Turn a photo of a cookbook page into a recipe
Point your camera at the page. We read the ingredients and steps, tag the recipe and file it where you can find it again.
Free while we are in beta. No credit card.
How to save a recipe from a cookbook photo
Open Add, then From a photo
In Snap and Simmer, tap Add, then From a photo.
Take or choose the photo
Tap Choose photo(s). On a phone you can take the picture right then or pick one you already have. Get the whole recipe in the frame, in good light.
Sideways or upside down is fine. We turn the page the right way up before reading it.
Recipe runs over two pages? Add another photo
Tap Add another photo for the next page, up to six photos at a time. A recipe split across your photos is joined back into one, whatever order you took them in.
Tap Read the recipes
We read the photo, find each recipe, structure the steps and tag them. If the page holds several recipes, each one shown in full gets its own page.
What happens to recipes cut off at the edge
If a recipe runs off the edge of your photo, or carries on to a page you did not photograph, we skip it and tell you. We would sooner leave it out than guess at the missing part. Photograph the rest and it will come through whole.
Tips for a clean read
- Flatten the page and keep your shadow off it.
- Fill the frame with the recipe; a little margin is fine.
- Glossy magazine pages read best with the light coming from the side.
- Screenshots work too. Pick them the same way as a photo.
Questions
Can it read more than one recipe on a page?
Yes. Every recipe shown in full becomes its own recipe.
Does the photo have to be the right way up?
No. Sideways and upside-down photos are turned before they are read.
What picture does the saved recipe get?
Your photo of the page is only used for reading. The recipe gets a picture of the dish that we paint for it, and you can swap in your own photo any time.
Does it work on handwriting?
Yes. See the guide to digitizing handwritten recipe cards.
Keep going
Digitize handwritten recipe cards
Photograph the card. The handwriting becomes a recipe you can search.
See how ›💌Preserve family recipes
From a shoebox of cards to a recipe collection the whole family can open, and a printed book.
See how ›📖Make a family cookbook
Chapters, a dedication, an introduction and a print-ready PDF.
See how ›Good food is better shared.
Start your kitchen, save your first recipe and invite the people you cook with.
Start your kitchen, freeFree while we are in beta. No credit card.