Capturing and Importing Recipes
How to save recipes into Cook:RE from Safari, cooking apps, cookbook photos, PDFs, and pasted text.
Capturing and Importing Recipes
Cook:RE turns web pages, printed cookbook photos, PDFs, and pasted text into structured, machine-readable recipes saved locally to your device. There are no accounts to create, no ads, and no tracking.
Importing from Safari and Cooking Apps
The fastest way to save a recipe from the web or supported cooking apps is using the iOS Share Sheet:
- In Safari or recipe apps, navigate to any recipe page.
- Tap the Share button.
- Tap Cook:RE in the list of share extensions.
- Cook:RE extracts the recipe title, ingredient quantities, and cooking steps.
- The recipe appears immediately in your library.
Tip: If Cook:RE does not appear in your primary Share list, swipe to the right on the app row, tap More, and add Cook:RE to your Favorites.
Scanning Cookbook Pages and PDFs
Cook:RE can digitize printed cookbook pages and digital recipe PDFs:
- Tap + and choose Photo, Image, or PDF.
- Take a photo of the cookbook page with your camera, or select an image or PDF from your Files or Photos.
- For best accuracy, ensure good lighting and keep the page flat without heavy curvature.
- Cook:RE extracts the printed text, reconstructs ingredient lines and steps, and assigns culinary units and densities.
Note: Cook:RE currently processes a single image at a time. Multi-page recipes spanning across page turns are not yet supported.
Pasting Recipe Text or URLs
If you cannot share directly or have copied recipe text from an email, message, or notes, you can paste it directly into the app:
- Open Cook:RE.
- Tap the + (Add) button in the upper corner of your recipe library.
- Choose Paste text or Import from URL.
- Paste the text or web link.
- Cook:RE parses the ingredients, amounts, units, and sequential instructions into a clean recipe format.
What Cook:RE Extracts
When a recipe is imported, Cook:RE normalizes:
- Title and Yield: Servings and batch counts.
- Ingredients: Structured quantities, units, preparation notes, and food substance identities.
- Instructions: Chronological steps with identified temperatures and durations.
- Source Attributions: The original web link or document name is preserved so you can always reference the original source.
Your recipes are stored locally on your device and sync through your personal iCloud storage.