Developer: Dorling Kindersley
Price: $5.99
Version Reviewed: 1.0
Device Reviewed On: iPad 2
It’s a good sign when a recipe collection app makes me desperately hungry and keen to start cooking. After all, apps like this are based as much on their recipe selection as they are their interface and general appearance. It’s an even better sign when upon loading the app for the first time, users are asked whether they want to deal with US or UK measurements – solving one such issue that I deal with often when using recipe apps.
DK Quick Cook does everything pretty well for the most part. For the $6 asking price, users get over 500 recipes to start with. They’re a varied bunch encompassing most tastes. Savory offerings range from chicken, beef, and lamb to many other conventional things one might expect from a recipe collection. Vegetarians are also provided for with some great recipe ideas. It’s not just savory meals, either, with some very tasty desserts like a Banoffee pie or Blackberry cheesecake, too.
Each recipe is clearly laid out with an attractive photo of the results to tantalize the tastebuds followed by the ingredients listed underneath, leaving the other half of the iPad screen to provide recipe methods and instructions. Each recipe promises to take no longer than 45 minutes to prepare with many taking a lot less time than that. Healthy, vegetarian or freezeable recipes are highlighted with an appropriate icon for easier consultation.
Users can filter the recipes available according to whether they’re looking for something in particular that they have available in their store cupboard, something healthy, time it takes to prepare or simply according to if they’re in the mood for something like BBQ or Pasta. Everything is keenly laid out for maximum ease of use.
Other functionality is also offered with a shopping list feature as well as the ability to create menus for a special ocassion or just to keep track of the weekly food planner. It’s all pretty great, simply put. Recipes are varied and up to 120 other recipes can be bought via in-app purchases priced at $0.99 and offering healthy suppers, super speedy suppers, easy baking and no-fuss entertaining.
The only flaw I can find to DK Quick Cook is that there’s no way of viewing nutritional information for each recipe. While users can tick the healthy filter and view what’s considered healthy, more specific information would have been useful – such as figures on saturated fat content, for instance.
Other than that, DK Quick Cook is a fantastic compendium of recipes that does everything just right. It’s become a new favorite of mine and I’ll be creating many a fine meal thanks to it in the future.