Are You a Google Chef?

FOR more than a year, a package of Cambodian tapioca sticks sat unopened in my pantry. Then one evening, I Googled my noodles and ate them.

Google, the almighty Web search engine, is my encyclopedia, dictionary, shopping mart, even private investigator. So it seemed natural to type in 8216;Cambodian tapioca noodles8217; and see what recipes Google could rustle up. And rustle it did.

The concept behind Google cooking is basic: Plug in your ingredients and the word 8216;recipes8217;, press search, then wait for the results. With its infinite repository, Google can find recipes for unconventional food pairings that might stump most cookbooks. It was a piece of salmon and some Swiss chard that inspired Judy Hourihan to enlist Google8217;s assistance three years ago.

8216;8216;Every night I would rummage my kitchen for something to eat and then look through cookbooks,8217;8217; said Hourihan, a former Massachusetts software engineer who is considered the pioneer of Google cooking. 8216;8216;Then I thought, 8216;Why am I looking through cookbooks when I can just Google it?8217; 8217;8217;

The term 8216;Google cooking8217; was coined in 2002, after Hourihan gained media attention with her salmon and Swiss chard success. Since then, she has continued to consult Google at mealtimes.

8216;8216;It8217;s good when you don8217;t have a clear idea of what to make with odd ingredients,8217;8217; said Hourihan, 60, who Google cooks at least once a week. 8216;8216;You take your chances, but it pays off. I8217;ve never put in a combination that I didn8217;t find a recipe for.8217;8217;

Therein lies the appeal of Google cooking: It helps you build a meal from bottom up vs recipe down, while also purging your kitchen of languishing edibles or ageing produce.

My inaugural search began with a softball grocery list: Chickpeas, raisins and yams. I found interesting tagines and African stews, yet the recipe that intrigued me the most was called 8216;Soft Food For Eucleactus.8217; It sounded like a dish made for a Roman emperor with glass teeth. Then I read on: 8216;8216;This nutritious mixture is relished by all Eclectus. However, other parrots have tried and enjoyed this recipe.8221;

After nearly falling for parrot food, I decided to challenge Google to a virtual recipe-off. I plugged in every odd combination short of crickets to see if the engine could produce the goods. I tapped in 8216;beer Brussels sprouts recipes8217;; it punched back 8216;Rosenkohl in Bier Gedunstet8217;. I tried 8216;pears red hots recipes8217;. Google stomped out 8216;Blushing Pear with Cinnamon Candies8217;.

8216;8216;Google brings up viable recipes that coincide with the ingredients in your refrigerator,8217;8217; says Charlie Ayers, former Google company chef. 8216;8216;But some of the recipes are a little bizarre.8217;8217;

How strange? Just consider my noodles. After ignoring the spaghetti-like threads for so long, I finally dragged the package to the computer. My first hit was a Cambodian dish called Mee Sach Moan Nung Sach Ko Puvet. It used the noodles but also required a whole chicken, Asian beef meatballs and two pounds of chicken and pork neck bones8212;none of which I had in my fridge. However, the words 8216;tapioca8217; and 8216;Cambodian8217; did unearth sticky rice recipes.

Printout in hand, I cooked, ate and delighted in a concoction I never would have conjured without Google. Then, dessert caught my eye8212;a blackening banana sitting on the countertop, one day away from the compost heap. So I dashed to the computer to cook it.