For some Matadors, cooking does not come naturally. Though it’s easier to stop by Arbor Grill or the Sierra Center when you’re hungry in between classes, packing your lunch can help you save that extra cash on your MataMoney Card. Surprisingly, part of the difficulty in cooking stems not from being a bad cook, but from being unable to store all of your recipes, grocery lists and cooking instructions in one place.
Paprika is an app which can help immensely with this problem. The app lets users find recipes by browsing through various popular cooking websites such as Allrecipes and Food Network; Once you find one you like, Paprika downloads the ingredient list, cooking instructions, nutritional information and more, and automatically updates, formats and organizes your recipe list.
It’s also possible to input recipes found online by either navigating to the website via Paprika’s own browser, or by using their bookmarklet to capture recipes from your computer. Paprika offers a free cloud sync service, so your recipes are always available across your devices. This is useful for those of us who want to find recipes on your desktop, cook with your tablet and access your grocery list on your phone.
Paprika’s grocery list feature is based on the recipes you feed it, so you know exactly what you need to pick up when heading out to the store. Ingredients in your list are also neatly sorted by aisle, such as dairy, produce, etc.
Once you’re ready to start cooking, you can track your progress by tapping on ingredients to cross them off and highlighting which step you’re on. The app keeps your screen lit while it looks at a recipe, preventing it from turning off while you’re cooking.
Among the features is a meal planning calendar, which comes in handy for those busy students who prefer meal scheduling or food prepping to save time and money. Paprika makes it simple to plan for the week and month, and remembers the information from your favorite meals. Other features included are a measurement converter and a built-in timer, which is automatically set depending on your current recipe.
With tons of features and a simple-to-use interface, Paprika’s $4.99 price tag makes it worth the money for any student. The app is available on all Android and Apple devices, as well as Windows, Kindle Fire and Nook Color.
