Apps

Pestle for iOS transforms any recipe into a step-by-step guide with voice control, SharePlay, and more

Chance Miller | Jan 21 2022 - 2:27 pm PT

Indie developer Will Bishop is out with a new entrant in the recipe and cooking category of apps for iPhone and iPad. Dubbed Pestle, this app allows you to import recipes from anywhere and turn them into a step-by-step process, aiming to “make every recipe easily achievable.”

Anyone who has used recipes found online knows that they are often padded to hit a certain word count and can seem a lot more intimidating than they really are. That’s where Pestle comes in. Pestle comes from the same developer as a number of other popular applications, most notably Chirp for Twitter, which brings the full Twitter experience to Apple Watch.

You can add a recipe to your Pestle Cookbook directly from the Share Sheet anywhere within iOS. The app will then scan the recipe for ingredients, steps, nutritional information, and more. From there, Pestle turns the recipe into a step-by-step guide and even includes built-in support for setting timers.

One of the neatest features of Pestle is that you can use your voice to jump to the next step in the recipe. This is an especially nice touch for when you’re cooking and have dirty hands, so you might not want to touch your iPhone or iPad display.

Pestle can also scale recipes up or down based on the number of servings you’re making. It also features built-in support for converting units from Metric to Imperial, or vice versa. There’s even SharePlay support:

With SharePlay in iOS 15, Pestle enables you to cook with anybody from around the world. When you are on a FaceTime with someone and start cooking with Pestle, the steps will synchronise between you. When you click next on your screen, it’ll move to the next step on their screen also.

If you’re looking for a recipes app on iPhone and iPad, Pestle is a great one to check out. This is particularly true if you’re someone like me and find the idea of a cooking a meal complex enough to require a recipe an incredibly daunting task.

Pestle is available on the App Store for iPhone and iPad as a free download with in-app purchases, including a $4.99 lifetime option as a limited-time launch special. The price will increase on February 1. We’ve also got some codes to giveaway below :)