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Question Of The Day #19

michaelnatkin

When you go to actually cook a ChefSteps recipe, do you use a laptop, tablet, phone, printout, …? If you use a mobile device, do you use the ChefSteps app or just the website in a browser? And for whatever you use, what do you like about the experience of following the recipe and what do you wish was different?

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Comments

robert.c.brown15

Mostly phone. App when I think of it, website because I'm used to going to it.

I used my laptop when I did the Chicken Roulade as the step by step video made the process very easy.

I don't own an iPad.

awdigiulian

IPad for me 9 times out of 10. More recently started using the app but cant figure out how to read comments so often end up going back to the website.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Macbook. I like to take notes so I have a text file open to document any changes I make or any scaling I need to do. A private notes section for us to take notes would be great.

Also I'm not sure what your long-term plans are for the recipe generation code but if that were to be released under a CC license I would love to be able to integrate that into my own personal needs.

tshewman

Print out or type and email to myself mostly. App is great for review but if I use my phone and multi-task, I lose the recipe on the app and have to call it up again. For the app, it would be great to have some sort of memory or even and email feature (perhaps limited to members...?).

from a pre-print, or pre email standpoint, I like that ratios are easily altered. It would be nice to see a baker's percentages feature in the event we had any one of the ingredients altered the scales for the remainder would be adjusted. Because I often cook for only 2 or 4, I end up doing the math myself so this is more of a lazy wish. :-)

Lastly, for general use, I use the website for recipe review (that way I can review techniques if needed beforehand) the app for recipe review and printout or type and email for in-kitchen use. Maybe I should get a big screen monitor for the kitchen with voice recognition.....one more for the kitchen tool/wish list :-)

Tim_Sutherland_52834

I write the recipe out in bakers % (set main ingredient to 100g and the rest are in %) with time/temp and other key instructions. I tape the paper to my upper cabinets. For the baking recipes I have the ingredient amounts adjusted to fit my needs (number and size of molds, how many fit on a half sheet tray, the size of my oven, maximum amount my stand mixer can do, etc)

Phones and tablets turn themselves off, or you have to leave them on too long killing battery. Swiping with gloves and/or dirty fingers is difficult. Counter space is at a premium so the device is too far away from the station.

Been able to have custom printable recipes in the layout style of Modernist Cuisine (ingredients linked to the steps side by side) would be nice. The ability to combine two or more recipes on the one page (say apartment ribs, baked beans and slaw) would make life easier.

The app for me provides too much information in the recipes meaning I need to scroll and read too much to confirm a step. For me to use it I would need bullet points, Salmon Roulade - brine 20-45 mins; roll with RM; 45°C/30-45 mins.

Jack_Mayer_85396

For me 99% of the time its a MacBook Pro.

matthew.snyder77

All of the above. Altho since I got the Anovas I have printed out the sous vide time-temp guide and like three or four recipes and put them in a three-ring binder that lives with my cookbooks. As I go, I will likely print more recipes as well as some of the technique lessons.

seijoed

Printed / emailed and iPhone, I prefer to have it on paper as devices get dirty.

I usually just look for the bullets in the recipe.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Something else I think would be cool, would be to have a soundtrack for each recipe page so that if I have my macbook with me in the kitchen cooking I could hit play and some of Hans' music could play as i cook.

HammeredChef_DEFINITELY_does_NOT_work_at_22134

Macbook air for the recipe itself, in conjuction Tim's method of taping menu, diagrams, plate preferences, notes, etc. Would love to use the iPad buy as was mentioned it shuts off

SteveM_20803

Laptop. I have a lot of recipes online in onedrive so the laptop sits on the snack bar in the kitchen already. The family has been well trained to know which arrow key to use to scroll up and down when my hands are to dirty to do it myself.

coryhansen78

I print out often, especially if I've never made anything like the recipe before and see myself writing notes/comments etc. Although I do wish I used less paper so I am trying to minimize this.

There is a lot of unused white-space on CS recipes when printed. Pretty minor quibble though.

I've used my iphone a few times, but I agree with the others here, it is a bit of a pain (and that applies to any site's recipes, not just CS).

For the recipes I really like, or are in development/going to be part of a menu/party/event etc, I've put together a spreadsheet template (more-or-less based on Modernist Cuisine) that I use to get organized and put everything into percents and bakers percentages (with the base ingredient as a selectable drop-down). It's a good exercise for me to translate a recipe into a different format, as it really gets me thinking about the recipe, proportions and the steps involved as well as how to properly convey the message for someone who hasn't necessarily seen it before.

I like the CS recipes as I don't need to worry about converting to grams (not to mention the whole "delicious" thing)!!!

Sometimes I just set our laptop up on our countertop to look at the website or my spreadsheet as the case may be while I cook. It's pretty handy if I want to watch a video too-- I don't really care if the laptop gets wet or dirty as I secretly want to buy a new one.

robmcquarrie

Usually read it a bunch of times on a computer and use the iphone app while actually making it. I've been procrastinating about getting a kitchen computer/tv for years that would replace the phone.

Only change I wish is more scaling options. Made a 1/4 recipe of the pickled mustard seeds but could only scale to 1/2 recipe. Same with the foie ganache, recipe says to scale it on the weight of the lobe but had to do that manually with a calculator.

merridith

I use a Macbook Air. I used to use an iPad but the interface was problematic and things never seemed to be where they should have been. Sometimes I make a pdf file of a recipe and save it to a set of organized folders on my computer. Then, I pull up the recipe and in the "annotate" function I am able to take notes or scale things and write them down right in place. I will sometimes print recipes that I use over and over again and make my notes right there on paper.

mcwilson07

I generally watch the video once or twice, read through the recipe enough time to generally know the steps. Then I'll get out the scale to make my mise en place and set a water bath to the right temp if necessary. I keep the laptop nearby on the kitchen table in case I need to look something up but on the less complicated recipes reading it a couple times and organizing my mise en place is enough to get me through it.

ricky.fielding

I usually print it out the recipes, but I find the format can be confusing if I get in a hurry during a step - particularly the way the ingredients are repeated for each step. I'd love to see a print-friendly version that's tightened up.

Ren_99773

I use my Android phone and Ipad depending on where I am and what I have on hand. When I use my phone, I notice the swipe sensitivity is very high such that when I try to scroll down, the page will 'catch' and try to swipe right. It can take me a few times of tap, hold, and swiping to get the page to scroll down.

I find the links to ingredient pages helpful (e.g.: Activa RM > click > wiki page!) and the organization of Intro [swipe] ingredients [swipe] Recipe intuitive.

If there was a way to collapse sections as a way of checking 'done!' or to acknowledge helpful hint sections (e.g.: Fish Roulade "Think Ahead" section).

Additionally, would it be possible for the search filter to have a 'clear' button? After I find a recipe, I have to scroll to the search bar and delete the filter to return to the 'home'/main screen (where recipes are filtered by date).

Lastly, if there was a 'home' button to return to the main screen (where recipes are filed by date), that would be helpful. Sometimes I get caught up browsing all the delicious foods and recipes via links that I get caught up in a long chain to hit 'back' through to the main screen.

interim17

It's interesting that you use baker's percentages. I always love BP for breads as it helps to account for the portion of the total flour that's in the preferments, but I haven't used it for other kinds of recipes.

interim17

Access on tablet or laptop, jot critial ratios on a post-it note, eventually lose post-it note, repeat.

Matt_67991

I like it too. It's great for scaling recipes without needing anything more than a piece of paper and a calculator with M buttons, which are much more pleasant to ruin than a phone.

Bruno_117507

I read the recipe, comprehend the idea and just cook...

lachlan_14664

I have a recipe book that I have re written almost all of the chefsteps recipes in a form similar to Modernist Cuisine with an ingredient set to 100% and all others calculated from this. Then I just summarise the recipe steps and write beside the ingredients in a table. Personally I don't feel that touch based technology and cooking mix too well no matter how well the site is designed. I suppose if the recipe could be displayed so that no scrolling or touching was necessary it would have to help.

Tim_Sutherland_52834

The bakers % is great for recipes like Red Cabbage Puree and Charred Rapini where the cabbage and rapini are unlikely to be the size indicated in the recipe. Setting the cabbage and rapini to 100% and writing the remaining ingredients as % makes life easy.

Greg_55405

I work almost exactly as does Todd: Review processes and recipes on either Windows laptop and/or Android phone; shop with phone; work with printed recipe. I'd also like to see baker's percentages.

And thanks!

ryandimapilis

iphone, ipad & app

A_L_Esterling_35269

Brendan, your wish is our command! Hans has uploaded soundtracks to SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/chefsteps

Ryan_Jones_36451

I use a tablet or a desktop. And usually the website because, while the app is pretty solid, it isn't as full featured as the web.

I must say, the best thing about ChefSteps are the videos. It provides such context and visualization of the dish throughout it's development. It gives me perspective for plating the final dish, techniques for how to approach certain prep or cooking stages, and insight into how the progressing dish should look. Because I use the video and the recipe concurrently, I wish there were a better way to see both at the same time. Or perhaps something like tying each of the recipe's steps to a timelink in the video. That may not be clear, so what I mean is this: Imagine a recipe has 3 steps and a 3 minute corresponding video. If I were to click on the text in the recipe for step two, it would take me to timestamp 2:01 in the video and would resume from where that step begins in the video.

Ryan_Jones_36451

I must say, that if I'm composing a meal with numerous recipes, I'll write down the entirety of the menu with recipes in a journal I keep. It enables me to obtain mastery of the entirety of the project ahead of me. Because I've already read through all of the steps of all of the recipes, my head can begin organizing how to balance the various tasks at hand. It also ensures that I don't make silly mistakes caused from not reading though a recipe before beginning.

michaelnatkin

I've got a hot trick for you: click on any of the ingredient amounts, the 50 in "50 g octopus brains" and it will let you type in the exact amount you want to use of that ingredient; all the other ingredients will scale to match.

michaelnatkin

But what I don't get is why don't you use ChefSteps built in scaling directly to the weight you want, and then just write those down or print, instead of going through the intermediate stage of BP?

jonathan.mota

I have only printed a few things, the sous vide chart being one of them (amazing!). I rather write it down because I learn the recipe while I do it. Otherwise I just use my Ipad.

reck.harm

I'll usually browse on the desktop to pick out a recipe and bookmark. Then i use chromes sync feature to open that bookmark on my tablet. I like the easy scaling. I would also like to have the possibility to switch to a condensed view without pictures, for example, so i don't have to scroll. Not sure if the app can do this.

James_Salski_101796

I use the printout with all the weights and measures and a video on my phone via the YouTube app.

Brendan_Lee_56950

Awesome thanks guys

Brendan_Lee_56950

I'm amazed how many of you are printing them out. I haven't owned a printer for like 3-4 years.

douglas_bd

I sometimes use the mobile app on my iphone, but it's always turning off on me, so most of the time I run back and forth between the kitchen and my desktop in the next room.

robmcquarrie

It doesn't seem to work in the app but good to know for the website. Thanks.

kyle.ray.hughes

Mixed use. iPad/iPhone. Noticed website doesn't work well on Chrome and Windows phone.

chriswrightcycles

I use my laptop most often when working through a recipe because I like being able to read the comments at the bottom. For whatever reason I cant view comments within the chefsteps app on my iphone. When I do use my phone to reference a recipe on the site, I'll almost always go to the chefsteps website as opposed to the app because I can view comments there.

Gemma_Langenwalter_118002

I use my tablet in the professional kitchen

f.fitzjerald

When looking for a recipe and shopping - mobile of course.

When cooking - home pc most of the time - you have to cross-check / look for videos comments - ipad and less are too crappy for that.