Best Apps To Help With Your Christmas Cooking
Worried about being the designated chef this Christmas? There's no need to struggle in the kitchen alone, thanks to your smartphone you can bring a bunch of fantastic apps with you to help you create your most delicious Christmas feast yet.
In fact, the apps below are brilliant all year round. Whenever you need to host a meal for a large group of people, you can be certain they'll come in useful.
Tasty
Available on: iOS and Android
Price: Free
If you're ever in need of a great recipe, head to Tasty. The app doesn't just focus on Christmas food by any means (it's actually one of the most popular food apps out there), but if you type 'Christmas' into the search bar at the top of the app you'll be able to scroll through an entire selection of festive recipes.
It's fantastic if you need a little bit of help perfecting the classics, or if you're looking for inspiration for sweet or savoury treats. From recipes on how to make the perfect mashed potato and advice on how to cook a whole roast chicken with veggies to a step-by-step guide on making homemade apple cider, there's plenty to explore.
The ideas don't stop there either. For chefs who feel creative this Christmas, you'll find seasonal themed recipes here too, such as festive stuffed butternut squash, peppermint macarons and mini gingerbread cheesecakes.
For every recipe, you'll be able to watch a step-by-step video on how to create the dish too, alongside detailed written instructions. Super easy to follow, it's one of the main reasons Tasty is so well loved.
Bring! Shopping List
Available on: iOS and Android
Price: Free
Christmas food shopping is a big job, and everyone is guaranteed to have their own favourite treats to add to the list. Make life easier by downloading Bring! Shopping List, an app loved by over 5 million users worldwide.
Bring! is simple yet versatile, and has an innovative interface that really improves your user experience. Create individual shopping lists for every occasion (such as Christmas Dinner, Boxing Day Food and Christmas Treats) and then add items with one tap. You'll be able to choose from a huge list of pre-loaded items or you can add your own.
Every list you make will be saved to the cloud, making it easy to invite others to contribute. Friends and family members can double check your list and add to it at any time, making sure you don't miss a thing. They'll also be able to access it when they're out and about, so they'll have no excuses not to pick up a few things if they're passing a supermarket on the way home.
HappyCow
Available on: iOS and Android
Price: £4.99
If you have guests with specific dietary requirements, download HappyCow. Whether you're making a special dish for someone who is vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free or suffers from something like a nut allergy, HappyCow can help you find a store that offers the alternative ingredients you need.
It's also a fantastic app for finding vegan-friendly restaurants too - extremely handy if you're planning on taking a break in the kitchen and would like to dine out over the festive season. It can be used whenever you need to find a delicious vegan restaurant too, not just during Christmas.
MultiTimer: Multiple timers
Available on: iOS
Price: Free
If you've ever cooked Christmas dinner before, you'll know exactly how difficult it can be to make sure everything is ready at the same time. Don't let the pressure of multiple bubbling pots of veggies and a full oven stress you out this festive season - make your life easier by downloading MultiTimer.
While most smartphones do come with a timer pre-installed, its MultiTimer's easy-to-use interface and innovative features that makes it an essential this Christmas. You can view all active timers as once, and access them quickly either in the app, as an iPhone widget or on your Apple watch.
The delay start function of MultiTimer is what really sets it apart. This means you'll be able to set all your timers (and give each timer a label e.g. potatoes or parsnips) before the turkey goes in the oven, and each individual one will begin automatically when it's time to start cooking. This removes a layer of panic from the kitchen at Christmas, and it's perfect if you often forget to pop the sprouts on every single year.
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