The popularity of chefs like Rachel Ray, Paula Deen, Gordon Ramsey and Wolfgang Puck are a clear indication of just how much people love cooking. There are shows and even entire networks devoted to teaching people how to easily prepare great food. A 2010 Harris Poll showed that 50 percent of Americans watch TV shows about cooking; 57 percent of them were baby boomers and 43 percent were between the ages of 18 and 33. Nothing made our love affair with food clearer than when ABC replaced long time favorite, "All My Children," with foodie talk show "The Chew." Who would believe a cooking show would oust one filled with sex and drama?
People tired of dinner as usual no longer have to turn to cookbooks for a new recipe. Apps on smartphones have made finding a recipe, planning a meal and grocery shopping easier than ever. Whether the chef wants to cook using an oven, grill, Crock-Pot or nothing at all there is an app to help. These apps are available across multiple platforms, including Android, iPhone and the new cell phones from Blackberry.
BigOven
BigOven has over 250,000 recipes. With recipes for brand new dishes and recipes with twists on classics there is something for every appetite. A drag and drop feature allows cooks to move recipes onto a calendar for easy meal planning. The Pro version has a feature that automatically generates a grocery list. Users can also share recipes via email, Facebook and Twitter. More than two million people have downloaded this app.
BBQ Grill Assistant
Wanna learn how to grill like a pro? Let an app help you out!
Summer means people picnicking, playing baseball and grilling. Grilling is an art that must be practiced and mastered; just because you can cook in the kitchen doesn’t mean you can grill. It's very easy to under or over-cook a meal. This app will make sure that never happens again by providing accurate information on how to cook meats, such as, poultry, beef, pork and seafood.
Crockpot Recipes
Cooks have long relied on the Crock-Pot to help make dinner prep easy. Just put the ingredients in, turn it on and go to work or school. When you return after a long day — Pow! — dinner is served. Crock-Pots are mainly associated with stews and soups, but just about any recipe can be adapted to this method of cooking. It can even cook a steak and baked potato dinner! A steak, covered with foil, along with foil-wrapped potatoes and corn cooked for six hours gives you a complete, delicious dinner. This app shows cooks all of those unexpected Crock-Pot meals and more. It also includes a time and temperature guide for converting recipes, do's and don’ts for using certain ingredients and tips for making dishes more flavorful.
Raw Recipes
This brand new app has been created to accommodate the new raw food movement that is growing in popularity. People in this movement are called “raw foodists.” They believe when food is cooked over 112 degrees, it loses its living enzymes. These people fall into two groups: one includes raw meat, eggs and dairy in their diet and the other eats only raw vegetables, fruits and nuts (vegan raw). This app contains recipes that are not only tasty, healthy and totally uncooked, but they can also be used for any occasion. The database is small, but developers are busy adding more to the inventory daily.