-=PCTechTalk=- Re: Long post - Recipe Software
- From: "Lilian" <lilian.oswaldocruz@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 9 Jan 2009 00:33:16 -0200
I am going to look into this, Bob! I´ve never been a fan of internet
cooking <g> I prefer to have cookery books. I have a whole bookcase full
in the kitchen, and I love to sit and go through them at the kitchen table
with a cuppa! I have folders full of recipes I got from magazines, and, all
my mother and grandmothers hand written tested recipes (my mother was French
and boy did she cook :o)). If I can get something to help find recipes I
already have and don´t know where to find them... yep, it must be a good
proggie!!!
Lil
----- Original Message -----
From: "Keyboard Cowboy" <KBCowboy@xxxxxxxxx>
To: "PCTechTalk - Freelists" <pctechtalk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, January 08, 2009 11:00 PM
Subject: -=PCTechTalk=- Long post - Recipe Software
Whelp!! I've been a busy beaver this week. As many of you know, I love
cooking, and collecting cook books. One of the things that drives me nuts,
though, is it's hard to remember what cookbook what recipe was in. I'm
crazy about tools that give me power over
tasks...........soooooooooooo.............I went looking for a recipe
program that would allow me to manage a large number of recipes, be
extremely stable, use little overhead resources on my computer, and be FAST!
Additionally, it was very important to me to be able to copy recipes from
various sources like the internet, email groups, individual emails, word
files, etc. Having such a program would give me access to a huge store of
recipes, and allow me to exchange recipes with friends and family too!
I evaluated a half dozen programs, actually installing them on my computer
and then working with them. I also asked on several of the email recipe
forums I belong to what recommendations people had - based on responses I
added still another program to the testing regimen. The struggle was to
find a program with a high degree of power, yet a relatively fast learning
curve - a program that didn't require a PHD to operate <G>. After testing,
I picked a program called Now You're Cooking! You can find it here:
http://www.ffts.com/
When I test programs, I also like to talk to the developer to see how the
program is supported, and to determine a little of the history of the
program. I didn't want to invest a great deal of time building a library of
recipes to find the developer abandoned the program. I looked at recipe
programs several years ago and most of them don't exist today. I've spoken
with the developer several times this week. His name is Gary and he's truly
helpful. Each time I've called, he's answered the phone himself and been
extremely helpful. He started developing the program in the 90's and it's
now a mature program, though he still updates it regularly to make
improvements. His wife handles the registrations so it's a family
business - I like that!
Here's an over view of the program features:
# automatic categorizing of recipes (based on user-defined keywords)
# auto-find and delete empty categories; map one category to another
# fastest recipe import and search of any recipe software
# perform any of these power tasks across all cookbooks in a single
operation:
* recipe search
* meal plan
* print recipes
* import/export recipes
* duplicate checking and deletion
* defrag cookbooks and image archives
* rebuild cookbook indexes
* auto-link recipe ingredients to nutrition items
* untag recipes
* find and replace text strings
* proper case recipe names
# Quick Web Recipes feature for automatic recipe download and import
# customizable Export-to-Web feature for automatic recipe website creation
# customizable multi-rater, multi-criteria recipe rating system
# nutrition analysis using USDA database directly, including raw, cooked,
canned, and processed foods
# accurate nutrition analysis for any recipe from any source
# more nutrition constituents than other recipe software (now with trans
fats, vitamin K)
# nutrition analysis with %Daily Values based on your calories/day
# customizable diet calculations with nutrition analysis
# Fitness Calculator to track body fat %, BMI, waist ratios, and other
fitness metrics
# consumer features (coupon manager, automatic shopping list with coupons
noted, shopping list by aisle, cost of list across stores)
# stable, robust Meal MasterT import/export with dupe checking and isolation
of problem recipes.
# multi-file importing of mixed format text recipes in a given file
# unlimited recipes in multiple cookbooks
# compatibility with Windows Vista/XP/Me/2000/98/95/NT4
# registration options for FREE upgrades to future versions (so you can pay
once, not again and again)
# tech support that exceeds your expectations
To me, the biggest deterrent to using a computer based program is the time
it takes to get recipes loaded in the program. I'd rather be playing golf,
shooting, working in the shop, or taking pictures! What really impressed me
was the ease with which I can copy or import recipes in the program. This
program allowed me to create or copy recipes easier than any other I tried.
It's hard to explain the difference, but Gary developed a truly simple
method for inputting recipes, and he also developed a really cool import
system to download and install thousands of recipes right from his site.
Importing recipes/cookbooks from other programs is a snap too. To give you
an example, I imported the entire MasterCook program (30 cookbooks and 8000+
recipes) in about 20 minutes.
I've imported 56 cookbooks and set up one of my own for Bob's Favorites for
a total of 57 cookbooks. I've imported a grand total of 297,927 recipes in
the program so far...........you read it right, 297,927!! As one of the
performance measurements, I did a search using the word Banana (title or
ingredient) and got over four thousand recipes <laugh> Even with the huge
number of recipes I have, it takes less than 11 seconds to search for a word
in the titles. To search both the title and the ingredients it took less
than 1 minute, 27 seconds!! I've tested this program, beat it, loaded it to
the max and it hasn't skipped a beat - it's rock solid. There's so much
more in this program, there's simply not enough room here to tell you all
about the features.
If you have an interest in managing recipes on your computer, give a look at
this program, I highly recommend it. I like it so much, I bought the
program to give to my daughters so we could share easily.
Regards,
Bob -- the "Keyboard Cowboy"
,,,,,,
Ô¿Ô¬'
-----------<========<<0++0>>========>-----------
Cincinnati, OH -- Scottsdale, AZ
NRA Life Member
-----------<========<<0++0>>========>-----------
He promised me earrings, but he only pierced my ears.
- Arabian Saying
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