Michal Ždanský A Czech cookbook for iPhone or iPad is probably the dream of every cook-geek. We have already encountered one Czech attempt in the past, but the development stopped and the application fell into oblivion. Fortunately, they are here Recipes.cz, to pick up the towel and perhaps raise the gastronomic level among Czech apple growers.
The Recipes.cz application is a natively processed database of recipes from the website of the same name managed by Mlada Fronta. It includes over 22 different recipes from domestic and international cuisine, so you don't have to worry about a lack of inspiration for your kitchen.
After launching the application, you will be greeted with an opening menu for selecting a recipe. You can search for recipes in Recepty.cz in several ways. First of all, it is a classic search by categories or ingredients. After clicking on one of the tabs, a search menu will open. While in landscape view you will see categories in the right column and then a list of individual recipes in the right field, in portrait mode the arrangement is a bit unorthodox. You will only see a field with a prompt to select a category or ingredient, however, you must select that column using the menu called up by the button in the upper right corner. In addition, after clicking the button again, the menu does not disappear, you have to click anywhere else. The same is true when searching using ingredients. Here you can select several items at once, and the application will filter the results. Unfortunately, you don't have many ingredients to choose from here, only 13 basic ones. So if you're looking for something more specific, you have to go through the recipes step by step.
If you don't have a very specific idea of what you would actually like to cook, the daily updates will do Menu of the day, Recommended recipes and if you want to leave today's lunch to chance, by clicking on the wooden spoon, the application will choose one for you. Another great helper for choosing a recipe is i A smart guide, which after answering several questions, such as preparation time, ease of preparation or type of food, will select several suitable recipes for you, which you can then scroll through and choose one of them.
The detail of the recipe then contains a classic overview like from a cookbook, a list of ingredients on the left and the method of preparation on the right. In the upper part, you will then see the level of difficulty, preparation time and user ratings. In the same way, thanks to the connection to the website, you can look at the comments of people who tried to cook the dish before you, and you can also add your own note to the recipe. however, for your own notes, you need to register on the Recipes.cz website (you cannot register directly from the application).
The biggest advantage of an electronic cookbook is its interactivity. If you have vision problems, it is not a problem to enlarge the font with the button on the left. If you are interested in a recipe, you can also save it to your favorites, where you can find a list of favorite recipes in a separate tab of the application. There is also the option of sharing the recipe, you can send it via e-mail, and you can also share it on Facebook. In the second case, a one-time login to this social network will first be required. You can also rate the recipe directly from the application and thus help other users in choosing a recipe. The last of the four buttons then adds the ingredients to the shopping list, but more on that later.
One of the most interesting features is hidden under the button Start cooking at the top right. This will launch a sort of recipe wizard that guides you through the cooking steps. So you don't always have to search through the entire procedure for where you left off, only one step will be displayed. You can then switch between steps by dragging your finger or using the buttons Forward a Back. At the same time, the option of a minute directly from the application will please you the most. After clicking on the appropriate button, you will see a menu for entering the deduction. The iPhone offers the same function in the native application Hodiny, however, you can do the countdown directly in the application, in addition, you can have several minutes, for example one for potatoes, another for meat and a third for vegetables.
From each recipe, as I mentioned above, you can put the ingredients of the recipe in the shopping cart. However, you cannot filter the items in any way, so all the ingredients, including those that you normally have at home, are put into the shopping cart. The list itself is then very nicely resolved, you can click on an item to mark it as purchased, you can edit the item with the pencil button, both the name and the quantity, and you can delete the item with a cross. You can save the entire list and thus create more lists, not just one general one. The lists are then saved to your Recipes.cz account. You can also send the list to your mobile phone via SMS. The option to send to e-mail is unfortunately missing, hopefully it will appear in the next update.
The most interesting thing about the entire application, or rather the entire concept of Recepty.cz, is the distinctive social model. Although many recipes come directly from a gastronomic magazine FOOD, a large part is entered by the users themselves. This can be a double-edged sword. In most cases, user recipes have nothing to do with original recipes. For example, a recipe for classic Italian spaghetti Aglio Olio e Peperoncino there is only one, but you will often find modifications to this simple recipe, for example with seafood, tomatoes and the like.
So, if you want to cook original recipes of international cuisines, there is no guarantee that you will find them among the recipes uploaded by users. Users of Recepty.cz and similar servers are usually not gastronomic professionals, but rather cooking enthusiasts, and this should be taken into account. On the other hand, thanks to user comments and their recipe ratings, you at least have more confidence that you won't cook up a Pohlreich nightmare. And among the 22 recipes you will certainly find a few.
I have nothing to complain about the application in terms of graphics, the graphic designers have worked hard on it and created a wonderful user interface that is intuitive, functional and, above all, beautiful. My only complaint concerns the banner on the VTM.cz magazine for iPad, which also belongs to the Mladá Fronta portfolio and which cannot be removed even by purchasing from the application. In an otherwise beautiful environment, Recepty.cz has a rather disturbing impression. Otherwise, you can find the application completely free on the App Store for both iPhone and iPad.
Recipes.cz - Free
The Recipes.cz application for Mac would also be nice
Just a minor correction – there are not only 13 ingredients. There is a search box for your own ingredients and there are really a lot of ingredients in the database :-)
I can't seem to find it for iPhone. I can only find the iPad version :-(
That's probably because the app isn't for iPhone :-)
The app is really only for iPad. I once came across it and longed for it, but it wasn't available for the iPhone and after reading today's article I was happy that it was finally available for the iPhone too :(
There are recipes for iPhone in the Appstore. It is used for shopping - you create a shopping list under your account on the website or in the iPad application, and then you automatically have it in the iPhone application, and you can check off what you already have in your basket in the store.
Yes, but I would really like to access those recipes via iPhone :) I use a great app for shopping - Shopper.
We considered making a kitchen cooking app for the iPhone, but in the end we decided that a more logical ecosystem is:
– I search for recipes on the website, comment on them, add them to my favorites, create a shopping list. That's why the website's emphasis is on searching and different ways to get to the recipe I want.
– I go shopping with my iPhone. Cooking with an iPhone is very impractical, so we made a shopping app for the iPhone. The shopping list can be edited, so I can easily add things that are not in the recipes at all.
– I cook in the kitchen with my iPad. An iPad is better for the kitchen than a laptop (there is not much flour in the keyboard) or an iPhone (tiny display). Therefore, the emphasis is placed on the cooking mode (capital letters, phase of the recipe, built-in minute mind with automatic time setting according to the data in the recipe).
Personally, I'd rather go to that kitchen with an iPhone. On the one hand, it will take up space for my name, so it won't get in the way, and on the other hand, so that I don't have to run for it when someone writes or calls me. I wouldn't take the iPad into the kitchen at all, I don't think there's anything to do there. But that's just my opinion, most people must see it differently.
Cooking with an iPad has its own logic, I admit that, but I would say that more people have an iPhone and quite a few of us would definitely welcome/use the iPhone app. Unfortunately, I don't know any other Czech app with a good recipe database, and I don't see how my girlfriend would react to an English app, of which there are many. With this, I would like to apologize for creating an app for the iPhone. And if it is similar to the one for the iPad, I wouldn't even be against the paid version :) thank you for your consideration and possible implementation