Mark Bittman's book 'How to Cook Everything' is so massive it could be used to build biceps. Home cooks throughout the world use this epic volume to cook, well, everything. Featuring more than 2,000 recipes and over 400 different techniques, this is the cookbook you want if you need a quick reference for any kind of food under the sun.
Now, 'How to Cook Everything' has been turned into an iPhone app. Like the book, the app contains thousands of recipes, techniques, and a few goodies that could only come in digital form.
The 'How to Cook Everything' App
This app has been intelligently designed starting with various food and recipe filters. You can search for a recipe or technique by looking for a particular type of food, technique, ingredient, flavors, and other filters. This makes searching for a recipe quick and painless. Additionally, the app features quick recipes, featured recipes, and popular recipes.
The featured recipes listed in the app are also hand-picked by Bittman, so you know they're good. What the app tries to do is showcase recipes from the popular book that are lesser known. After all, it's really tough to go through every single recipe listed in 'How to Cook Everything!'
A Kitchen Basics Section
One of my favorite parts of this app is the 'Kitchen Basics' section that features basic kitchen skill. Want to know how to tress a chicken or what to do with an artichoke? This app will tell you. With clear illustrations and instructions, the app is really helpful when it comes to kitchen skills that you may no already have. There's more to this app too.
The app also features a really detailed shopping list section. Instead of just putting "white fish" on your list, for example, this app will detail the kind of fish that you need to buy and how much you need to buy. This way, you know exactly what to look for when you head to the store.
Complimenting the Hard Cover
The 'How to Cook Everything' iPhone app really compliments the Bittman book. You can use the book and the app without using both, but the app does work best if you use the book at the same time. Really though, the app is great on its own too. So, where can you get the app and how much does it cost?
'How to Cook Everything' for iPhone is currently available in the App Store. The app is not free, though. To find out how to cook absolutely everything using your iPhone, you will have to shell out $4.99. That's not a huge price to pay for such an extensive app, and it's actually the same price as most other (less impressive) apps that can be found in the App Store -- it's also the price of a latte.
If you love Bittman's work, his book, or just want to have a really good knowledge source for basic kitchen skills and recipes, the 'How to Cook Everything' app is a great choice.