I have always struggled with cooking. I would find a promising recipe somewhere on the internet and I would be eager to make it. However, I was immediately thrown off by the comment section on the page. “I baked it for 45 minutes, not 30!” one user said. “It needs twice the garlic,” argued another. To solve this issue I looked up different recipes for the same dish, but on different websites. The result? Even more conflicting opinions.
That’s why I decided to ask AI for help. Instead of looking through thousands of blogposts, I typed a direct and simple prompt: “Give me a simple recipe for a Spaghetti Bolognese. There needs to be numbered and clear instructions with no optional ingredients.”
The result was amazing.
In a few seconds I had a clean and simple recipe, exactly what I was looking for. There was no life story about a trip to Tuscany and how it changed the authors life, or a whole explanation of the authors family history. Just an uncomplicated list of ingredients and easy to follow step-by-step instructions. The AI had made the core principles of the dish into a single guide. No longer did it offer conflicting opinions, it gave me an easy path to follow.
I have discovered that having AI as your kitchen assistant has some issues though. For example, when I asked for a stir-fry sauce recipe, it said that I should use a tablespoon of soy sauce. The brand that I used was particularly salty, so I am glad that I tasted and adjusted before I made the dish inedible.
Nevertheless, the AI has changed cooking for me. I can ask it to explain techniques, convert measurements and adjust recipes for whatever I have left in my fridge. For anyone else that wants to try asking AI for help with recipes, I have one piece of advice: just ask the AI, but make sure you double check everything.
Hi Ravin, very interesting blog!
I think that the fact that it’s possible to ask questions regarding the recipe is really valuable, especially the explanation of techniques and the addition of ingredients from your fridge. The second one is also really sustainable! But for me, there’s a difference between a “promising” recipe of a blog post and a “simple” recipe created by ChatGPT. If I want to cook something simple and easy, it’s also possible to search for these recipes on the website of a supermarket, for example. Nonetheless, I think that it’s easier to ask for this kind of recipe on ChatGPT. But if I want to cook something special, for me, the story of the author and a detailed recipe does add value!
I’m curious what you think about this!
Hi Ravin! I can totally relate to the annoyance you mentioned. Finding the right recipe can take ages, and AI is perfect for that. I often use it to adjust portion sizes when I don’t want to cook as much as the recipe suggests, or to find substitutes when I’m missing an ingredient, and it always works. Exploring new cuisines and recipes has become so much easier and more enjoyable for all cooking skill levels!
Such a simple yet effective idea to use AI. I have always struggled to cook, but it never came to my mind to delegate it to AI. I believe it can be particularly helpful in designing a whole week of groceries for a student or helping with meal prep. Asking for specific recipes might be trickier, though. I believe that asking for bake recipes could get dangerous, as they are more nuanced and require specific steps to make it right
At least from now on I don’t have to live of pesto pasta and Too Good To Go.
Thank you