Cooking Mode: Step-by-Step Cooking on Your Phone
When you cook with your phone, a cooking mode shows you one step at a time, step by step, large and without the rest of the recipe around it. That helps because you rarely have time to scroll in the kitchen: your hands are wet, the pan is hot, and the text slips away. With one step per screen, you stay in the recipe without losing your place.
Why regular recipe pages are annoying while you cook
Recipes are made for reading at a desk, not standing at the stove:
- The screen turns off after a short time, right when you're stirring.
- The ingredient list is at the top, but the step you need is further down. You scroll back and forth.
- Ads and pop-ups push the text out of view.
- With videos, you have to keep pausing and rewinding just to catch an amount. You can avoid that by following the guide Save a recipe from a TikTok video.
How to cook step by step with your phone
You can use the principle even without a special app:
- Get everything ready first. Read the recipe through once and set out the ingredients in the order you'll use them.
- Keep steps short. Break long paragraphs into single actions, one sentence each.
- Keep the screen awake. On an iPhone, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock and choose a longer time. Set it back after cooking.
- Start timers right away. If a step includes a time, start the timer before you move on.
- Prop up your phone instead of holding it. Lean it against something, at a safe distance from splashes.
The cooking mode in zesti
zesti is an iPhone app where imported recipes live as cards. On every recipe card, you start the cooking mode with one tap:
- Every step gets its own screen, with "Step 3 of 8" to show you where you are.
- Tap "Next" to move on to the following step.
- If a step includes a time, you can start a timer right there, pause it, and resume it.
- At the end, a finish screen appears. From there you can go back to the recipe or plan your next night of cooking.
The servings stepper is on the recipe view. Set the number of people before you start the cooking mode, and the amounts in the steps will match. How recipes get into the app in the first place is covered in the guide Collect and organize recipes from videos. Three imports per month are included, more with zesti Pro. Your library, the cooking mode and your meal plan stay usable even after you've used up your imports for the month.
What a good cooking mode should do
- Large, easy-to-read text. You're looking at it from about three feet away.
- One step, one action. When a step asks for three things at once, it's easy to misread.
- A timer inside the step. You don't want to switch between two apps.
- A clear beginning and a clear end. You should always know how far along you are.
If you want to decide your recipes for the week ahead of time, the guide Make a weekly meal plan is a good companion. And if you just can't decide in the evening what to cook today, five simple approaches can help you out.
Frequently asked questions
What is a cooking mode?
A view that shows only the current cooking step, large and without distractions. You tap Next when you're done. That way you never have to scroll with wet or greasy hands.
Does zesti have a cooking mode?
Yes. The cooking mode shows one step per screen, with a timer whenever a step includes a time. At the end, a finish screen appears.
How do I keep my screen from turning off while I cook?
On an iPhone, go to Settings > Display & Brightness > Auto-Lock and choose a longer time. Remember to set it back after cooking so your battery doesn't suffer.