Okay.. This is something that's kinda been on my mind for the last few days... 'Cuz I have nothing better to do, obvs.
Ree Drummond, aka "The Pioneer Woman" is a self-proclaimed accidental country girl, a millionaire rancher's wife, and seemingly overnight celebrity blogger who now has her own show on Food Network, a few cookbooks, and a crappy book detailing her journey to becoming Mrs. Drummond and living on a ranch (I read it. SO SUE ME. It was in the Davidson County eLibrary ready for me to borrow and read in Overdrive, I couldn't resist).
The Pioneer Woman | Ree Drummond
I first saw Ree on ABC's "The Chew" (which I looove.. With Mario Batali, Daphne Oz, Carla Hall, Michael Symon, and Clinton Kelly) and she made a Turkey Tetrazzini.
Actually, I'm pretty sure I came across her website before I saw her on The Chew. Whatever.
And so I kinda started perusing through her website for recipe ideas and whatnot and keeping up with it..
But then I came across not 1, not 2, but -3- websites that are specifically Anti-Pioneer Woman and one of the bigger issues on these sites is that Ree Drummond has actually plagiarized many of her recipes but kind of skirted full-on plagiarism by changing up some of the measurements, ingredients, and instructions.
Now, from what I've read, a person can copyright the actual steps of a recipe, but -not- the list of ingredients..
And I believe there was an issue with Jessica Seinfeld (yes, Jerry's wife) and her plagiarizing the idea of sneaking fruits and veggies into desserts and things so that kids will eat more healthy things and making a cookbook out of it (there was another woman who had nearly the exact same book published before Jessica's), but I don't remember what came of that.
But anywho, the main website that touts Mrs. Drummond's plagiarizing ways is:
The Marlboro Woman | Keepin' The Pioneer Woman Real!
and yes, they provide images of the original recipes and the ones Ree has either put in a cookbook or posted on her website, almost none of them giving credit to the original creator(s) anywhere. Apparently, she's even taken recipes straight off of boxes and/or cans and called them her own.
And while it -is- really crappy of her to do, and I'm pretty well inclined to believe this to be true, I'm also on the fence about it.
It's hard for me to explain this accurately, but let's say for example my mom's cheeseball and her sugar-free fudge. I mean of course, I would give my mom credit because she came up with those on her own, but there could be a thousand other people who've come up with the exact same recipe on their own.
Or the way I make and season my Mexican Red Rice.. Sure the basic technique is the same as pretty much all Mexicans make it, but I came up with the seasonings I use on my own. It just may be that someone else uses the same ones.. Does that mean I plagiarized that recipe?
As a side note, the more I learn about Ree Drummond and her husband, the more I dislike her in general.
But this issue is one that's intrigued me lately. Especially since I have a (half-assed) food blog of my own...
Thoughts?