Comparing Recipe Applications: Foodari, Open Source Food, Supercook, and Reci-P

When thinking of what you might want in a recipe application, you are likely to want more than what a cookbook offers; recipes, descriptions, and suggestions, all with the speed of a search engine. Recipe applications provide these, and as we see with this week’s applications, a bit more. If you’d like to see an introduction to recipe applications, there is our post Making It On Your Own; Web 2.0 Recipe Applications, and as always, if you would like to read more there are full reviews available from earlier in the week.

As we looked at recipe applications this week we judged them on how they brought us recipes; how they did it, whether it was easy to discover new ones, and if they had social tools worked into the application. We’ll talk about Foodari, Supercook, Open Source Food, and Reci-P more after the chart.

All of the applications let users search recipes by name with the exception of Supercook, which focused on ingredients only. All but Supercook tagged their recipes, though in the case of Supercook, the ingredients themselves become tags to search. All have a large database (or in the case of Reci-P, a network of recipe sites) of recipes to pull from, and make suggestions based on the recipe you’ve chosen.

The most extensive search, in both range and result is Foodari, the application that includes dietary details and a metric conversion with its recipes. Reci-P also has a good search return, though Open Source Food’s layout and large, tantalizing picture of the dish has more impact.

Worth a closer look is Supercook’s unique ingredient matching, which lets you enter ingredients into a list and matches recipes to them. For the cook who’s watching their spending or avoiding the store this is a helpful feature.

Socially minded users will appreciate the forums and friend requests of Foodari, or the ability to follow other users in Open Source Food. Both Supercook and Reci-P were weak in this regard, having no messaging or following and making the applications more of use as a reference. Sharing via email is possible with all of the applications.

If searching and sharing are important elements of enjoying a recipe, then discovering new recipes would also be key, and Foodari does this best. Tags, suggestions, forums, links, videos, websites, and links to top contributors all contribute to a number of ways to stumble on a new recipe. While users can certainly find new recipes with searches on the other applications and the follow feature on Open Source Food, Supercook and Reci-P are limited in their possibility of recipe discovery.

The applications are not without their weaknesses. Cooks confident in their own recipes will only be able to post their own recipes with Foodari, and though Supercook does offer a suggested shopping list from saved recipes, it only lists ingredients. We would have liked to see an application combine the menu function in combination with a shopping list to let users have a printable list to carry to the store, complete with amounts.

Despite their drawbacks, the recipe applications reviewed this week will bring something new into any kitchen, and can be used to augment, if not replace, their users’ cookbooks. To find this or other recipe applications, there is the Listio search: recipes+discover.

Previously in this series: Foodari: Recipes With Full Function

Application: Reci-P
Listio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/ReciP/
Website: http://www.reci-p.com

Reci-P is a cutting edge recipe website that utilizes artificial intelligence and techniques from the semantic web in order to help you find the right recipe. It is a vertical search for recipes that also have organization built right in.... Learn more

Application: Supercook
Listio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Supercook/
Website: http://www.supercook.com

Supercook returns recipes you can actually make right now with the ingredients you have. It even tells you exactly how many recipes you can make, broken down into 'Starters', 'Entrees' and 'Dessert' categories. Supercook will provide you with hundreds of recipes that are all within your reach.... Learn more

Application: Open Source Food
Listio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Open-Source-Food/
Website: http://www.opensourcefood.com

Open Source Food lets you browse amazing Recipes,delicious Food, beautiful Photographies of the recipes. You can submit your own recipes and rate recipes of fellow food-lovers from all over the world. Open Source Food is your gastronomic hub where every visit will bring inspiration and a rumbling b... Learn more

Application: Foodari
Listio Profile: http://www.listio.com/web20/app/Foodari/
Website: http://www.foodari.com

Foodari aims to provide the members of the foodari community with insightful, interesting food and recipe ideas, debate and conversation. Start storing all of your recipes from anywhere to one place, and share recipes and ideas with other foodies across the world.... Learn more

New to Listio? Our tag cloud search offers an easy way to narrow your hunt for the perfect web application or service. No more second guessing of search terms. Just click on one tag, then as many more as you'd like to narrow your search results. It's easy and ensures you get to the listing you want. Finding web 2.0 was never so easy.

Tags: discover, find, personal, Recipes, search, share
Posted in: Product Comparisons, Recipes | Respond
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