdith, you killed the good one. If someone could provide the link to the Facebook group, I would appreciate.

[blue_dolphin]

Fine Cooking has a note on their website saying the site will shut down at the end of July and giving instructions for saving recipes. 

[Anna N]

55 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

Fine Cooking has a note on their website saying the site will shut down at the end of July and giving instructions for saving recipes. 

That is such a shame. Their recipes were always top notch. I just grabbed Soup of the Bakony Outlaws. Most amazing soup I have ever eaten or made. Their crispy or chewy chocolate chip cookie recipe is also a treasure. 
Here

What recipes do others rely on Fine Cooking for?

Edited June 21, 2022 by Anna N
Typo (log)

[lindag]

24 minutes ago, Anna N said:

I just grabbed Soup of the Bakony Outlaws. Most amazing soup I have ever eaten or made.

Sounds wonderfull, were you able to get the veal cutlet?  

Not available around here, I'd have to substitute.

[TdeV]

Here is @Anna N's favoured recipe for Soup of the Bakony Outlaws which looks totally fabulous.

 

 

Edited June 21, 2022 by TdeV
Can't spell (log)

[TdeV]

I haven't made this, but I want to Dried Apricot & Date Stuffed Turkey Breast with Marsala Glaze

[Anna N]

12 minutes ago, lindag said:

Sounds wonderfull, were you able to get the veal cutlet?  

Not available around here, I'd have to substitute.

I do not normally eat veal. On this occasion I did use veal and I do not believe you can substitute without compromising. I am rarely a stickler like this. But this soup seems to require that you stick closely to the ingredients and the preparation. YMMV I am sure it will still be good if you substitute beef but it won’t be this soup. 

[TdeV]

I did enjoy Butternut Squash Lasagne with Goat Cheese, Sage, and Breadcrumbs

[ElsieD]

https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/indonesian-style-ham-stir-fry

 

This is one of my favorites from Fine Cooking.

Edited June 22, 2022 by ElsieD
Corrected mag name (log)

[Smithy]

I loved their semifreddo instructions and ideas. Their article on How to make semifreddo had several recipes and enough information that I was able to freewheel an excellent semifreddo the year I acquired some excellent apricots.

 

Thanks for the reminder that this window is about to close. I have some recipes saved (there's a great Thai eggplant salad in there somewhere) and need to be sure to download them.

 

Edited to add: I logged in and discovered far more saved than I'd remembered. Here's the Southeast Asian Grilled Eggplant Salad recipe (not necessarily Thai as I'd written). And how could I have forgotten the Citrus-Marinated Roasted Chicken? That still gets cooked once or twice a year.

 

Oh, I will miss Fine Cooking.

Edited June 22, 2022 by Smithy
Added more information (log)

[ElsieD]

24 minutes ago, Smithy said:

Oh, I will miss Fine Cooking.

 

You are far from alone.  I shall really miss it too.  I subscribed for years right up until they stopped publishing.

[TdeV]

Just discovered Honey-Glazed Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Peach Skewers

[TicTac]

How have I never heard of this magazine!?

 

Then again, I have not bothered with print media in years, but still...

 

Looking on their site briefly, surely a treasure trove.  Someone needs to back up that DB and share it elsewhere!