Cooking with Lumia
Turn your Lumia phone into a personal sous chef with this collection of tools and recipe apps.
Smartphones are making it easier to research, shop, and prepare a delicious meal at home. We’ve selected just the right kitchen tools and apps for your Lumia that every aspiring chef needs.
One of your best tools is already on Windows Phone 8.1 (in select markets): Cortana, your kitchen assistant. Simply ask her important questions such as, “What is the smoking point of olive oil?” and she’ll find the answer for you. (420 degrees Fahrenheit or 216 degrees Celsius, in case you were wondering.)
She can also find recipes, instructional videos, and common ingredient substitutions. If Cortana is unavailable in your region, just search Bing instead.
Cooking tools
Cooking Timer (free)
This essential tool offers three separate countdown timers—perfect when you’re cooking more than one dish. One useful setting disables the lock screen so that the timer is always active on your Lumia screen.
Convert Units and Currency HD (free)
Since it allows you to convert distance, currencies, and much more, this is one of those apps you should have already installed, anyway. But it’s the weight and temperature conversion tools that every chef needs.
Wunderlist: To-Do List & Tasks (free)
Create and plan out your shopping list with this versatile free app that also lets you share your list with other members of the family—such as whoever is driving to the grocery store.
Recipe Keeper (free [limited use]; $5.99 [pro version])
Enter your favorite recipes or import them from the Internet with this personal cookbook. You can also create shopping lists from your recipes.
Egg Timer (free)
Choose which kind of egg you’d like to make (soft-boiled or hard-boiled) and this simple app will count down the time until it’s ready.
Recipes
Allrecipes (free)
Find recipes by ingredient, dish type, and dietary preference with this compendium of more than 50,000 recipes. Pin the app to your start screen to receive daily recipe suggestions!
BigOven (free)
Boasting more than 300,000 recipes, BigOven is one of the most popular cooking apps in the Windows Phone app store. One nifty feature is the ability to take a photo of a written recipe and the app will transcribe and store it in your personal cookbook.
Cook with YumvY (free)
This unique app doesn’t have a ton of recipes, but it allows you to customize preparation by entering the number of cooks and number of servings. Get step-by-step instructions for the entire meal, including a built-in timer. It’ll also create a shopping list based on your menu.
Yummly (free)
Yummly is a powerful recipe search engine that claims to put every recipe in the world in your pocket. Set up your taste preferences and the app will suggest recipes that match. The more you use it, the more the app learns about your preferences and suggests only the recipes from top recipe sites and food blogs that you’ll like.
Epicurious (free)
This all-in-one app suggests menus, offers recipes from the experts at Epicurious and Gourmet magazine, stores your own creations, builds shopping lists, and also lets you know which fresh ingredients are in season near you.
Recipes by Great British Chefs (free)
Not only do you get recipes for some truly tasty British cuisine, this app has a gorgeous, intuitive interface that delivers step-by-step instructions, access to how-to videos, and stunning HD photography.
Indian Recipe Book (free)
With around a half a million different recipes, the Indian Recipe Book doesn’t limit itself just to Indian food. Sure, you’ll find recipes for Indian Beef Madras Curry and chapatti, but you’ll also find recipes for fried rice, cherry pie, and slow-cooker options.
Are you preparing to whip up a gourmet meal for your next celebration? Be sure to check out our past articles on “Enjoy a happy Thanksgiving with Lumia” and “Plan your entire party with Lumia.”
How does Lumia help you in the kitchen? Let us know in the comments below.