10 Ways Your Smartphone Can Make Cooking Easier

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I am a member of Verizon’s Influencer Team – #VZWBuzz and I receive phones and other accessories from time to time to review. This post has not been monetarily compensated. Please note that, as always, any personal opinions reflected in this post are my own.

Back in the day when you were in the mood to make a new recipe you needed either someone or, in most cases, something. Something being any number of things, including paper and pen, cookbook, calculator, multiple size measuring cups and spoons, and timers. There are surely more, but those are the first to spring to my mind. Why do they spring right to my mind? Because I rarely use them when cooking now. Nowadays if you have a smartphone or tablet you can use those to help you instead. Here are ten ways that your phone can help make cooking easier.

What’s for dinner?

The age old question. What to make. Where do you find the answer? Most people would say in a cookbook. Cookbooks are great. I absolutely love them. But noone can deny, storing cookbooks can take up a lot of room. Plus, browsing can be time consuming if you’re in a hurry. Every day more and more recipes are appearing online. If you don’t want to just google something and risk it, there are tons of sites where you can find recipes.  Some great recipe sites that spring to mind immediately are Food.com and Foodily. Have some items on hand you want to use but don’t know what to do with them? Epicurious, BigOven and AllRecipes even allow users to input ingredients and get a listing of recipes that can be made with those items.

Don’t steal from the doctor.

Chances are good at some time you’ve found yourself browsing a magazine and finding a recipe in there that you’d like to try making. In my case it’s almost always the doctor’s office. Would you ever tear that page out of the magazine and put it into your pocket to take home? I have. (She hangs her head in shame.) Man does that paper ripping out of the magazine seem loud or what! There’s no need to destroy the magazine. Just take a photo of the recipe!

Be inspired.

Once in a while you’ll be out and about and see a dish that just calls to you. It might be in a restaurant. It might be in a grocery store, or on a menu somewhere. Take a photo of whatever it is that inspires you! When you get home and are ready to give it a whirl you’ll have a very clear way of remembering what it is that got your attention about the dish in the first place.

Be prepared.

I find it helpful to always have two lists running. One is a grocery list. I always have one, it automatically syncs from my computer to my phone. The other is a pantry/freezer stock list, in other words a list of everything you have on hand at home. No more wondering “do I have lasagna noodles” or “are we out of rice”. if you keep a stock of it in the freezer or in the pantry keep it in a list. When it goes on sale you can look at how much you have and know if it’s time to replenish.

Be unprepared without massive panic.

Ever get part of the way through a recipe and find that you don’t have enough of something you need? Or worse still, that you don’t have something at all? Hit up the Cook’s Thesaurus. This virtual cooking encyclopedia has pictures, descriptions, pronounciation and more for thousands of ingredients, as well as items you can potentially substitute for them.

Prep work made simple

Hate getting out a bunch of measuring spoons and cups every time you cook? Is it a struggle to multiply quantities when resizing a recipe? Convert! The Recipe Convert app will convert volume and/or weight, making it easier to scale recipes up or down.

Timing is everything.

If you don’t keep track of the time your recipe could be ruined. And it’ll just be difficult to recreate or share, since there won’t be complete instructions. Use your phone to keep time! There are lots of timers out there. The Kitchen Timer app is free and features three independent timers. Struggling to make perfect eggs? The Egg Timer will let you know how long it will take to get your eggs to reach the desired style.

Take notes.

If you’re making a recipe for the first time you’ll want to take some notes of things like brands used, flavors, modifications, prep notes, etc. Open up your favorite note taking app and type away. No need to have scraps of paper floating around the kitchen! Taking notes is especially helpful if you aren’t at home and want to get some notes on something you’ve just eaten and want to try making before you forget.

Know where to find help when you need it.

If you don’t know how to make something there are places you can go for detailed help and information. There are helpful photo tutorials all over the internet, including at sites like Food Network. They even have a Food Network In The Kitchen app! And there are entire recipe video channels, like Food Wishes!

Play well with others.

Did your meal come out well? Would you like to share it with others? Take a picture! I don’t personally find any recipe to be totally complete if it doesn’t have at least one photo. I mean really, don’t you find it helpful to know what something is supposed to look like? So will the people you’re sharing your recipe with.

How do you use your smartphone to help you in the kitchen?