Author Topic: Recipe organizer  (Read 2501 times)

Sylly

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 265
Recipe organizer
« on: February 06, 2017, 12:28:28 AM »
I'm almost sure I'm going to plop $30 for Mastercook, but thought I'd see if anyone here has experience with it, or recommend something else.

DH and I enjoy cooking. We, and especially I, like trying out new recipes -- and keeping good ones in our repertoire. Right now, our recipes are spread between books, magazines, scraps of paper, Allrecipes, links to various pages I store as bookmarks, and Saved FB videos. It's driving me crazy. I've been playing with the idea of getting a software to organize our recipes for awhile now, and I think I'm reaching the point where the spread is too much (esp. the online stuff), and I'm willing to pay for some organization.

- The main feature I know I'm looking for is the ability to search recipes by some ingredients because I plan meals based on sales. That should be a fairly standard feature, but not having used one of these things before, I don't really know. And I also don't know what other features are 'must-haves' for this sort of thing.
- Not really willing to pay for subscription. I'd rather pay once, and be done with it.
- Being able to use it on Windows computer (for entry purposes) and Android (or maybe even Amazon) tablet (for reference while cooking) would be nice. We're both more PC people than smartphone or tablet people.
- Relatively painless way of inputting recipes would be really nice, as it increases the likelihood things get organized sooner.

Now, with those things in mind, I did some Googling and found and considered options:

Cook'n - Seems established. Single pay software for 80 (eek), but have jumped the shark to bait-n-switchy behavior to get people to subscribe at a whopping 10/mo for what I'd likely need. Not just no, HELL NO.
Pepperplate - Seems buggy. Can't find info on cost, likely a subscription model.
Big Oven - Seems established. Used to be single pay software but has switched to subscription. Old software now downloadable for free, but unclear if there's ability to sync free old sw with new apps. Apps free for gimped functionality, 20/yr for full functionality.
Mastercook - Another established one. Still has single pay software for $30. Has free apps that can sync to software, with online account, and I think without requiring subscription. Also has online subscription model, but appears the most optional, and ranging from 5-10/yr.

Any thoughts?

GizmoTX

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1450
Re: Recipe organizer
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2017, 07:21:43 AM »
I found out about Plan To Eat on MMM & it has made such a difference! It is a recipe collector that also lets you pre-plan menus & then creates a shopping list for you. Since it is browser based, it runs on multiple devices; I can plan on my computer & use my smartphone to access my shopping list in the store & touch each item to check them off. PTE can also print a list if you prefer. I've used other recipe collectors for years (Mastercook & Gourmet) but PTE has the easiest way to import recipes I find online or copy/paste recipes I already have stored elsewhere. You can customize PTE tags, grocery categories, stores, & more. It has an extensive filter & search recipe capability. Friends who also use PTE can share recipes with you & vice versa. PTE has many useful videos & blog to quickly show how PTE works & how it helps to save money by easily making & following a plan. Best of all, it's fun to use & saves me so much time. It is a subscription rather than an app at this point, at about $35 per year, but you should first sign up for the free 30-day trial. I too prefer one time only apps, but the PTE functionality has won me over. PTE has been having a Black Friday sale where annual subscriptions are half price & will extend an unexpired subscription -- I used this for gifts as well.

Sylly

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 265
Re: Recipe organizer
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2017, 11:42:00 PM »
Thanks for the suggestion. It's a bit more than I'd like to pay for a subscription, but I'll look into PTE and maybe give the 30-day trial a try. Though, that also made me look up other apps/services of similar format, and came across other options to look into (ChefTap and Paprika). So thanks for that as well.


CALVN

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 1
Re: Recipe organizer
« Reply #3 on: February 08, 2017, 08:29:06 PM »
Thanks for the suggestion. It's a bit more than I'd like to pay for a subscription, but I'll look into PTE and maybe give the 30-day trial a try. Though, that also made me look up other apps/services of similar format, and came across other options to look into (ChefTap and Paprika). So thanks for that as well.

Love Paprika.
Syncs across various devices (windows/mac/ipad/iphone) and really great for meal planning, grocery listing, search by ingredients.

http://www.thekitchn.com/3-years-later-i-still-think-paprika-is-the-best-recipe-app-you-can-buy-227204

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!