How to share recipe links across 2 people and 3+ computers?
August 24, 2019 3:13 PM
My wife and I both scroll through recipes and bookmark them at random when we're web surfing. We're not very good at combining them into one resource we can both add to and view easily. We have bookmarks on multiple home and work computers. Is there a tool that will help us with this?
We currently use a Google spreadsheet to make our weekly shopping list, and the sheet contains links to some of our recipes, but right now we have to remember to periodically sort through bookmarks on multiple computers and add to the spreadsheet list. For example, on the computer I'm typing on right now, I have a bookmarks folder called "recipes on the Google sheet", and periodically I go into my big bookmark stash, copy/paste a bunch of links into the Google sheet, and then move the bookmarks into the folder.
Obviously this is time consuming and has to be done for each computer we bookmark stuff on. Is there a better way to sync this up so that we can each save and view these links in one place?
Caveats:
-we've never gotten used to Pinterest and would prefer to avoid it unless it's the only solution
-the computers use Firefox and Chrome so ideally something across browsers if possible
We currently use a Google spreadsheet to make our weekly shopping list, and the sheet contains links to some of our recipes, but right now we have to remember to periodically sort through bookmarks on multiple computers and add to the spreadsheet list. For example, on the computer I'm typing on right now, I have a bookmarks folder called "recipes on the Google sheet", and periodically I go into my big bookmark stash, copy/paste a bunch of links into the Google sheet, and then move the bookmarks into the folder.
Obviously this is time consuming and has to be done for each computer we bookmark stuff on. Is there a better way to sync this up so that we can each save and view these links in one place?
Caveats:
-we've never gotten used to Pinterest and would prefer to avoid it unless it's the only solution
-the computers use Firefox and Chrome so ideally something across browsers if possible
Well, in general I manage links/articles for everything across multiple computers using Pocket and Pinboard.
Firefox has a Pocket extension that you just click and it offers you a way to choose (or create) tags, then Save and it's in the cloud. You then go to the Pocket page for your account to read/see your recent saved pages or to click on a particular tag to narrow it down.
Firefox also has an extension Pinboard Pin that lets you bookmark the page you are on, and assign tags.
I believe Pocket has a free tier (but for archival of your recipes I don't think that's what you'd want), but not Pinboard (if I read their home pages correctly).
posted by forthright at 3:41 PM on August 24, 2019
Firefox has a Pocket extension that you just click and it offers you a way to choose (or create) tags, then Save and it's in the cloud. You then go to the Pocket page for your account to read/see your recent saved pages or to click on a particular tag to narrow it down.
Firefox also has an extension Pinboard Pin that lets you bookmark the page you are on, and assign tags.
I believe Pocket has a free tier (but for archival of your recipes I don't think that's what you'd want), but not Pinboard (if I read their home pages correctly).
posted by forthright at 3:41 PM on August 24, 2019
This might not make as much sense if at least one of you doesn't use Slack for work, but I set up a free-plan Slack team for our household plus a handful of friends. We have a recipes channel where we post things we're interested in making. This works perfectly for us...
- we can access it from both our computers and phones, easy to add new entries and to search/review existing
- it works with links, photos, or just typing in text
- we make notes in the threaded comments for each post about how we like things once we've made them, modifications we tried or want to try, etc.
posted by polymath at 3:56 PM on August 24, 2019
- we can access it from both our computers and phones, easy to add new entries and to search/review existing
- it works with links, photos, or just typing in text
- we make notes in the threaded comments for each post about how we like things once we've made them, modifications we tried or want to try, etc.
posted by polymath at 3:56 PM on August 24, 2019
I'm a big fan of Raindrop.io for all my bookmark sharing needs. Browser extensions for easy saving and browsing, nice UI, free (if you can deal with small ads) and works on mobile.
posted by thebots at 4:10 PM on August 24, 2019
posted by thebots at 4:10 PM on August 24, 2019
Since your workflow already involves bookmarking, I would suggest you stick with bookmark managers. Other commenters have already mentioned a couple (Pinboard, Raindrop.io). Chrome and Firefox both have built in bookmark managers, but I don't think either will quite do the trick here. Here is a relatively recent (April 2018) list of bookmark managers someone put together after xmarks shut down. They are all cloud hosted and designed to work across multiple computers and browsers, so you can just set up one account and share it across all of your various machines. They also work on mobile devices. You add a little bookmarklet to the favorites bar, or use a browser extension, and then just start bookmarking with that instead of the native thing your browser does. I use Pinboard to do exactly what you are describing, but it does cost $11/year. Here is some additional advice:
#1 All of these services are set up to import existing bookmarks, so you'll want to go ahead and import all of the stuff that you've already bookmarked once you pick a service. Some (most?) are set up to deal with duplicates, so no need to try and curate in advance.
#2 Lots of people want bookmark managers, but there isn't really a business model, so you end up with services thriving for a few years and then shutting down. Free is attractive, but will eventually break your heart (RIP, del.icio.us). I ended up on Pinboard, and paying $11/year, having been through a couple of forced evacuations from other bookmark managers. Pinboard is now about 10 years old.
#3 All of the services offer some kind of tagging feature which is hugely useful if you end up with a lot of bookmarks (recipes). I probably use 20 or so tags for cooking/recipe related links. Off the top of my head, a few are: recipe, recipe-to-try, have-made-this, cookbook, gear-cooking, coffee, alcohol, spices, breakfast, instantpot. Tagging existing recipes is a huge pain; if you already have your recipes sorted into some folders, you might want to use those as some initial tags to get started and curate later. At a minimum, I found it useful to tag everything with something like "initial-import" on import to keep stuff I've curated separate from the raw import.
posted by kovacs at 4:36 PM on August 24, 2019
#1 All of these services are set up to import existing bookmarks, so you'll want to go ahead and import all of the stuff that you've already bookmarked once you pick a service. Some (most?) are set up to deal with duplicates, so no need to try and curate in advance.
#2 Lots of people want bookmark managers, but there isn't really a business model, so you end up with services thriving for a few years and then shutting down. Free is attractive, but will eventually break your heart (RIP, del.icio.us). I ended up on Pinboard, and paying $11/year, having been through a couple of forced evacuations from other bookmark managers. Pinboard is now about 10 years old.
#3 All of the services offer some kind of tagging feature which is hugely useful if you end up with a lot of bookmarks (recipes). I probably use 20 or so tags for cooking/recipe related links. Off the top of my head, a few are: recipe, recipe-to-try, have-made-this, cookbook, gear-cooking, coffee, alcohol, spices, breakfast, instantpot. Tagging existing recipes is a huge pain; if you already have your recipes sorted into some folders, you might want to use those as some initial tags to get started and curate later. At a minimum, I found it useful to tag everything with something like "initial-import" on import to keep stuff I've curated separate from the raw import.
posted by kovacs at 4:36 PM on August 24, 2019
I'm going to second the Copy Me That app/bookmarklet.
posted by vespabelle at 5:33 PM on August 24, 2019
posted by vespabelle at 5:33 PM on August 24, 2019
This is not what Zotero is for, but this is what I use it for. You can install the add-on on Firefox/Chrome/Safari; you can sync/share stuff easily; you can have tags (for ingredients or events or seasons or moods); you can add notes after you've tried it; and Zotero grabs a screenshot of the page, so if the link rots, you're still good.
posted by unknowncommand at 5:49 PM on August 24, 2019
posted by unknowncommand at 5:49 PM on August 24, 2019
This is absolutely a job for Paprika!! I’ve cooked way more (and tried out way more recipes) after seeing it recommended in multiple other questions here.
posted by estlin at 8:20 PM on August 24, 2019
posted by estlin at 8:20 PM on August 24, 2019
At my house we use the app Paprika, which works across platforms (Mac/Windows/Android/iOS). You basically just click to add a recipe to Paprika, and then the recipe is made intelligible (they cut out the giant essay) and available on all users' apps. Then when you're planning food for the week, you can click on the recipes and Paprika will make you a shopping list, too.
Power users can also type in what's in their pantries (so it's not added to the shopping list), use a meal planning function, and use cooking timers. Here's an article about it and here's the app itself.
On preview, what estlin says :)
posted by hungrytiger at 8:23 PM on August 24, 2019
Power users can also type in what's in their pantries (so it's not added to the shopping list), use a meal planning function, and use cooking timers. Here's an article about it and here's the app itself.
On preview, what estlin says :)
posted by hungrytiger at 8:23 PM on August 24, 2019
+1 for Pocket. I also used to use a free wordpress.com blog. I'd just copy the recipe into the post, add the title, tag it and put in the link. Too much work for me these days. Pocket works a treat. I did spring for the yearly subscription.
posted by kathrynm at 7:06 AM on August 25, 2019
posted by kathrynm at 7:06 AM on August 25, 2019
I'll also add that using the blog had the advantage of being able to put tweaks and comments in the comments. That's the one thing I wish Pocket had.
posted by kathrynm at 2:26 PM on August 25, 2019
posted by kathrynm at 2:26 PM on August 25, 2019
If it is enough to just combine the bookmarks, then I suggest pinboard (not pinterest). You can use a bookmarklet to easily bookmark the page you are looking at and if you have any text highlighted, it will add it to the notes. I also use an IFTTT recipe to autosave my Feedly saves to Pinboard. In theory, you could have a whole rss feed added as bookmarks using another IFTTT recipe, if you find a blog you really like.
If you want more organization, I use Pepperplate as it is currently free. It does okay at importing, especially if you remove the http:// from the URL. I mainly just copy and paste. They have a bookmarklet as well that lets you enter the recipe in a popup.
posted by soelo at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2019
If you want more organization, I use Pepperplate as it is currently free. It does okay at importing, especially if you remove the http:// from the URL. I mainly just copy and paste. They have a bookmarklet as well that lets you enter the recipe in a popup.
posted by soelo at 6:04 PM on August 25, 2019
My wife and I use Anylist and pay for an annual family account so we can share and save recipes. It’s about $15 a year and is well worth it. You can save recipes from most sites, then build shopping lists from the meal plan view. Highly recommended.
posted by Happy Dave at 11:25 AM on August 26, 2019
posted by Happy Dave at 11:25 AM on August 26, 2019
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by sleeping bear at 3:24 PM on August 24, 2019