Cookbooks don’t like kitchens much. Lay one flat on the worktop and the pages flip shut as soon as you look away, so you weigh it down with the salt pot and then get butter on the corner anyway. Tablets are worse, because now it’s a screen you paid for sitting next to a bowl of batter.
The fix is boringly simple: get the recipe up off the counter and behind something wipeable.
What to look for in a holder
- A front shield. Plenty of wooden book stands hold the book open beautifully and do nothing about splashes.
- A small footprint, because worktop space is the thing you’re shortest of while cooking.
- Something that wipes clean in a few seconds, since it will get splashed. That’s the point.
- Room for a tablet as well as a book, if you cook from both.
The acrylic option
The Norpro Acrylic Cookbook Holder covers most of that list. It’s a single clear sheet of acrylic folded into a slanted stand with a ledge along the bottom. You open the book, stand it behind the clear front, and the acrylic both holds the pages flat and takes the splashes instead of the paper. It’s sold for cookbooks, iPads and tablets alike.
It measures 12.5 by 9 by 3.25 inches (about 32 by 23 by 8cm) and weighs a little under a pound, so it’s light enough to tuck behind the bread bin when you’re not using it. Because it’s clear, you still read the page through it. A wipe with a damp cloth gets the flour and grease off.
It has its downsides. Acrylic scratches if you go at it with a scourer, so stick to a soft cloth. You also have to slide the book out to turn a page, which is a small faff mid-recipe. And if your favourite cookbook is an enormous doorstop, check it fits the stand before you count on it.
If you mostly cook from your phone, this probably isn’t for you. For anyone who still likes a proper cookbook open while they cook, or wants the tablet out of the splash zone, it saves both from the gravy. Here’s the Norpro holder if you want a closer look at the size.
