How to Improve Your Culinary Skills Through Your Smartphone

In an age dominated by smartphones and enhanced technology, you can pretty much find a shortcut to everything. Everyday tasks can be made 10 times easier and quicker at the click of a button, and an increasing amount of things can be connected to the internet or a smart app.

So, can something as traditional as cooking possibly be improved by technology? Well, yes, it can. There are tons of different products and appliances that can transform your kitchen and potentially save you a lot of time and effort. However, there are many non-physical ways that technology has changed cooking for aspiring home chefs.

As any avid smartphone user will know, app-stores are filled with different apps for every occasion and purpose, and with an increasing interest in cooking and baking, there's a growing demand in apps that can help inspire, educate and generally help out budding chefs in the kitchen.

You only need to log in to Facebook to see an abundance of quick, easy recipes, and these are becoming more popular among a much broader audience due to their arty, aesthetic presentation through short videos.

These attract a wider audience because they're easy to watch, they're made to look very easy to accomplish with basic ingredients and skills, and the end product often looks appetising and aesthetically pleasing.

However, this isn't the only reason why more and more different types of people are getting into cooking. There are so many apps available which target not only a younger, more technology-driven generation, but also older people who may have once relied solely on cookery books.
There are apps that provide recipe ideas that meet any person's taste or dietary requirement, ranging in difficulty and time. However, there are also apps that convert measurements, making it much easier to follow recipes from across the world.

So, what type of apps are available for me if I want to improve my culinary skills?

Developers have produced an app called 'Handpick', which is said to have the potential to convert photos of food posted on Instagram into recipes, so that users can reproduce any meal they find themselves enviously drooling over as they scroll through their Instagram feed.

The following article lists a number of must-have apps for any cook; these include 'Epicurious' and 'BigOven', both of which are basically huge databases containing thousands of meals which suit all dietary needs. They range in complexity and allow users to discover recipes and ingredients, as well as being able to filter their search depending on their diets, allergies or personal preferences. The apps also offer alternative ideas, and let you search for recipes based on the time of year or specific occasions and events.

Another app mentioned in the article is 'Paprika', an app described as a recipe manager. This lets users save recipes in an orderly way, whether you've found them online on cooking websites, or if you've input them yourself, such as if it's a family recipe you want to keep saved forever. They also discuss 'Escoffier', a free app that converts various measurements, provides a glossary of cooking terms and equipment.

New York Times list their recommended cooking apps; here, they talk about 'Allrecipes' and 'Yummly', which are both databases consisting of thousands of recipes. Allrecipes is derived from the cookery website with the same title and is much more simplistic, while Yummly focuses more on attracting users with mouth-watering imagery.

Both apps allow users to search for recipes based on the name of the meal, the ingredients they have and cooking times, and they can filter their results if they have a limited supply of ingredients or if they have dietary requirements. Allrecipes is said to be more concise and easier to read, while Yummly includes a lot more detail such as nutritional information, which some users may find inconvenient, especially if they're in a rush.

They also discuss their favourite cooking app, 'SideChef', which also stores a database of recipes which can be searched for, or discovered through their multiple categories and suggestions. New York Times commend this app not only because of its 'glossy' appearance, but also because each recipe includes an interactive 'cook' button.

Once tapped, this button leads to a screen with a timer and visual instructions for each step, alongside an electronic voice that directs you throughout the recipe. This unique feature stands out because it allows users to get on with other tasks without having to tap the screen with their messy fingers every minute.

Another recipe app which includes 46 subcategories is 'Flavourit', and this app is exclusive to the iPhone. While Flavourit is essentially a database of recipes, it's much more visually presented and is designed to be a lot more personal than other apps, where easy-to-see icons replace text to make it appear more simplistic. While the instructions are more visual, text can be displayed if the users want.

This app also allows users to create their own 'cards' with their own recipes submitted, and these feature their own images and own instructions. This app is arguably more for people who create their own recipes and want to take time to make their own visual recipes that they can store in a neat, digital way and to share with others through social media.

Huffington Post published an article which revolved around 'Cucumber', an app that helps users construct their own cookbook using recipes included in their database. The main selling point of Cucumber is its ability to scan products in supermarkets and then find recipes that use the said product, making it a suitable app for people on the go, who may want to quickly find recipes while doing their weekly shop.

The developers behind Cucumber claim that most barcodes or QR codes that can be scanned through a smartphone are printed on the bottom of products, meaning that in order to scan them, customers have to pick them up and locate the codes themselves. However, Cucumber claims to be able to scan products just through their product label, making it much easier and quicker if you're in a rush or if your hands are full.

For a more adult audience, there are also apps that provide recipes for a number of cocktails, suitable for any budding mixologists, or anybody wanting to spice up a party. 'Mixology' and 'CocktailFlow' are both apps that contain a database full of cocktail recipes, and these are both very visual with appealing aesthetics.

Mixology is more basic with eye-catching imagery and easy-to-follow instructions, offering users the ability to search for cocktails and upload their own recipes. CocktailFlow uses a more simplistic design with slick functions; they provide a list of different ingredients so you can tick off all the drinks you may have in your drinks cabinet, and this narrows down your search to give you a more specific selection of recipes to choose from.

Lastly, 'Onthebar' is a much more personal cocktail recipe app which gives users their own profile to fill in, much like a social networking app. Here, you can fill in information about yourself, such as your personality, what social events you enjoy, your favourite drink(s) of choice and drinks that you'd like to avoid.

Onthebar also allows users to connect with other profiles, including a list of profiles of professional mixologists and bartenders, so you can share and be inspired by other people's recipes. You can 'like' and comment on different recipes, much like you would on Instagram, and each recipe includes information about the drink, as well as instructions on how to make it.

In conclusion, there are many apps out there that can improve your culinary skills and potentially transform you into a Michelin star chef or, as we've discovered, a professional mixologist. Whether you want an app that provides a ton of recipes, or if you want to share your own recipes and connect with others, there are so many apps to choose from, all with different outstanding features, that you're bound to find something suitable for you.