Recipe

Recipes are a type of item which do nothing on their own but combine items to new, stronger ones.

In contrast, there are auto combine items which do not require a recipe scroll as the items combine automatically to create it. Examples of these items are Perseverance, Butterfly, and Oblivion Staff.

Trivia

 * The symbol in the middle of the recipe icon is that of the Combine, the antagonists from the Half-Life series. Given that the purpose of the recipe items is to "combine" others into a new item, it seems quite appropriate that this symbol be used.