MacGourmet is an extremely easy program for the novice user. You can add or delete recipes with a click of a button. Clicking on the Chef View gives you a full-page screen of your recipe to view or print. I liked the printing feature, which gives you several layout formats to choose from, including index cards.

When I first launched the demo, it asked me if I wanted to import their recipes. I clicked the Yes button and saw 100 recipes added to the menu. MacGourmet allows you to import and export recipes in text, binary, MasterCook (PC and Mac), and MealMaster format. That made no difference to me, as I’m starting from scratch.

I probably won’t use the wine notes, either, because I don’t drink wine. The shopping list is nice, but you have to type in your list manually, unlike the other programs I tried, which exported the ingredients into a shopping list. Perhaps this will be improved with the new Version 2.0 that’s supposed to come out soon.

Ingredients Screen

I had read some complaints on a cooking forum about entering fractional measurements on some of these recipe managers. Some of these programs force you to enter a decimal equivalent. I’m happy to say that this isn’t the case with MacGourmet.

This program comes with some preset measurements (cups, ounces, etc.), ingredient, and preparation descriptions. If you don’t find what you’re looking for, you can always type it in. If you make a mistake, all you have to do is double-click and make your changes.

Another feature I liked is the serving adjustments, which allow you to cut the measurements in half or multiply them up to 4 times the original recipe.

Verdict

MacGourmet is the easiest and most attractive recipe management program I’ve tested for my Mac so far. Version 2.0 promises to offer more features, such as a difficulty level and the ability to perform multiple edits at the same time. I think I will hold off registering my demo copy until this new version comes out.

To download a trial version, go to MacGourmet.

This is something I’ve needed to do but have put off. I threw out a bunch of old cookbooks last year when we moved into our new house, but I’m always buying new ones. The top shelf of my cupboard is crammed with books that I couldn’t part with for one reason or another. To make it worse, I’ve either bought or were given new ones.

Now I have a growing stack on the counter beneath that cupboard. I find this a waste because there are only a few recipes (if that) out of every book that I will use on a consistant basis. Everyday I look at that stack and tell myself that I need to pluck the recipes out of those books and enter them into my computer so I may free up some space.

I decided to look into that yesterday, only I focused on searching for web-based programs. That turned out to be a complete waste of my time, as I am no coding guru. A software topic in a cooking forum sent me looking for desktop-based recipe managers.

At first, I found plenty of recipe managers for the PC. One that caught my eye was The Living Cookbook because you can export your recipe collections into Word. I thought it would be a great idea to create custom cookbooks for every member of my family, as we all like different things.

Because the download didn’t work on my husband’s laptop, I’ve ordered the demo on CD. I’ll post a full review of it once I receive it and try it out. In the meantime, I’ll be reviewing other recipe managers for the PC and the Mac. Stay tuned!