It’s never a good feeling when you are on dinner duty and you know the family are expecting little more than blackened lumps that may have once been food, and a whole lot of smoke. Thankfully, as with much of life, mobile tech has come to the rescue.

Think about it. Smartphones and tablets are small and easy enough to use in a space that can get as cluttered as a kitchen can. They are a great way of creating a link between the pantry and the butcher, grocer, or supermarket, and, if you are really careful, you won’t drop them into the batter to serve them up in a Victoria sponge at tea that afternoon.

There is also the added bonus of being able to call the fire department almost immediately, if one of your culinary adventures goes awry.

Plenty of apps can lend a helping hand in the kitchen. With just a tap and a swipe, you can find recipes, plan meals, take notes, find useful information, help you eat ethically and healthily, and even act as cooking timers (lessening the chances of that previously-mentioned phone call).

Apps for Recipes

Browsing recipe collections is a great way to find inspiration and new ideas, as well as the basics, such as how to boil an egg. In addition to extensive, easily searchable libraries, most good recipe apps also include features such as photo albums, grocery lists, and meal organisers and planners.

BigOven, Epicurious, Yummly, and other recipe apps have been downloaded by users around the world. Social media functionality means you can join an international community of amateur and professionals who also have to face time in the kitchen.

Apps to Help You Shop

Shopping helper apps are perfect for anyone who makes a habit of losing the grocery list, or is convinced they will remember everything, don’t write anything down, and then return from the shops with everything but what is needed.

They are also a boon for anyone who wants to eat healthily and ethically. You can find sustainably-sourced meat and vegetable produce, and you can find out about pesticide levels, and how to buy inorganic vegetables that do not require intensive treatment with chemicals during farming.

Some apps also offer information about various meat cuts, and food preparation and storage tips. Substitution apps are particularly helpful in finding ingredients that can be substituted for one another.

Apps such as Dirty Dozen, Perfect Produce, Seafood Watch, Substitutions, and Nose to Tail are a few of the kitchen helper apps to consider.

Apps to Time Cooking

In many recipes, timing is everything. Timing, however, could also be everything in Geelong Cup betting, and if you follow the races, it can be too easy to forget about that prime stake on the griddle pan.

Download kitchen timer apps to help you make sure you don’t cremate your dinner. You can keep track of stove-top burners, as well as the oven, so cooking multiple dishes no longer involves several clocks and an advanced degree in mathematics. Thyme and the hands-free Wave Timer are preferred by many cooks who have realised just how useful a mobile device can be in the kitchen.