Joy of Cooking App Reviews

Based on the inferior 2006 edition instead of the truly excellent 1997 edition, the Joy of Cooking app is decent as a reference but terrible for browsing or inspiration and is missing the interesting and tasty additions found in the 1997 edition of the book.

Translating a cookbook to digital from print is very difficult to get right; we read them differently. The Science of Good Cooking by the Cooks Illustrated folks, a fantastic book, did not take the transformation well. What additional information does the reader want, and is it easy to get there and back? The Joy of Cooking people have evidently put a lot of thought into it. The table of contents, or a particular portion of it, is always there, as are links to appropriate "how-to" sections. The screen is clean while managing to provide a wealth of information. I grew up with various editions of this cookbook, and my current one is (like all the others) stained and falling apart from much use. I never thought Id like a digital edition nearly as well, but this one is great. Well done, Joy of Cooking!

Love that I can access my favorite cookbook anywhere now!!

Navigable in a way that the text has never been, but with the integrity thats customary of the great classic.

Because its not in this app. I was looking forward to a digital version of my go-to cookbook, the 1997 New Joy of Cooking. I wanted to bookmark my many favorites & explore new recipes from other editions. But Culinate/Scribeners didnt include it...& another reviewer is right--its the best edition. I gave two stars for how well-thought out the app is. Would have given 5 had the content been complete.

This is an excellent execution of a timeless classic as an app. Have Joy with you in your iPhone and iPad wherever you go. Easy to use, great features. Great value for the asking price!

As my hardcover copy of this timeless classic book has stated to fall apart with age and use, this couldnt have come any come any sooner. Recipes that let you pick and choose alternate ingredients and add-ons, all of which get added to the grocery list with everything else you need to make the perfect meal for fiends. Spot on guys!!!

I love having the joy of cooking on my iPad. This app and how it has been produced seems very elementary and I would expect a much more professional presentation of this book and because of the price of the app. It needs a lot of work and I look forward to all of those updates and for your continued improvements

Ive been a devoted fan of Joy of Cooking for more than two decades. Always my go-to gift for a new bride, someone who purchased their first home and just when it was the right time for gift giving. Considered my personal cooking bible, Im thrilled to combine my passion for cooking and utilize this splendid app along with my iPad for countless hours of culinary pleasure. Such a brilliant time we live in to enjoy technology and cooking together. Well done! M.

Joy of Cooking is not my favorite all-time cookbook, but it has been a kind of baseline of American cooking for the last eighty years. Its been always there in the background throughout my own sixty years of eating -- my mother used as her basic go-to cookbook for most everything; my wife and I have used it; weve given copies to several of our kids when they left home. It doesnt offer the same kind of nuanced teaching as, say, Julia Childs Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but what it lacks in depth it makes up for in breadth. Just about anything youre minded to cook will be somehow represented in this book, ranging from the obvious (e.g., boiling an egg) to the fairly out-of-the-way. Never skinned a rabbit? Heres how, with pictures. Even Child herself consulted Joy of Cooking and famously met with Rombauer. The book has undergone a number of revisions, and has changed somewhat with the times -- dialing back the alcohol here, and putting more emphasis on vegetables that dont come out of a can over there. Its weathered pretty well, and its adapted admirably to changing conditions of our culinary culture. The present app is striking for two signal reasons. First of all, it contains not just some cherry-picked selections of favorites from Joy of Cooking, but the complete collection of recipes: it is not just a showpiece: its a robust, useful reference. If that were all it did, it would be worth what theyre asking for it: it costs less than the hardbound copy, it takes up infinitely less space on the bookshelf, and its consummately portable. I dont think Ive ever taken a paper copy of Joy to the grocery store with me, but I never go without my iPhone. Sometimes you see something and think, "How would I cook *that*?" Now you can find out. Second, however, in an day where many people rush apps to market that are little more than clunky, hard-to-manipulate versions of the books on which theyre based, or else full of misprints from a bad scanning job, this is an absolute standout. The integration of the user interface is as elegant as any Ive seen. The presentation is clear; ingredient lists are cross-linked seamlessly to the "About..." sections for each type of ingredient; quantities are linked to measurement-conversion popups. All this is accomplished within a flexible, seamless user interface. There are complete and exact instructions, a way to select among several optional ingredients, automatic generation of shopping lists, and more. Im a cook and a programmer, among other things, and Im not overly easy to impress on either front. This has impressed me on both. Its a solid, exceptionally useful piece of work. Im keeping it loaded on my iPhone and iPad.

My mother taught home economics and her favorite cookbook was The Joy of Cooking. My sisters and I are as devoted to the Joy of Cooking as she was. For awhile, Id been wishing for an electronic form of the Joy of Cooking. I downloaded it as soon as I discovered it, and it has far exceeded my expectations. In addition to containing nearly all the recipes from over the years, the features included are thoughtful and easy to use. For instance, ingredients in all recipes are cross-referenced so you can read about them. Other features include a built-in timer function, a grocery list, a converter tool (from US to metric measurements) and a way to add notes for each recipe. If you use the Joy of Cooking, this app is essential!

App would not open after installation. After deleting several times, it finally opens. Hope the recipes found in my hardback version are found in the digital version.

Ive always liked the Joy of Cooking Cookbook and this app seems to have everything at my finger tips. It has great features like a timer and a setting to stop sleep mode. What I dont like about it is that the app is very slow to respond after launching it. This is a significant problem. Also, lets say you are making a recipe like blueberry muffins. The instructions say make basic muffin recipe first, so you follow the recipe and then it states that you need to adjust the sugar measurement for the recipe. It should tell me what the change is before it points me to the basic recipe.

Im glad to see this cookbook finally in an app and generally it does what you expect. There are a couple of features that are missing, however. 1) Shopping Lists do not sync from one device to another. So when youre planning that nice meal on your iPad before shopping, you should be able to see the Shopping List on your iPhone at the grocery. That should also apply to syncing favorites and ribbons. 2) Shopping Lists cannot do multiples. So if youre making a double batch of something, there is no way to "2X" those items in the list. Please fix these two features. Long term, it would be nice to do a one-button convert from American volume measures to European weights. This would make bread making and other recipes much more accurate.

If youre a Joy cookbook user like I am then this app is a must !! It has all the recipes, tips, and pointers that the original book has. It has been an absolute Joy (word play) to use ... I purchased this app as a gift to myself for thanksgiving and have used it so many times. I have always given the book as a wedding gift to newlyweds this app is a wonderful update to give to the new generation of iPad and iPhone users now that its been updated into a digital version. It is clear concise and extremely easy to use a must in any recipe collection for any iPad or iPhone user who uses their device as a recipe cookbook. This app has proven to be very worthy of money I paid for which was discounted as a special however I do feel that it would be worth every penny at full price and I would have paid full price with no questions asked. A wonderful wonderful app to have in my collection of cookbooks actually to be honest with you I removed all the cookbooks and I only use this one I use this app basically on a daily basis I highly highly recommend this app for anyone who is a novice or midterm or professional it has many point is to success to help you learn and understand things that Ive been doing for many years and have added two I have three copies of joy in my collection hardcopy recipe cookbooks, two of which I have received his gift and will always keep in my collection hardcovers are nice however I find the digital version to be extremely handy at times with built in timers built in recipe selections it gives you the steps to do it gives you a grocery list application section that you can create a grocery list to get the items you need next time you go grocery shopping that has proven extremely helpful. Now breakdown and just buy the app you know you want it you know you can use it and you know you will use it get it.

Ive so far cooked the spaghetti pie recipe which was great and will be making again. I think its a great big selection of recipes for the price. Also for the price of one you get an iPad and iPhone version which both are fantastically optimized and run smoothly. I use an iPhone 6 and 4th gen ipad. Ive always wanted to get the joy of cooking book but since I saw the app I much prefer this. The interface is very clean and intuitive. Easy to get around. Only things that would be nice: - Sync shopping lists across devices. I would like to be able to add stuff to my list on the iPad and sync it to my iPhone when I go to the store. - More pictures please.

I cant recommend this app enough. Its obvious that they spent a huge amount of time perfecting this app, and did not spare any effort on ensuring it was perfect. First, this isnt a cook book, this is THE food encyclopedia, in addition to containing the recipe for everything ever. You wont need to search the Internet for another recipe for a LONG time after you get this app. Second, the app its self is very well designed. The interface is very unique, I havent seen one exactly like this one, and it works very well. It makes it seamless to get to any section of the book, and also makes it easy to glance through it and feel like you have an idea of where everything is in the book. I cant under state how important this is. They could have just made one long list of every section, and it would have technically worked, but it would not be as user friendly or easy to see the big picture of the book. Also, the search box is more than a search box. More often than not, I dont even put words in the search box. I simply use the filters to browse recipes. This is a great way to find new things to cook. Just go to the search tab, and click Joy Family (recipes from the peoples family), Joy Originals (recipes from the original 1930s book), Asian, Chinese, Italian, Fall, Winter, quick cooking, for a crowd, or select the ingredients you have to find recipes with that ingredient. As a Software Developer (and, admittedly, one that isnt good at making user interfaces), I really appreciate ones done well. The timers, the shopping list making, the links between article, and the related recipes/pages could easily have been done and in a way that they werent very usable, but this app pulled them off perfectly. This app is really top notch.

I have been waiting for this digital book for some and glad its finally hear and better than I had hoped for (I would have settled for just a straight digital copy). Now just to make sure I dont spill on it as I have with my 1997 edition.

has great features and might be good. BUT first time I used it carrot cake didnt taste right. Found out recipe was NOT the same as in my Joy book. Havent used app since & wont trust again. Dont care about the nice features if the recipes arent good. My respect for Irma higher than ever, tho

thanks guys you nailed it!