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Section 35 USC 101 on patent law states that "Whoever invents or discovers any new and useful process, machine, manufacture, or composition of matter, or any new and useful improvement thereof, may obtain a patent therefor, subject to the conditions and requirements of this title." Recipes can fall into this category in two different ways, since they are always useful, they may involve a new process or technique, and they include a composition of matter. All of this is to say that recipes are indeed possible to patent as long as they meet the other requirements. In legal terminology, "novel" refers to something that did not previous exist. This is where things get tricky when it comes to patenting recipes. It's very difficult to determine whether a particular mix of ingredients has been whipped up in someone's kitchen before. There are a few forms of research you should undertake in order to see if your recipe is novel enough to patent. Search the United States Patent and Trademark Office database to see if your recipe has already been patented. Search cookbooks and the Internet for your recipe. If you find the recipe in either location you may be ineligible for a patent because of an existing patent or the recipe will be considered already "disclosed" if it has been published elsewhere. If you cannot find an exact replication of the recipe, you can proceed to determining whether your recipe meets the other qualifications. If your recipe involves a technique or combination of ingredients that leads to unique, non-obvious results, it may be patentable. However, if your recipe is something that could easily be thought up by someone else, or involves techniques that lead to predictable results, it's probably not patentable. Since most recipes invented by home cooks don't lead to results that would surprise a seasoned cook, they usually aren't patentable. Food companies are more likely to create recipes that are patentable, because they are able to use experimental processes and ingredients that lead to non-obvious results. For example, a patentable recipe might be one that uses a new technique to give it a surprisingly long shelf life. Simply adding a unique ingredient to a recipe isn't non-obvious enough to make it patentable. For example, an experimental home cook might decide to add cinnamon to a meatloaf recipe. Though the results might be surprisingly delicious, most home chefs could predict the flavor change that the addition of cinnamon would bring about.

Summary:
Understand what makes something patentable. Determine if your recipe is novel. Determine if your recipe is non-obvious.