Since When is a Cookbook at Tech Item?

by Lori Cunningham (@wellconnectdmom)

When we were asked to consider reviewing a cookbook, we laughed.  A Cookbook?  Where’s the technology in that?  To our surprise, the new myrecipes America’s FAVORITE Food cookbook utilizes technology through a Scan-It/Cook-It technology incorporated right within the pages.

I’ll get to the technology in a minute but first let me tell you more about the cookbook.  America’s FAVORITE Food incorporates 200 top-rated recipes from the country’s best magazines.  Magazines like Cooking Light, REALSIMPLE, Sunset, Southern Living, Health allyou, Omoor House, and COASTAL LIVING.

Every recipe has been top-rated by more than 6 million home cooks who use MyRecipes.com.  Best yet, there are actual quotes and suggestions  from myrecipes.com users giving suggestions on how they use the recipe.

Features of the Cookbook

• Suggestions from myrecipes.com users who already tried the recipe
• Each recipe has labels like:

• 5 ingredients or less
• 30 minutes or less
• Gluten-free
• Grill it!  Made for the  grill
• Kid friendly
• Make ahead – make so, save for later
• made for slow cooker
• Beautiful photography of each recipe
• Servings, prep time and total cook time clearly labeled
• Scan-It/Cook-It technology

Features of the Scan-It/Cook-It Technology

Now, I’m the first to admit that I rarely use cookbooks.  I use my iPad to follow recipes, so this was a different experience for me.  But I have to say, the simplicity of opening a book and going right to a page and not working about it dropping on the floor, spilling into the sink, or having it’s battery drained is a nice feeling!  I also wasn’t distracted by incoming e-mails!  In order to utilize the Scan-It/Cook-It features, you first must download the Digimarc Discover App on your smartphone or tablet (Android or Apple).  Then open up the Digimarc App and hold your phone’s camera about 4 to 7 inches away from the photo or SCAN THIS box.

No need to snap a picture, the app will click and buzz once it recognizes the image and will serve up on your browser the information from online.  Ensure you are connected to your mobile or WiFi network to receive the tip, video, or technique.  Oh yeah, and the Digimarc Discover App is free.  In fact, you can use it for other things like scanning bar codes  QR codes, even helping you decipher the name of a song on the radio!

Not every recipe has a Scan-It/Cook-It feature, but most of them do, in fact 130 of them!  The Scan-It/Cook-It feature is either incorporated in a picture or in a box on the side of the recipe.  Accessible scanning features include:

• How-To Videos – walks you through the recipe
• Technique Videos – shows a kitchen procedure such as mincing shallots, poaching eggs, etc.
• Collection of Similar Recipes – such as more kid-friendly recipe ideas
• Weeknight Meal Planners – includes the recipe you just scanned and four other nights planned out with a combined shopping list
• Expert Answers – to common cooking questions

and laughed, joking if my friend’s husband would be so enthused by the recipe.  Having a recipe book worked well for sharing the book as we cooked.  It would have been tougher with my iPad, as it has a privacy screen on it and we wouldn’t be able to see it unless we both were right over it.

The King Ranch Chicken Casserole turned out great, and in fact, we all had seconds!

Grilled Buttermilk Chicken

The next recipe I tried was a recipe my nine-year old daughter selected, Grilled Buttermilk Chicken (pg. 74).  I had to soak the chicken overnight in the buttermilk batter.  The next day I grilled the chicken breasts on the grill and was amazed at how tender the chicken was.  It had a very good taste too, in fact, my daughter had a sample of the chicken while I was cutting it up and she kept coming back for more.  She couldn’t wait for dinner to be served up.