Quick answer: While cooking, speak a recipe note in three parts: “Title → what I changed → verdict.” If you want more structure, add ingredients and timings. The goal is to capture tweaks in the moment, because later you will forget the exact amount.
The problem with “I’ll remember what I did”
Cooking is full of micro-decisions:
- add more acid
- cut the heat
- swap an ingredient
- cook 2 minutes longer
Those decisions are why the dish worked. And they’re exactly what you forget.
Typing with wet hands is miserable, so you don’t do it. Voice is the right interface for the kitchen.
The most thorough comparison of recipe managers on Reddit judged Paprika, Whisk, Yummly and Recipe Keeper almost entirely on how well they import and parse someone else's recipe. Voice barely features: Paprika gets credit for Siri integration and SuperCook for quick voice entry of pantry items. Nothing in the roundup is built for the thing that actually matters at the stove, which is capturing the change you just made. And there is a reason a grandmother's custom cookbook of her own recipes drew eight thousand upvotes. The personal tweaks are what make a recipe worth keeping. Voice captures those while your hands are busy.
The voice recipe note that actually gets used
Use this template every time.
1) Title
Say:
- dish name
- a tag
- optional date
Example:
Title: Weeknight tomato pasta [repeat].
2) Ingredients (optional, only if you changed something)
Don’t list everything. Only capture the parts you’ll need next time:
- substitutions
- new ingredients
- ratios
Example:
Swapped heavy cream for Greek yogurt. Added 1 tsp smoked paprika.
3) Timings + tweaks (the important part)
Speak what you actually did:
- “Cooked onions 12 minutes, not 5.”
- “Added lemon at the end, not during cooking.”
- “Baked 8 minutes longer because center was wet.”
- “Next time: half the salt.”
4) Verdict
End with:
- one sentence verdict
- whether you’d repeat
Example:
Tastes great, but a bit too salty. Repeat, but cut salt by 30%.
That’s a complete recipe note.
A folder structure that stays tidy
Recipes/Dinner/Baking/Sauces/
Inside each folder, keep one Markdown file per recipe:
tomato-pasta.mdbanana-bread.mdchimichurri.md
If you cook the dish again, append a new “Run #2” section.
The “cook with me” workflow (hands-free)
Option A: Siri phrase
Set a phrase like:
- “Recipe note”
- “Cooking log”
Then speak while you stir.
Related: creating a Siri phrase to start Brain Dump
Option B: One running note per week
If you try a lot of recipes, keep a weekly note and add quick blocks:
## 2025-12-25: Tomato pasta [repeat]
- Change: Greek yogurt instead of cream
- Time: onions 12 min
- Next: cut salt by 30%
Related: a Shortcut that appends to your last note
Troubleshooting
- Kitchen noise ruins dictation: get closer to the mic and speak in short sentences.
- You don’t want a wall of text: enforce “Title → tweak → verdict.” Nothing else required.
- You forget which file to use: name the file after the dish and keep it in one folder.
Related
- voice journaling scripts for iPhone (use the same structure habit)
- organizing notes with iCloud topic folders
- how privacy works with on-device AI