On a platter! 7 free apps for foodies, home-cooks and gourmands alike

Melting cheese, piping hot cocoa, sizzling tacos, a stacked hamburger and crispy fries. Sometimes mere words are enough to arouse your palate. Whether you love to cook up a delicious meal for friends or family or simply love trying out every new dish in town or different cuisines, there is an app for just about everything these days. Add to that the popularity of food programming on TV these days, and everyone has some or the other food fantasy on their minds. So we’ve picked 7 must-have apps that could be a great companion to anyone who enjoys and cherishes food, whether it is in Michelin star restaurants or at home. Of course, there are several apps that show you which restaurants are around you, which is not really the point of this exercise. We are featuring apps that can actually come in handy when you are cooking or dining.

Chefs Feed

If you are the gourmet-or-go-home types, this app brings all the happenings to your fingertips. If provides a Twitter-style feed showing information about what world famous chefs the doing or where they are dining. If you love an image of the dish, simply click on it and plan a meal with friends using the app. The app also lets you directly share your experience via Facebook and Twitter. The app supports over 500 renowned chefs including the likes of Thomas Keller, Mario Batali and Wolfgang Puck. These are big names to have from the get-go. Though it currently supports only US cities, the app is a great option for travellers as it offers geolocated map feature and you get an idea about the city’s dining scene as recommendations come directly from some of the best chefs in the world. Moreover, the app can be downloaded for free from the Google Play Store and Apple App Store .

Big Oven

There’s a lot of reasons why Big Oven could become your best cooking companion. Firstly, it has a vast database of over 2,50,000 recipes. One of the key highlight of the app is its ability to pull out a recipe depending upon the ingredients you have or the leftovers in your kitchen, which can be a godsend when you are fixing up a quick meal but don’t have time to shop. It also lets users share recipes over email, Facebook or Twitter. Moreover, one can simply scan a written recipe and the app coverts it into digital text, for you to carry around. That frayed book of your grandmother’s recipes can now be digitized. This means, you can make your own recipe collection, which will be scalable as well as searchable. The Big Oven is available on leading platforms Android and iOS .

Vivino Wine Scanner

If you are an infrequent wine drinker and not much into the nitty-gritty of wine pairing, then this is the app for you. It allows users to simply scan and rate the wine they’ve tasted. Moreover, users can even simply take a photo of the wine and get to know everything about it, including what to serve it with and at what temperature. This app will save a party full of pedantic guests. The app sends personal recommendations and also lets you find rated wines in nearby shops. Download for free from Apple App Store as well as Google Play Store .

Sanjeev Kapoor’s official app

Those looking for some goold ol’ desi food, can head straight to Indian chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s official app. Whether you are looking for recipes for festivals like Diwali and Chirstmas, region-based recipes like Gujarati, Hyderabadi or South Indian, desserts like gujiya and halwa, special occasions like Valentine’s Day or birthdays or healthy and nutritious dishes for pregnant women, the app has got it all covered. Moreover, unlike the usual text, the app has included videos explaining how to cook a meal effectively, making it more convenient for those keeping up at home. The app also features blogs by Kapoor, his official Twitter and Facebook channels, and a contest section for rewards too. Unfortunately, it’s an Android-only app and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store .

Cookbook

Here’s yet another app that covers most of the recipes, be it a rich paella, classic crème caramel, spaghetti bolognese or a simple goan chicken curry. Optimised for both phones and tablets, it works online as well as offline. Thanks to the visual-heavy layout, the app looks great on a big phablet’s display. Just like Big Oven, users can write down their own recipes and take a snap, which the app converts into digital text. Most of the recipes are simple, and one can also create a portable collection of recipes. Cookbook is also available for Android only and can be downloaded from the  Google Play Store .

Evernote Food

This one is for recipe hoarders. If you can’t get your mind of that dish you tasted at a restaurant or simply love cooking a sumptuous meal that you may have tried around your home, then Evernote Food is for you. It lets you record what you ate using photos, location and later you can search the recipe from within the app. You can also browse through the web to find a recipe and then save in the ‘My Cookbook’ section of Evernote Food. Besides, you can explore new recipes, restaurants and also document your food experiences to create a travel or food blog, which is still a big trend among amateur cooks. The app is available on Android as well as iOS .

Cocktail Flow

If you aren’t really a wine person but love to sip on cocktails and mocktails, then this app is for you. From basic cocktails like Bloody Mary to Florida Sunrise, the app neatly puts out recipes for all drinks. You can easily search for a particular cocktail recipe, and sort the list by available alcohol too. The app also includes a shopping assistant that also serves as a cost estimate calculator. For rookies, it has a bartender guides section that helps learn more about mixology, and which drinks work best together. Users can download the app for  iPhone as well as Android devices .

Food Dictionary

One could want to eat everything in the world, but it’s always best to know what you are eating first. The Food Dictionary serves as an encyclopaedia of food, giving you a complete background on ingredients, a glossary, photos and more. So don’t get bogged down by some exotic sounding fruit, because this app will help you understand. We think it’s great for those looking at a serious push into the culinary arts, while home cooks will be more than happy knowing just what that gnarly looking gourd at the grocer is. The app particularly shines when one is travelling to a new place with unfamiliar ingredients or food, so it also is a handy travel app. It is available for Android via Google Play Store .

Share your experience about these apps in the comments section below. Also, add your recommendations for good apps for foodies.

Main image courtesy:  Thisbeautifuldayblog