How to add family recipes to your family tree (FamilySearch and Ancestry)

Last updated: Oct 13, 2026

A handwritten recipe card is a family record. It shows whose kitchen it came from, how they wrote, what they cooked and when. Here's how to preserve one properly and attach it to the right person in your tree, so it's there for every cousin who finds them later.

Before you upload: capture the recipe properly

1. Photograph or scan the original, front and back. Use daylight or a scanner, shoot straight on, and fill the frame. The stains, notes in the margins and handwriting are part of the record, so don't “clean up” the original image.
2. Make a typed transcription. Type it exactly as written first, including odd spellings and “oleo” and “a teacup of flour”. Add any modern notes below a line marked “Notes (added [year] by [your name])”.
3. Write down the story. Who wrote the card? Who made the dish, for what occasions, and where? Who has the original card now? Even two or three sentences matter.
4. Name your files clearly, for example 1952_Mae-Johnson_pound-cake_card-front.jpg.
5. Keep a copy you control. Keep the files in your own cloud storage or on your computer as well as on any website.

Attach it in FamilySearch (Memories)

FamilySearch Memories accepts photos (.jpg/.jpeg, .png, .tif/.tiff, .bmp), documents (.pdf, .txt) and audio, with each file up to 15 MB. A PDF is the only format that can hold multiple pages. You can't edit an item after uploading, so crop it first. Memories are private (“Only Me”) by default, and you can make them public or share them with a Family Group.

(Source: FamilySearch Help, “Upload memories” and “Can I upload a PDF to Memories?”)

1. Sign in at FamilySearch.org, open Memories, and choose Add Memories → Upload. In the mobile app, tap +, then Add Photo, Add Document or Write Story.
2. Upload the card photo (front and back) or a PDF that combines the card and its transcription.
3. Give it a title such as “Mae Johnson's pound cake (recipe card, c. 1952)”, and put the story in the description.
4. Tag the person (or people) in your Family Tree so it appears on their profile.
5. Choose visibility: Only Me, Public, or a Family Group.
6. Tip: use Write Story (up to ten images) to combine the card photos with the story text in one memory.

Note: text inside a PDF isn't searchable in Memories (only the title and description are), so put the dish name and cook's name in the title.

Attach it in Ancestry

Ancestry accepts photos (.jpg, .jpeg, .png, .tif/.tiff, .bmp, .jif) and stories/documents (.doc, .docx, .rtf, .pdf, .txt), each up to 15 MB. Uploads can take up to 48 hours to appear.

(Source: Ancestry Support, “Uploading Media: Photos, Stories, Audio, and Documents”)

1. Open your tree, click the person, then Profile, then the Gallery tab.
2. Click Add Media, then Upload Photos (for the card image) or Upload story (for the transcription and story as a PDF or Word file).
3. Add a title, media type, date, place and description.
4. To link the recipe to another relative (for example the person who passed it down), click +Add and choose them.
5. Click Done.

Privacy note: Ancestry warns that files added to a public tree can remain on other members' trees if they saved them, even if you later make your tree private.

File types at a glance

Keep the recipe cookable, too

A tree preserves the record. Families also want to cook the recipe. Keep a working copy in whatever recipe app or document you use, and record changes as new versions rather than overwriting Grandma's original. That way “how she made it” and “how we make it now” both survive.

How Chef Notebook handles this (disclosure)

We make Chef Notebook, so weigh this section accordingly. Everything above works without it.

• Photograph a recipe card and it becomes an editable recipe. Chef Notebook reads a photo or screenshot into title, ingredients and steps for you to check, and you can keep the photo of the original.
• Every change is kept as a version, so Grandma's original and your updates both stay, side by side.
• Your recipes live in your own private iCloud, not on our servers. They stay viewable even if you stop paying, and you can export every recipe free as JSON-LD, a standard recipe format.
• iPhone, iPad and Mac. $4.99/month or $49.99/year, with a 7-day free trial on the yearly plan (import and editing need a subscription). Not affiliated with FamilySearch or Ancestry. Not the Android app “Chef's Notebook”.

Sources

• FamilySearch Help: Upload memories, https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/how-do-i-upload-photos-or-documents-to-memories
• FamilySearch Help: Can I upload a PDF to Memories?, https://www.familysearch.org/en/help/helpcenter/article/can-i-upload-a-pdf-to-memories
• Ancestry Support: Uploading Media, https://help-redir.ancestry.com/hc/en-us/articles/53933347909651-Uploading-Media-Photos-Stories-Audio-and-Documents

(Checked Oct 13, 2026. The steps may change, so check the help pages if a button looks different.)