Top Five Cooking Apps

On paper, at least, the point of modern technology is to make life easier. This certainly seems to be the trend when it comes to cellular technology. What started as the mere ability to carry a telephone in one’s pocket has evolved into the ability to carry a phone/computer in one’s pocket. These days, smartphones are as much personal workstations as they are communication devices. And still the mobile app reigns supreme.

Both Apple and Android have their respective app stores, each containing libraries of options geared to help out those on the go. These categories range from games to lifestyle to finance to, yes, even cooking. After all, cooking is becoming more and more of an art form in the average U.S. household, why not have some mobile apps on hand to help facilitate the process? With that in mind, here are some of the top cooking apps currently on the market.

Escoffier’s Cook’s Companion – free, iOS

This free reference app should prove invaluable in any home kitchen. Coming straight from the first name in cuisine, Aguste Escoffier, the “Cook’s Companion” offers a number of helpful tips and tricks, including timers, conversion tables and substitution info. It also has glowing user reviews.

Appetites — $2.99, iOS

Novice chefs need to start somewhere, and even seasoned home cooks may need to brush up on their skills from time to time. “Appetites” helps keep those knife skills sharp by offering 54 video tutorials covering the basics of everything from baking to preparing a salad. Many of the videos are hosted by popular chefs and contain detailed, step-by-step instructions.

Weber’s on the Grill — $4.99, iOS/Android

A pricey app to be sure, but five bucks is a relatively small price to pay for total grill supremacy. This app ranks high on the list of mobile grilling companions, and no smartphone-toting grill master is complete without it. Weber’s not only offers how-to guides but a library of over 300 grill recipes as well. There are even live demonstrations geared towards helping grillers with their technique.

Perfect Produce — $1.99, iOS/Android

Many folks often forgo eating healthy because they don’t know how to prepare different kinds of fruits and vegetables. “Perfect Produce” is not only a full produce glossary, but it has detailed instructions on how to properly buy and store any type of produce found in the grocery store.

MealBoard — $2.99, iOS

A solid meal planner, this app lets the user create weekly menus and allows him or her to do shopping lists as well. Not only that, but smartphone owners can use this app to bring up grocery stores in their area and compare prices on different items. This option is ideal for those budget-and-time-conscious home cooks who just want to get a decent meal on the table on a regular basis.

The above list may only represent a drop in the bucket compared with the sheer number of cooking apps out there, but they should remain relevant into the future. That means the typical home chef can count on help from these apps as long as they have the desire to dine.

Lana Marston is a professional is a professional blogger that shares cooking advice. She writes for Recipe Chart, where you can find a large selection of delicious recipes.