August 13, 2011

When I was asked to take a look at the iOS app, Favorite Recipes, I had few expectations. I was not prepared for what I saw when I opened this app.

I’m going to start right off with its one major flaw, because it’s overshadowed by everything else. It simply doesn’t include enough recipes. The included recipes are not necessarily my favorite recipes, and most of them are not likely to become my favorites. But that’s a content issue, and one that should be relatively easy to improve. My suggestion to the developer is to allow users to submit their recipes for inclusion.

Let’s take a look at the basic premise of the app. Like with any cookbook, you get categories. Favorite Recipes includes Appetizers, Soups, Salads, Seafood, Chicken, Beef/Pork/Lamb, Pasta, Vegetarian, Side Dishes, and Desserts. Picking a dish brings you to a beautiful color photo of what it should look like once you’ve prepared it.

As with any good cook book, it tells you how long it will take to prepare the dish, cooking time, and difficulty level. Almost all the recipes in this version are listed as easy. Directly above the photo are 3 tabs. You begin on the first tab which shows you the photo, and the second lists your ingredients. This is where this app shines.

Next to each ingredient is a circle. If you don’t have the item and will need to go shopping prior to cooking, tap the circle to add it to your grocery list. This is the kind of feature that sets this app as brilliant, rather than just another e-cookbook. Down at the bottom of the page you’ll find a tab that shows your shopping list. Everything you’ve checked appears here in the required quantities.

I particularly like the options within the shopping list. You can view what you need by dish, or supermarket layout.

Once you’ve done your shopping, it’s time to hit the kitchen, and Favorite Recipes shines here. Any cookbook can give you simple step by step instructions, and Favorite Recipes is no different here. But sometimes you want a little more help in the kitchen, and prior to dirtying your first measuring spoon, you can hit the video tab and watch someone else prepare your dish in advance.

Another really nice feature is the addition of photos to go along with each step in the recipe. It makes preparation super easy, even if cooking is not your thing.

Favorite Recipes is filled with little extras that make it special. Even the splash screen is gorgeous. Every time you start the app, the splash screen displays a different image of one of the recipes in the app. If you look back at the first screenshot showing the recipe overview, you’ll notice a big plus sign. Clicking the plus icon gives you options to add the recipe to your favorites, add a note, email the recipe to a friend, or share on Facebook.

This is a truly beautiful app with a slick user experience, and all the bells and whistles. As I said at the beginning, if it had more content, this would be beyond compare.

Take a look for yourself. It’s only $.99 in iTunes.

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