In today’s digital age, finding and organizing recipes can be a hassle, with cluttered websites and scattered information. Enter Pestle, a revolutionary app launched in 2022 by developer Will Bishop, designed to streamline recipe management. Now, Pestle is enhancing its capabilities with a groundbreaking feature: the ability to import recipes directly from Instagram Reels using on-device machine learning.
Unlike other apps that rely on external AI services, Pestle processes recipes nearly instantaneously right on your device. This innovation allows users to save recipes discovered on Instagram Reels effortlessly, addressing a longstanding demand from the app’s community.
Pestle originally emerged from Bishop’s frustration with traditional recipe websites cluttered with ads and lengthy narratives. His solution was to create an app that simplifies the process of saving and organizing recipes. Users can easily save recipes from the web into Pestle by tapping the “Share” button on their iOS browser, making it a convenient digital recipe database.
Beyond its core functionality, Pestle offers robust features such as meal planning, shopping list creation with Apple Reminders integration, voice command navigation, and even hands-free cooking via Apple’s SharePlay feature on FaceTime. This holistic approach makes Pestle not just a recipe repository, but a comprehensive cooking companion.
For Bishop, integrating a feature to save recipes from Instagram was initially daunting due to the diverse formats in which recipes are presented. Instead of relying on third-party AI like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, which can be slow and privacy-sensitive, Bishop opted for on-device machine learning. This decision ensures faster processing times and greater control over user data privacy.
To use the new Instagram Reels feature, users simply share the Reel with Pestle, mirroring the seamless process used for web recipes. The updated version of Pestle is available as a free download on the iOS App Store, with additional features unlocked for subscribers. Subscribers enjoy access to a discover section for culinary inspiration, 14-day meal planning assistance, and more, making Pestle a must-have tool for cooking enthusiasts everywhere.
