Cooking has evolved from a necessary skill we learned in order to feed ourselves into a hobby, a competition, and a talent that is well respected throughout the country. No more is cooking limited to restaurants or family dinners; now, it’s become something that’s written about, voted on, photographed, and aired on national television. It’s spread beyond the pages of a cookbook and into our hearts through magazines, television, and computers, and now we can even find cooking on our phones.
With smartphones and tablets everywhere these days, the expression "there’s an app for that" has become a common part of our dialect. And as you may have guessed, there’s an app for pretty much everything that has to do with cooking. App stores for iPhones, iPads, and Androids have no shortage of recipe collection apps, apps with helpful kitchen tools, recipe box apps, how-to apps, and more, and with so many options out there, it’s hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
There’s no need to worry, though, because we’ve turned our cooking-obsessed attention to the situation and have hand-picked a list of apps that are worthy of space on your electronic device. Starting with a list of 30 from the most-sold collection of app vendors, we studied and scored each one based on their availability (iPhone and Android?), novelty, user experience, and most importantly: practicality. Most of these apps aren’t free, so when you get past whether it works or if it looks nice, all you really need to know is whether it’s worth your dime, and we think these are.
These apps aren’t for everyone. There’s going to be some that you may not find helpful, like the Green Kitchen app if you’re a ravenous meat-eater or The Photo Cookbook if you’re especially skilled. And hey, it may not make sense for you to download Weber’s On the Grill if you don’t own a grill, but the point is that these apps come from a large collection of ones just like them, and they’re the best in their class. So whether you’re looking to organize your collection of recipes, need more guidance in the kitchen, or just want something fun to play with, these apps should be on your radar.
15. Escoffier Cook’s Companion
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
For those of you who thought you’d never learn from chef Auguste Escoffier, think again. The nifty little app, the Escoffier Cook’s Companion, features a range of tools to serve any of your cooking needs, whether it is substitutions, conversions, timers, or reference needs. With zero cost to you and excellent user reviews, it’s not a bad app to have on hand. Price: Free, available for iPad and iPhone.
14. BigOven
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
BigOven is your recipe database, meal planner, and grocery shopper all in one. While it’s in the company of other apps similar to it on this list, this one is free, and it has a collection of more than 250,000 recipes to work with. Why not, right? Price: Free, available for iPad, iPhone, and Android.
13. Appetites
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
This app is a personal cooking instructor in your pocket. With 54 video demonstrations, Appetites provides you with step-by-step guidance with videos from talented and popular chefs. At US$3, it’s probably not something you have to have if you’re a cook, but it's something that’s fun to catch up on for reference. Price: US$2.99 for iPad and iPhone.
12. The Photo Cookbook
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
The Photo Cookbook app solves the problem of not understanding a line in a recipe, or helps in those times when you ask yourself "Do they want me to cut the pork chop all the way through?" or "How do you chop an onion again?" A beautiful collection of cooking demonstration photos makes this app fun for the cooking-enthused to look through during their downtime, and essential for the novice cooks who still need to brush up on their techniques. Price: US$3.99 for iPad and iPhone.
11. Cooking Light Recipes
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
This app isn’t exactly novel in its idea, as many other publication’s apps were originally considered for our list, but what secured this one’s spot was its advanced recipe storage that lets you cross-reference recipes against each other for thorough meal planning. Its beautiful interface and photos only encourage your planning, and if you like the magazine, you’re sure to like the app. Price: US$3.99 for iPad and iPhone.
10. Weber’s on the Grill™
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
Here we see another brand name make the list, but only because it’s just what they’re so good at. Weber’s app provides you with more than 300 well-tested recipes and helps you with how-to guides, grilling timers, and live technique demonstrations. Everyone needs help with grilling (even us), so why not download it? Price: US$4.99 for iPad, iPhone, and Android.
9. How to Cook Everything
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
Spun off the best-selling New York Times cookbook How to Cook Everything, this app provides more than 2,000 interactive recipes, 400 how-to-illustrations, and a shopping list feature. Coming from columnist Mark Bittman, it’s a pretty reliable resource for whatever cooking conundrum you may find yourself in, but at US$4.99, probably isn’t something the every-now-and-then cook would want to have. Price: US$4.99 for iPad and iPhone.
8. Perfect Produce
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
Perfect Produce is an electronic fruits and vegetables glossary in your pocket. It tells you how to buy, store, and even use (with recipes) any type of produce you can find at the store, making it easy and fun for you to start cooking healthy meals. Price: US$1.99 for iPad, iPhone, and Android.
7. Fast Paleo
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
Another app that’s at the top of its category, Fast Paleo provides one of the largest selections of Paleo recipes out there. Features such as recipe filing, social media tools, shopping lists, and user contributions make it a good choice for those who have decided to eat like a caveman. Price: US$0.99 for iPad, iPhone, and Android.
6. Paprika Recipe Manager
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
Paprika Recipe Manager has consistently been the recipe-box app of choice among users and even some experts. It’s highly interactive, helping you create menus and grocery lists by providing nutritional information and allowing you to scale ingredients, add personalized notes to recipes, and link up with your other devices through a wireless function. Mouthwatering photos and a clean design make it easy on the eyes, and as one of the more expensive menu planners on the market, it’s a good choice for the very devoted and passionate cook. Price: US$4.99 for iPad, iPhone, and Android.
5. Crock-Pot™ Recipes
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
A slow-cooker recipe collection designed by the experts themselves, and so much more. Crock-Pot™ Recipes has consistently been a top paid app on iTunes and continues to woo users with its sleek interface, large collection of recipes, and neat tools like a voice command feature, conversion calculator, and shopping lists. Price: US$3.99 for iPad and iPhone.
4. Green Kitchen
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
A vegetarian recipe collection, Green Kitchen far surpasses the other resources in its category, and if you didn’t hear it from us, you’ll hear it from pretty much everyone else. Part of iTunes’ Best of 2012 collection and highly regarded by the industry’s experts, Green Kitchen offers you a plethora of vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free recipes - with clean interface and beautiful photos to boot. Now all we’re waiting for is for them to develop it for Androids. Price: US$4.99 for iPad and iPhone.
3. Substitutions
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
This app isn’t for everyone, but for someone who is cooking on a regular basis, Substitutions can be pretty fun. The app provides a large collection of ingredient substitutions for whatever type of cooking you are getting into, whether it’s low-sodium and gluten-free, or if you’re just looking to switch things up in a favourite recipe. Price: US$0.99 for iPad and iPhone.
2. MealBoard
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
MealBoard is an interactive menu planner that lets you create weekly menus and shopping lists. It’s not the only app on our list that helps you store recipes and plan meals, and there were some complaints from users, but we included it because it has an interactive grocery shopping feature. The app lets you choose the grocery store you’ll be shopping at and uploads the prices of each of your items, so if you’re a budget-conscious cook, this app will come in hand, and definitely scored big in our cool-factor department. Price: US$2.99 for iPad and iPhone.
1. Food Network in the Kitchen
Credit/download: itunes.apple.com
It's no surprise that the television network’s app, Food Network in the Kitchen, was among the top paid apps for iPhone, iPad, and Android. The app gives you thousands of recipes from your favourite Food Network personalities right at your fingertips, and includes all of the other "cooking app musts": shopping lists, advanced searched options, interactive recipes, and meal planners. With an attractive interface and a spotless crash-record, it’s pretty hard to beat, and if you’re a fan of the network, then you’ll be a fan of the app. Price: US$1.99 for iPad, iPhone, and Android.
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