I once prided myself on being the kind of person who could always find something to do. Boredom was rarely a thing for me as long as I could access a bookstore, throw a random destination into my GPS and hit the road, take a walk around local trails, or hit the mall—I just really love a good mall wander, OK? Obviously, that changed quite a bit since the COVID-19 outbreak. After binge watching Arrow AND The Flash, blowing through my “to-read” pile, embroidering quirky art for my bathroom, and reorganizing my apartment, I needed something else to help keep the boredom at bay. Enter: cooking.
Now, I will say that I don’t consider myself to be a novice in the kitchen. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and have gotten pretty good at it, but I mostly cook the same things or use the same general taste profiles. So, I hit the internet in search of apps that could help challenge me in the kitchen and expand my recipe repertoire. Here are a few of my favorites.
There are a lot of great things about the New York Times Cooking App, but my favorite is the recipe of the day. Their daily recipes have a ton of variety, both in terms of complexity and flavors, and I find the recipe of the day helps to inspire my cooking creativity. I also really enjoy their video content, which ranges from skills training to cooking show-esque clips. The app also makes it easy to figure out substitutions for ingredients, whether you have a dietary restriction, or you need to sub out an ingredient you just don’t like, *cough* sweet potatoes *cough.*
The Paprika app functions a bit like Pinterest but is exclusively for recipes you find anywhere on the internet. With two taps on your screen, any recipe online—including ones on food blogs that follow far too much commentary and backstory—is converted to the app’s format for recipes (with just the ingredient list and directions) and saved in the app. The app is my go-to for creating grocery lists. They have this really cool feature that sorts your grocery list into categories, so during a time where you can’t really wander through the aisles, you know exactly where to go in the store to find everything on your list. It is also worth noting that when you open a recipe in the app, it automatically keeps the screen on so that you don’t have to keep re-opening your device while you cook.
Tastemade has tons of awesome video content ranging from cooking shows to travel shows centered around regional food to videos meant to inspire your own cooking creativity. The app has “channels” which make finding the right video super easy whether you are looking to learn to cook on a budget or how to cook foods from around the world. Tastemade is also home to the original Tiny Kitchen, a cooking show I have spent countless hours watching.
Yummly makes it really easy to customize the kinds of recipes you get. You can select your favorite cuisines, request recipes that feature certain ingredients, or select a feature that prioritizes “healthy” recipes above ones that use…more butter. This is a great app to use if you are trying to stick to a budget, or if you are generally a picky eater but want a few new options in your taste wheelhouse.
BigOven is a cross between a recipe app and a social media platform. You can follow friends, family, or food bloggers, and when you launch the app, you can see what they are cooking, how they have rated recipes, and more. The app also features a grocery list tool, recipe folders, and meal planning guides. I like being able to see what other people are cooking during quarantine besides banana and sourdough breads.
Now go forth and cook your way through this slightly unusual summer. Let us know what other apps you’ve been using during quarantine by hitting us up on Twitter (@actmembers) and share those food pics! Tip: Nine times out of 10, a food pic will look better with flash!