Best Recipe Manager for IPhone
In the past, managing a huge collection of recipes was as easy as pulling out a box of index cards. Things are a little smarter now, but that also means they’re a little more complex. To keep all the recipes in order on your iPhone, we like paprika.
Paprika
Platform : iPhone / iPad (and Android , Windows , Mac ) Price : $ 4.99 Download page.
Functions
- Automatically download recipes with one touch from the Safari extension or from the clipboard
- Create your own recipes
- Browser clipboard view for clipping recipes from unsupported websites
- Smart view of recipes so you don’t lose your place
- Built-in timers
- Securing a recipe when dealing with multiple meals
- Personalized notes section
- Easy recipe scaling
- Category filters
- Smart shopping list with pantry option that shows what you already have
- Search for recipes by name, ingredient, or source
- Meal scheduling with selectable week and month and calendar / reminder sync
- Share recipes easily
- Cloud sync between devices
- Importing recipes from many services
- Bookmarklet support for importing recipes from desktop
Where is it best
Paprika does pretty much anything you could ask a recipe manager to do. Using the built-in Paprika browser, Safari share extension or bookmarklet , you can import recipes from online sources into the easy-to-read Paprika recipe format with just a couple of taps. Once you’ve created a recipe book, you can sort it by different categories, add notes, or search by ingredient or name.
As for cooking with paprika, the app has timers that you can turn on from the very direction. It also allows you to zoom in or out on recipes so you don’t have to work the math muscles trying to remember how many tablespoons are in a 1/4 cup. If you are preparing a big holiday and need to switch between several recipes, you can “pin” up to three recipes at the same time to make it easier to switch between them.
Paprika also has a robust meal planning system where you can plan your meals for the week or month. You can then share this plan on your calendar so the whole family can see what’s coming up for dinner. Paprika can even make a shopping list based on your chosen recipes by subtracting the basic ingredients you already have in your pantry.
What also sets Paprika apart from other similar options is its synchronization capabilities. Paprika can sync instantly between devices with a free Paprika account. Since Paprika syncs with its own account and not an iCloud account, it’s easy to share lists with multiple family members.
Where it fails
If something is wrong with paprika, it is in the price. The iPhone app isn’t universal, so if you want to use Paprika on your iPad, you’ll have to shell out an extra $ 4.99. Worse, the desktop app (possibly optional) sells for $ 19.99, so the total investment across all platforms is nearly $ 30. Of course, most of us don’t need all the different apps, so for many, this can be a moot point. Paprika is also one of the few recipe managers on iOS and Mac, so while expensive, it can be seen as a selling point for some. This is especially true if you plan on printing your own handwritten recipes.
While Paprika has a recipe search feature, it’s essentially Google in the Safari window, so it’s not designed to be discoverable. Paprika relies on the fact that you find recipes and save them in the app, rather than specifying different dishes. When you first start Paprika it is empty, so you start from scratch and you don’t have a simple database to build. If you’re just trying to figure out what the hell to cook tonight, paprika is not for you.
Competition
Paprika’s main competitor is Vasily ($ 4.99). Unlike Paprika, Basil is a universal app, so you get both an iPad version and an iPhone version for one purchase. However, the app is limited to iOS, so if you plan to keep iOS or want to sync with family members who have a different operating system, Basil is not for you. However, as a recipe app, Basil comes face to face with paprika in almost every major function. It can automatically import recipes from various websites, has timed destinations with handy recipe timers, and has a simplified interface that is easy to use. Basil beats even paprika with its automatic tagging system that organizes recipes for you effortlessly. For me, a big disappointment with Basil comes from the lack of a bookmarklet, which means that if I find a recipe on the Internet, I have to send the link to myself, open it on my iPhone, and then import it into Basil. If that doesn’t matter to you, Basil easily matches Paprika in basic functionality and is well worth taking a look at.
As far as the free options go , Pepper Plate (Free) does a lot of what paprika and basil do, but isn’t nearly as easy to use. However, basic functionality is there, and Pepper Plate allows you to import recipes from various sites and organize meal plans. If you don’t mind using an app that isn’t quite as elegant as Paprika or Basil, you should try Pepper Plate.
If you are more interested in carefully selected recipes, then BigOven (Free) is great . Along with the basics like a menu planner, grocery list and recipe clipping, BigOven also gives you access to approximately 350,000 recipes in the app, as well as a handwritten recipe scanner. However, the app is ad-supported and limits the number of recipes you can scan yourself, so you’ll have to deal with ads or buy them for an obscene $ 19.99 / year price tag .
Finally, it’s worth taking a look at Yummly (Free) if you’re not too keen on bringing your own recipes. It can cut recipes from mainstream food blogs, but it doesn’t have the robust Basil and Paprika import options if you step outside of Yummly’s built-in directory. However, yummy is great for browsing recipes. It has large images and a fairly large database of recipes to search for.