The Search For The Best Cooking App
Well, i'm a tech geek and i love cooking so this was the natural thing to do - find the best recipe apps out there. Yes, there are great recipe websites but I'm used to taking my smartphone anywhere so the next thing i know is scrolling through websites in my kitchen looking for a recipe. So that is how I started downloading cooking apps, and there are some great on the Appstore and PlayStore.
Some of these apps I've been using for long time, but before I started to write this article, I've searched for recipe apps, and some of them made it on this list. Just so you know, there are tons and tons of cooking and recipe apps, so some may not be included.
MyGreatRecipes
This is the app where it all started so I'm gonna put it on my high first place. Well MyGreatRecipes iwas the reason for me to start cooking. When I was young my grandma used to collect some kind of recipe cards, every month she would get some in the mail and make us the best meals (like any grandma would). So couple of years ago, I found the cards she used to collect and they were MyGreatRecipes cards. I did a quick Google search and I stumbled upon the app. What they did was digitalising the old recipe cards into a smartphone app. That's why I started using the app in the first place, hoping to find recipes that my grandma prepared. Ok, enough history, let's talk about the app. Firstly I like the simple design of the app (it helps in the kitchen) and my favorite feature are the collections. I have my favorite recipes all in one place so it's easy to organize.
Next thing I'd like to mention is the customized profile (like on Facebook), it gives it a nice personal touch. The app is available for free on IOS and Android so that's great too. I like this app because it's a little bit different from the others, the recipes are old fashioned and they are great!
Yummly
I really love using the Yummly app! It's a quite modern app and has a huge database of recipes. Yummly is so different from MyGreatRecipes, the former is quite modern with modern recipes while the later keeps the classic feeling. The app is great, but can be a little bit confusing at times. Still, that's not a deal breaker for me, I like it! The recipes are great, with great photography and simple "how to's". I like it for many different things, and I've been using it for quite some time now. Great thing are the nutrition facts on most of the recipes and also you can customize your feed according to your diet. It's available for IOS and Android an it's free!
AllRecipes
Well, when it comes to recipes, we all go to Allrecipes. They have such a huge database of recipes so it's really hard to find your favorite. I must say that the website is better than their "dinner spinner" app. I can't really see the point of the Dinner Spinner. You can select breakfast, lunch or dinner, add the ingredient you'd like to use and the app will randomize the recipes and give you some advise. The recipes are great, but the app is slow at times (maybe because of the huge database of recipes) and it really gets me mad, especially in the middle of cooking when you need to kill the app and reopen, find your recipe and start again. Apart from that, the recipes have clear instructions, some of them have video instruction as well, which is quite handy. The app is free (with ads) and is available for IOS and Android.
BigOven
I've found BigOven very recently. It's a new app for me and from the screenshots it looked very good. They say that they have more than 350,000 recipes, which is great. The app is very similar to Instagram, so it's very familiar to use. They have a place to save all of your favorite recipes, but it's not organized well enough for me. I can see the point of using the Instagram layout for discovering recipes but I can't say that they nailed it. It's a great app, don't get me wrong, but a little something is missing. The instructions on the recipes are good, but not but not at the same level as those of AllRecipes, for example. You can save recipes and plan your menu for the whole week which is a neat feature. The app is free with a lot of annoying ads, so you'll need to purchase the Pro-membership to really enjoy it.
Green Kitchen
This is maybe the best looking app on this list. Well I should say apps because this is a bundle from Green Kitchen that has two apps: Green Kitchen and Healthy Desserts by Green Kitchen. Their apps are so beautiful and modern, I really enjoy using them. For a tech geek like myself Green Kitchen is heaven. The only drawback for someone can be that their apps have just healthy (vegetarian) recipes, but that's not the case for me, I love to eat healthy from time to time. The user experience is on a very high level. They don't have many recipes to choose from, but the photography is great. It's not the most user friendly app too. It's a bit confusing and it needs some getting used to, but i've included Great Kitchen into this list mainly because of the beautiful design and modern feel (and also in order to have something healthy to eat). This recipe app is available only for IOS, so Android users, I'm sorry.
This is my first part of the search for the best recipe apps. I will continue the search and let you guys know if I find something worth mentioning.
