I love cooking and exploring new recipes, and over the years I’ve saved a lot of recipes — short videos on Instagram and TikTok, screenshots in my photo album, links friends have shared.
Most weekends, I try to cook from them. But I keep running into the same frustrating problem: from the moment I find a recipe video to the moment I actually cook it, I usually have to watch it at least three times — once while browsing and selecting the recipe, once while shopping for ingredients, and once more while cooking. I often jot down notes in my memo app or copy the recipe into my chat history, but keeping track of all this and finding the notes later feels tedious and inconvenient. On top of that, I still have to replay the video while cooking, pause with oily hands, and make sure I didn’t miss any steps. Sometimes I forget an ingredient or overcook a dish despite all the prep.
I’ve tried bookmarks, notes apps, folders full of links… nothing really works well in the kitchen. I ended up building a small tool that lets me import recipes with one click and turn them into clear, step-by-step instructions I can actually follow in the kitchen. It’s helped me save time and focus on cooking rather than rewatching videos.
The tool isn’t perfect — sometimes ingredient amounts need tweaking, and not all recipes convert cleanly. I’m curious how others handle this in their own cooking.
I’d love to hear from others here:
How do you save or organize recipes you like?
Have you tried similar tools, and what worked or didn’t?
Any ideas for how a tool like this could actually be more useful in the kitchen?
I’m really looking for honest feedback, tips, or suggestions — anything that could make it genuinely more helpful for people who cook regularly.
