There is a wide variety of sources on food: books, magazines, websites and television. Likewise, what is presented ranges from traditional cookbooks to history and travelogues. Despite this diversity, I will use the following general evaluation to rate food media.
Content (60 points)
What did I learn? While this varies depending upon the subject, I need to feel like I learned something useful or that this would be a good introduction for a newbie. Does this provide you with new techniques or knowledge that will aid you in the kitchen or make eating more enjoyable?
Quality (20 points)
How well was the content presented? Was it well organized, well written? Was there something in the content that makes me question the author's credibility? While this measurement is closely tied to my evaluation of the content – a low content score will likely also mean a low quality score – I keep these separate to account for the case where good stuff is obscured by a crappy presentation.
Food Porn (20 points)
Show me the money shot! Yes, I want to learn, but I want to salivate, too.
Recipes (10 points extra credit)
I do not want a simple recitation of recipes. Divorced from context, this is solely rote memorization. Recipes, if present, serve to support the content.
Grading Scale
I will divide the points awarded by the maximum possible (rounded to nearest whole number) and assign a letter grade according to this scale:
A: 93 - 100%
A-: 90 - 92%
B+: 87 - 89
B: 83 - 86
B-: 80 - 82
C+: 77 - 79
C: 73 - 76
C-: 70 - 72
D: 60 - 69
F: Less than 60