I have been frustrated recently in my efforts to find the perfect cook's software to run on Mac OS X. My criteria isn't that demanding (so I thought). I have been looking for a programme that:
- Easily imports and categorises recipes.
- Has a menu planning facility.
- Creates shopping lists based on menus.
There seems to be maybe a dozen recipe and menu packages for Mac out there. A few of them do all three of the above. But what I found was there are very few that do it well. This is when I should start to admit that my criteria is, actually, a bit more demanding than I thought. As I've spent so much bloody time trying to find the perfect package, I thought I'd share my research here. Maybe one of you knows of a programme that I haven't found yet. Or maybe this will save you some time and money. I've listed each programme and a list of criteria (demanding - me?) that I used to evaluate them. I actually made a spreadsheet and compared the features and cost of them all. I am my father's daughter, after all!
Mac Gourmet (version 2.1.4)
- Cost: $24.95 /free 20 session trial
- User interface/presentation: 9 out of 10. Great OSX look, customisable with a choice of seven 'skins' and a variety of colours. Chefs view for anyone crazy enough to have a computer in the kitchen.
- Importing/adding new recipes: Easy import wizard integrates with Services menu to make internet import easy, text importer works just as well.
- Adding photo/illustration to recipes: Yes and they are displayed at a decent size.
- Recipe scaling: Yes
- Metric/US switching: Yes
- Dietary information: Space to add your own if you have it.
- Menu Planner: No.
- Shopping List: Yes, but pretty basic. Combines ingredients but doesn't sort them. Takes several steps to add new recipes.
- Notes: I had high hopes for Mac Gourmet because it looks so good and the import wizard is slick, but the lack of a menu planner and the rudimentary shopping list let it down.
Recent Comments