Mela
I've searched high and low for a good app for recording recipes, and I have finally found it! My husband came across Mela, and I love it. Here's what has made this app so appealing to me.
The look. It's organized, clean and works across devices. You can manage your recipes by type and include pictures. You can also add tags to your recipes so you can easily find what you're looking for via keywords, such as specific ingredients.
It's smart. I don't know if I can express how impressed I was by the apps ability to pull a recipe directly off a website. All you need to do is click on your share button and select Mela. Everything is quickly transferred and organized into the app. Further, Mela will convert your recipe to a PDF which is super handy for others who don't have Mela or even just for printing recipes. Even when it prints, it holds its layout and look.
Conversion. I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Mela will quickly convert your recipe to the size you need. I adore this feature, as I often adjust meals to a quantity for my lunches or dinner prep for several days.
Syncing. Not only does Mela sync my "cookbook" across devices, but I also have the option of having a synced recipe library with my husband!
Step by Step View. While you're cooking, you can enter into a full-screen mode that bolds and enlarges the step you're on, making it more easily readable. Additionally, as you complete each step and use each ingredient, you can “check off” what you’ve used to grey it out. If you're like me and you're constantly losing your place in the steps or scanning your ingredients to see if you’ve missed anything, this feature is fantastic.
I haven't tried out some features of the app yet. It offers the ability to follow sites, such as blogs and live scan it for recipes that it will hold in the app's "feed" feature. You can also keep a running grocery list within the app that syncs with your Reminders. I'm not sure how much I'll make use of these particular options, but they certainly have the potential to be helpful.
I am loving Mela. It's been a great place to organize my recipes in one place and at only $4.99 on iOS, it's a steal. I'm excited to continue to add to my digital cookbook and fill it with my photos of the resulting meals.
February 18, 2022