BigOven

Is there a way to use this as a private recipe storage, not that I have a major problem sharing, but b/c I am not sure all of my recipes are worthy of sharing.....I simply want to be able to add recipes so they show up on my iphone, and I can add ingredients to my grocery list easily....any thoughts?

Currently, all the recipes you post to the site are public, and the iPhone only shows recipes that are posted to the Internet.  We're investigating a modest annual subscription plan, that among other things would include hosting private recipes, which would allow you to access them from your iPhone. 

Today, if you'd just like to organize recipes privately, BigOven for Windows is your program.  (There's no requirement to post recipes stored on your PC to the web; that's entirely optional on a recipe-by-recipe basis.)

Thanks, if I do that, will I be able to access my recipes from my iPhone, or will that only give me access to the recipes I post online?  Also, what if I post recipes that are from a book?  That I just want access to.....is there a copyright issue? 

All the recipes posted from the web or from the software are currently public.  And yes, it's a copyright issue if you share these online.  As mentioned, we're considering a paid subscription offering that (among other things) would let you mark recipes private, so that only you can view them.  But that's not available at this time.

I really wish this had been more clear somehow before I joined.  Having a 'personal cookbook' accessible on my iPhone was what got me to sign up.  I'll still use the site, but in the same manner I use any other online recipe site.  :(

I highly doubt I'd pay for a subscription for just this feature though.  It's really something I, personally of course, consider pretty much pro forma.  Of course, I'd get a subscription if I felt the other benefits were worth it.

Joining is free -- it's free to post recipes, but when you post those recipes, they are public. 

If you're looking for private-only recipes, that's a feature request, and, as written above, it'll likely be through a paid subscription offering that is not yet available. We definitely don't think you should have to pay for a product that you do not find useful.  That's why we not only have a 30-day free trial, we also have a No Questions Asked Money Back Guarantee that you can take advantage of if you'd like.  Simply return the product within 30 days of purchase and we'll fully refund your money, including any taxes.

The private-publishing feature does require server space, and ad revenues cannot offset that (since the recipes are limited for view to just a single individual); while we offer many, many things at low prices, it's very unlikely we'll be offering this of charge.