You can never have too many options for dinner and that’s why About.com’s new recipe app Real Recipes is worth a look. Real Recipes, for iPhone and iPod Touch, is jam-packed with dishes pulled from About.com, and its interface will help you make your dining decisions in a flash.
My favorite feature of Real Recipes is its “find a recipe” spinner. Here you can customize your recipe search with three option wheels: main ingredient, preparation style and course. There are additional search options in the advanced section, but you can probably find what you’re looking for using just the sliders. And, of course, there’s a regular search field if you know exactly what you want to make, but not how to make it. Results are presented in alphabetical order, so the more you can narrow your focus the better. Photos are displayed when available, but content is pulled directly from About.com and none of the related links are actually useable. This clutters up the recipe pages for no reason. If you find a recipe you like or want to try later, you can add it to your recipe box for quick reference.
Real Recipes is ad-supported, but the banner doesn’t cause too much of a distraction. The app also offers useful tips on basic cooking techniques, how to equip a kitchen and smart rules for keeping food safe.
Although Real Recipe’s large collection of eats and useful tips make it a great free app option, the built-in egg timer isn’t up to par. The timer doesn’t function when your device is asleep or if you exit the app, so relying on it could spell dinner disaster.
