Tool Review: ChefTap App for Android

Sorry iOS lovers – this one is Android exclusive.

ChefTap is a recipe importer and collector. With the use of some kitchen voodoo (or perhaps search algorithms), it tries to recognize what's a title, what's an ingredient, and what's a step in cooking, and it's a lot better at this than I would have ever dreamed. Sometimes you'll get lucky and it will also automatically detect the picture of whatever you're cooking that's posted on the website – and trust me, it's really nice to browse your recipes by what looks the most mouth-watering.

So what do you do? The best method is using your device's web browser. Simply navigate to the recipe, click Menu>Share>ChefTap and it spits out a recipe – simple! Combine with a link importer like Site-to-Phone for maximum recipe browsability – it will allow you to send a link from your computer to your device of whatever you're browsing. The ChefTap developers are promising website synchronization soon, but it hasn't come out yet.

While some importer apps only import from large recipe sites like Allrecipes or Epicurious, ChefTap chews through them all – and more! Send a .txt file to your phone of recipes you get in emails or have saved on your computer and it'll process those, too. Apparently there's integration with accounts on Allrecipes, Epicurious, Pinterest, and other websites, but being as I don't hold an account on any of them, I'm not terribly interested in that. You can modify any recipe you import straight from the recipe, and if it tickles your pickle, even type the whole thing out without setting down your device. You can also add notes to the end.

There are also customizable tags. It won't auto-tag, but that might be for the better – I like to use “boyfriend approved” and “not in dorm kitchen” for example.

Your steps will separate out into different “pages” on Step-by-Step mode. Turn your device landscape and you have your ingredients list to the left and your directions neatly organized on the right. Never skip a step again!

If you couldn't tell already, I LOOOOOVE ChefTap. It's like using index cards but better. You can customize everything, write notes down, take pictures, not skip steps, collect from everywhere on the internet, and end up with an easy-to-read, organized, lovely little recipe book. Wrap your device in plastic wrap or put it in a Ziplock if you're worried about protecting it, then go cook!

I would love to see shopping list integration and an ingredient multiplier in upcoming updates, but the app as it is right now is still a very useful app, and one I recommend to all Android-owning cooks out there.

Best part?

IT IS FREE. It's ad-supported, but the ads aren't very distracting or bad at all. I still kind of wish there was a way to turn the ads off – I'd happily kick ChefTap a buck or two to support them – but that's okay.

Worst part?

Its photo recognition recognizes the faces of the chefs on FoodNetwork.com rather than the pictures of the food. So instead of your butter cookies, looks like you'll be making a nice batch of Paula Deen.