New cooking apps for the iPad continue to feed the
App Store. The latest:
Allrecipes - Your Kitchen Inspiration. Created by
All Recipes, Inc., the app is packed full of recipes and it's simple to use. Because it is free, the app is worth your time. Especially if you are planning a large feast for Thanksgiving or Christmas.
You can search for recipes by course, ingredient, cooking method and cooking time. Once you find that perfect recipe, you are presented with recipe reviews, a calorie count and the estimated prep and cook time.
Two features really make this app amazing. First, you are able to adjust the serving size by recipe. As you change from one serving size to the next, the list of ingredients changes too. This is a great tool.
In addition, there is the "Start Cooking" feature. By enabling this from within a recipe, the app turns into your own cooking assistant. It gives you easy to read instructions, along with a great looking kitchen timer.
However, Allrecipes - Your Kitchen Inspiration is not without its problems. The first has to do with the photos associated with each recipe. Since All Recipes relies on its customers to submit recipes, some of the attached photos are less than perfect. Some look cloudy while others are cropped in areas where they shouldn’t be. Too often, I found myself passing over a recipe because the photo looked terrible.
Another problem: the app’s creators
really want you to spend $4.99 for the app's “pro” version. The free version is littered with features that when clicked on ask you to upgrade. For example, you can email others a recipe, but you cannot file it into a recipe box or create shopping lists from it. These options are there, but unless you spend the money, they are not functional.
Still, this annoyance might not be a concern for everyone. After all, the free app does quite a lot.
Allrecipes - Your Kitchen Inspiration is available today in the App Store.
