App-y eater
COOKING MORE AT HOME DUE TO THE LOCKDOWN? HERE ARE SOME APPS TO HELP YOU STAY CREATIVE IN THE KITCHEN
EPICURIOUS (iOS)
They say: The all-new Epicurious app makes it even easier to find the world’s best recipes, watch incredible food videos, and cook delicious meals.
Our top-to-bottom overhaul includes weekly content updates to inspire you, along with videos of your favourite recipes. You can still explore over 35,000 tested recipes from publishers like Bon Appetit, Gourmet, HarperCollins, and more, plus recipe reviews and ratings from home cooks like you.
We say: Epicurious is at the head of the pack when it comes to recipe apps because it has the might of the Conde Nast empire behind it, and is able to draw content from all its various publications.
It’s also a very well-made app with some useful features – including set timers for various different ingredients (so you know how long to cook that salmon steak, for example), and a shopping list so you can make sure you order everything you need for the new recipe you’re planning to try.
Cost: Free
HIPPIE LANE
(iOS and Android)
They say: The original healthy recipe app that covers all the current most sought-after recipes. The HL app was launched following the success of cult healthy-food brand Hippie Lane in the retail and social media scene.
Originally a treat-only app, with 50+ innovative sweet treat recipes, the Hippie Lane app has been a favourite since it’s launch in 2015. Due to customer demand, we added savoury recipes and in-app purchases that include Breakfast, Lunch and Party options, as well as Insta Faves – that showcases the best of recipes from The
Hippie Lane Instagram page.
In addition, we have added free recipe additions, that include Summer Favourites, Winter Warmers and Festive Food.
We say: Hippie Lane’s expansion into a more rounded recipe app is most welcome, as it taps into the current trend for plant-based eating. Each recipe is also clearly marked to let the user know if it’s vegan, nut free, dairy free or gluten free. There are more than 100 recipes in there, and while the focus remains on making ‘treats’ there’s plenty to keep you interested.
Cost: £2.99 with in-app purchases – extra recipe packs cost 99p to £1.99.
TASTY (IOS AND ANDROID)
They say: Meet your new cooking coach! Over 4,000 Tasty recipes now at your fingertips; an innovative Step-ByStep instruction mode; a ‘My Recipes’ page which serves as your very own mobile cookbook, and an incredible search tool that allows you to filter by any ingredients, cuisine and social occasion you’re in the mood for!
We say: Tasty is essentially Buzzfeed’s cooking content in an app. The Tasty ecosphere includes output on almost all platforms (including YouTube and the social networks), so there are lots of ways to connect with it and other users.
The recipes do tend to be a bit ‘American’, but if you persevere past that, you can find some good stuff. And by using the app instead of hunting the stuff down elsewhere, you get to see videos before they are shown anywhere else, and bookmark things to come back to later. Cost: Free
PROJECT FOODIE: GUIDED COOKING (iOS)
They say: Reliable recipes. Obsessively detailed videos. Math-eliminating technology. For free. That’s right. Freeeeeeee. Oh, and Project Foodie is being called “the cookbook of the future” by Food & Wine, and “One of the best apps of 2018” by iPhone Life!
You’ll learn to chop, broil and bake through real-time, chefguided videos. After years of research and development, Project Foodie is our attempt to create the cookbook of the future – combining the best elements of all the cooking shows, books, apps, how-to videos, classes and programs... and adding a bunch of our own that were sorely missing.
We say: One of the best things about Project Food is the story behind it. Two brothers – one a chef, one an award-winning TV producer – combine to make ‘the cookbook of the future’.
The USP is that the recipe videos are done in real time and show you how to do everything described – so when the chef says ‘dice the tomatoes’, he doesn’t just produce a bowl of diced tomatoes, he shows you how to do it. Every single detail is laid out before you, and that way you actually end up learning techniques you can apply elsewhere instead of just slavishly following a recipe.
The app is free, but allows you to make a contribution to the project via in-app purchases.
Cost: Free with in-app purchases.
KITCHEN STORIES (iOS and Android)
They say: Millions of users around the world are already cooking with Kitchen Stories, the winner of Apple’s Design Award—now it’s your turn!
Download it now to be inspired by thousands of free recipes, HD instructional videos, and articles about cooking and baking. Plus, publish your own recipes to share with our global community of home cooks. It’s easy to use and offers a variety of irresistible recipes that appeal to beginners and experts alike. Ready to get cooking?
We say: It’s a beautifully designed platform, and one of the easiest to use on this list. Kitchen Stories has all the features, and lets you browse recipes by occasion and difficulty level, as well as by ingredient.
Its USP, though, is that it shows you how to make your own recipe videos, and upload them to the service for others to use. Like Project Foodie, it’s totally free, but allows a tip jar-style system to let you contribute financially to the app’s makers.
Cost: Free with in-app purchases.