Fancy yourself a bit of a whiz in the kitchen after watching an episode of Masterchef? Haven't looked at a proper recipe book since you were last at your nan's? Fear not- you can still create that croquembouche you're dying to have a go at just by reaching into your pocket and pulling out your iPhone.
Sure you can search for a recipe on Google, but if you're looking for a bit of inspiration, creative kitchen tips and the dreaded calorie-count, you'll need an app. Here then are the top 10 paid and top 10 unpaid foodie apps to get you cooking up a storm!
Top 10 Paid Recipe Apps
10. MacGourmet £1.99
This app provides what you expect from a recipe app- a bunch of inspirational ideas, shopping list feature and an ability for you to add a few notes along the way. You can even store wine notes if you're hitting up a bottle at a restaurant. It does what it says on the tin quite nicely with pictures of what your creations should look like included just so you don't make a complete mess of the Apricot Chicken.
9. Martha's Everyday Food £1.99
Martha has brought a new version of her popular first recipe app with a few performance improvements that make scanning through her recipes a more speedy process. The Recipe Shuffle function lets fate decide your meal providing you with a different idea at each shake of your phone. You also get daily articles and videos on improving your cooking technique. The only biff with this paid app is that you still get ads with your Sunday brunch inspirations which is annoying for most.
8. CookIt £0.69
Not all apps have to cost the equivalent of a latte. If you're one of those people who create a beautiful main meal only to realise right at the end that you've forgotten to make any semblance of a side-dish, the bargain basement CookIt is here to help. While it doesn't have any of its own recipes, you can import your own into the app then load it up with everything you plan to make for dinner. CookIt will let you know when it's time to start the brussel sprouts, soufflé and sponge pudding so you don't end up without when your rack of lamb is done.
7. In the Kitchen: Food Network Recipes, Chefs, Cooking Tools and Shopping Lists £1.49
If you’re a celebrity chef fan, you can’t go past this all-in-one app featuring Food Networks chefs including Alton Brown, Emeril, Bobby Flay, Tyler Florence and Paula Dee. Recipes are sorted into a great list including the usual beverages, chicken greats and desserts alongside a list of HotDog! Faves. Videos are included in this app, though there aren’t many and they’re only short clips from Food Network shows.
6. Weber's On the Grill £2.99
It's still Summer and therefore still warm enough to get the mates around for a BBQ. Weber's On the Grill offers marinade, rub and sauce insights that will make your steak really sizzle. The pictures alone are inspiring enough to dust off the old Webber and buy a pack of coals in an attempt to make your chicken that good. There are also expert tips and handy outdoor cooking tip videos.
5. Real Simple Recipes £2.99
A great search function makes this app a handy one in the kitchen. You can sort recipes based on your ingredient of choice and easily create a shopping list to get you prepped properly. You can add notes to your recipe or watch a related video which will either take you through the recipe step-by-step, or provide you with some handy tips for one part of the recipe. Nutritional info is also provided in case you're watching your weight.
4. BBC GoodFood Quick Recipes £2.49
All recipes on this app can be created in under 30 minutes which is perfect for a busy lifestyle. You can toggle between imperial or metric measurements and the search function is a doddle to use. For your bang you also get a cooking timer, 5 cooking skills videos and a suggested "10 speedy ingredients" (their marketing garb, not ours) to include in your diet with tips on actually cooking them. This little app is really a great all-rounder.
3. Nigella Quick Collection £2.49
If you're a fan of her recipes you'll be a fan of this app. With how-to videos and voice control, you can flick through the stages of creating a wicked chocolate dessert without having to touch your phone with sticky fingers. Nigella offers over 100 of her recipes in this app which isn't a truck load but will get you inspired to whip up something undeniably delicious in only a few minutes. This app features some of her best recipes so no longer will you need to stand in a corner at WHSmith with a pen and post-it note trying to copy down her tricks to tasty morsels.
2. How to Cook Everything £2.99
As the name suggests, this app will provide you with a one-stop shop for recipes on"¦ well most things. The app is an electronic version of the book of the same name, and heavily features cooking-school-style instructions as well as the usual straight recipe. There is also a How to Cook Everything Vegetarian app for those of you more leaf-inclined. The Vege version has 2,000 recipes including 900 vegan meals. Both apps have built-in timers throughout the recipe steps to keep you on track.
1. 20 Minute Meals- Jamie Oliver £5.49
The top paid recipe app goes to one that not only provides foodie inspiration, but also helps to limit your time in the kitchen if you're in the mood for a meal in minutes. Jamie Oliver's 20 Minute Meals is an interactive Jamie Oliver recipe book, that makes the most of its platform by including 90 minutes worth of video tips from the man himself along the way, telling you how to slice an onion and other handy knife hints. The interface is sleek and stylish and navigation is a breeze. The recipes themselves are simple to follow and you can again change the ingredient portions to fit the number of people you're cooking for.
Top 10 Free Recipe Apps
10. Healthy Recipes: Cooking for Fast Weight Loss
All recipes on this app are not only easy but healthy and filling as well. It's a great idea but unfortunately is let down by its lack of search ability and all recipes can only be watched via video which is great for inspiration, but slightly annoying if you're going along with it and have to wash your hands 20 times to pause the instructions as you chop a cucumber. The recipes themselves all look delicious and the videos are easy to follow.
Whole Foods Market has 2 foodie apps- the first, Whole Foods Market Missions not only provides you with healthy recipe options but also teaches you about healthy eating through games or "Missions". There is a wealth of handy info for things like mushrooms as well letting you know how to choose the best one for your risotto. The second app, Whole Foods Market Recipes helps you get the most out of your organic ingredients with the ability to search by category, diet or ingredients you already have on hand.
8. u can cook with James Martin
Stay with me on this- canned food can make a tasty meal. No seriously! With over 80 recipes waiting to be let out of the tin, you'll be spilling the beans on this one to all your friends in no time. All recipes come with full ingredients list, step by step guide on creating your canned sensation and also include nutritional values. You can also read up on the benefits of canned food including its affordability, ease of use and that strangely satisfying sound you hear when all the air gets released from your can.
Burger-lovers look away now. If you like your beans and cauliflower though, this specialised app is for you. Each recipe is broken down into separate steps each with a high-quality photo so you won't get confused with what to do with that tofu. You can bookmark favourite recipes so that you can quickly pull them up again and it also works offline which is a plus.
As the name suggests, Big Oven will provide you with almost 200,000 recipes, but will also let you import your own recipes via Recipe Scan, so if you've got an old handwritten recipe passed down from generations that you'd quite like in your iPhone, you can just snap a picture and it's yours. No need to type in the family Ginger Beer recipe when you're at nan's anymore. There are a great range of recipes on hand and you can also upload pics of your own take on a chilli con carne to share the love.
For a free app, Cook's Illustrated offers a stylish interface and a few thoughtful features that make it stand out from the pack. There is a timer included so you can keep track of how long the carrots have been in the oven for while you're outside watering the lawn. A new upgrade has included an audible alert when time is up, which has improved this app's usefulness tenfold. Recipes also have a video function so you can see exactly how a dish is done, or alternatively feel like you're cooking with a virtual friend in the kitchen.
4. Healthy Recipes by SparkRecipes
With over 190,000 user-submitted recipes there is no excuse not to get your oven mitt on. To trawl through these meal ideas, the Healthy Recipes by SparkRecipes app needs a good search function, and this it does have. You can even search by Dietary Needs or Occasion, so you can find that low-cal Halloween cake you need to take to a party. An included unit conversion calculator and kitchen timers makes this app a good all-rounder in the kitchen.
3. Betty Crocker Mobile Cookbook
With over 9,000 recipes to choose from, the Betty Crocker Mobile Cookbook is a sure bet for Sunday lunch inspiration. It features an ingredient search function that will find a receipt for you based on a particular ingredient you've specified. Photos of each meal make it easy to select from the masses on hand, and each recipe includes nutritional information as well. The app is dead easy to use which is great when your hands are covered in flour.
2. Epicurious
This app has come in as one of Time's 2011 50 Best iPhone Apps and for good reason. Over 30,000 recipes are organised by interesting categories such as skill level and theme and creating a shopping list is quick and easy for you to access again when you've poped down to Sainsbury's. Each recipe has been professionally tested and there's also a voice search function so you can change your mind on a recipe while your hands are stuck into the mince meat.
1. Allrecipes.com Dinner Spinner
Love the interface with this app, which lets you customise your dish type (main, beverage, cookies- apparently that's a dish), main ingredient and how long you're prepared to slave away in the kitchen. Once you spun through your selections, the app will provide you with a list of recipes that fit the bill. If you're watching what you eat you can even search by nutrition information. With over 40,000 recipes at your finger tips from the Allrecipes.com site, you're really not starved for choice, inspiration or, well, dinner really.