If you are keen on cooking, your smartphone can be a valuable tool in the kitchen. If you prepare all your meals for the coming week, you can save lots of time and give you a bit longer in bed in the mornings. You can eat healthier and save money by preparing your own meals rather than buying breakfast and lunch every day. You can ignite your inner chef by using the unique benefits of your smartphone, or tablet in the kitchen. You can use it to check up on recipes, watch videos showing you how to cook and look up ingredients and where to buy them from in your neighbourhood. So here are a few useful tips for using your handy smartphone in the kitchen as a cooking aid.

1: Research recipes and cooking instructions

Not everyone is capable of using the existing ingredients left in the fridge to produce a delicious and nutritious meal without following a recipe. Those of us who cannot do the above can turn to our smartphones to find a few healthy recipes which are straightforward and easy to prepare. There are thousands of recipe apps out there, but a simple google search will also suffice. You can then save the recipes you love to your favourites list and create your very own shopping list based on the recipes of your preference. You can even find apps with instructions on how to use leftovers and freeze them for work the following week. You enter the remaining ingredients into the Leftover app function and based on those, the app will list options you can use them to make.

2: Use your phone for multiple timers

Did you know you can set your phone to ring multiple times, as you prepare different dishes? The timer clock on your microwave or oven may not be enough if you are cooking several ingredients at once. As you are preparing your meal, you may have meat roasting in the oven, fresh vegetables on a steamer, and sauce simmering on the flame simultaneously, and you will benefit from several timers to keep all that in check, and cooked to perfection. Once again, there are apps you can use with the ability to set multiple timers, and as the application runs in the background, you can simultaneously use any other apps, or even surf the web for some new recipes.

Smartphone, cooking

3: Convert weighing measurements

You can use your smartphone to convert units of weight measurements which are often confusing. Dedicated apps perform the calculations for you, and you won’t ever have to worry about converting anything again, especially if maths is not your strong point. You will frequently need to half or double recipes. You may even need to divide them into quarters or thirds, which further complicates things. Fractions are often confusing and could end up ruining your meal if you get them wrong. There are several free, and low-cost apps you can download to your mobile device, and you will undoubtedly find it very useful and handy in the kitchen. They can quickly scale all your recipes, allowing you to convert all your ingredients from weight to volume, or vice versa. You can use these apps to convert ounces into millilitres quickly, and take away the headache of doing it manually with a calculator or chart.

4: Use your phone as a cooking instructor

Your phone can act as your teacher and instructor. If you have any questions regarding a meal you are cooking, you can type the question on your browser, and hundreds of answers will appear. You will find both written instructions and YouTube videos showing the task actually being done! Keeping your smartphone in the kitchen allows you to keep your recipes right in front of you as you are slicing and dicing. Besides, you may have questions regarding cooking techniques outside your culinary comfort zone, then just look them up and learn there and then. You will likely find several online videos that will show exactly how to do any cooking tasks from cutting onions without crying, to slicing meat thinly.

5: Always by your side

The wide availability of how-to-videos means you will start feeling much more comfortable about your cooking capabilities and prowess. Your smartphone is right by your side to assist you whenever you need it! You can have ‘connected’ ovens, fridges and appliances so you can control everything with your smartphone and bring everything in one convenient place. Your smartphone will inspire you to discover new recipes and improve your overall cooking skills. It will make your whole life a lot easier and comfortable and is an invaluable tool and companion on the kitchen.