Pestle App Now Uses On-Device AI to Save Recipes from Reels Effortlessly

The recipe app and cooking assistant Pestle is embracing artificial intelligence to streamline the process of saving recipes from social media. Notably, it does this without relying on OpenAI’s ChatGPT technology. Pestle's latest feature allows users to import recipes directly from Instagram Reels, utilizing on-device machine learning for quick processing and effortless saving to their collections.

According to Will Bishop, Pestle's developer, this new addition lets users save recipes from Reels "nearly instantaneously."

Launched in 2022, Pestle was born out of Bishop's desire to combat the frustrating experience of exploring recipes online. Many recipe websites are cluttered with advertisements and lengthy narratives, often relegating the actual recipe to the bottom of the page. Bishop initially resorted to copying recipes into Apple’s Notes app, where he would customize them. However, this approach lacked organization since Notes wasn’t intended as a dedicated recipe database.

This inspired the creation of Pestle, which allows users to save recipes seamlessly from web browsers by tapping the “Share” button and selecting the Pestle app. Beyond just importing and organizing recipes, Pestle offers features like meal planning, shopping list creation, tracking new recipes from favorite creators, and cooking hands-free or with remote friends via Apple’s SharePlay on FaceTime.

While the capability to save recipes from the web addressed one common frustration, users consistently requested a way to capture recipes from Instagram as well, Bishop explains.

“I had always hesitated, as recipes can be described in so many unique ways,” he shares. “Attempting to analyze all that felt like an overwhelming challenge. Other recipe apps have tried similar solutions, but many depend on ChatGPT, causing users to wait up to a minute for a response.”

Bishop preferred not to integrate with ChatGPT for several reasons, including processing delays and privacy concerns related to OpenAI. Additionally, relying on a third party for parsing could lead to downtime, limiting Pestle’s ability to optimize its responses until an improved model from OpenAI became available.

This motivated Bishop to explore on-device machine learning, allowing for faster processing while maintaining control over the system. “The slowest part is the request to fetch the Reel’s caption; the actual processing takes just about a tenth of a second,” he reveals.

To leverage this new feature, users simply share an Instagram Reel with Pestle, just as they would save recipes from the web. Bishop also highlights that the app can import any plain-text recipe.

The updated version of Pestle is now available as a free download on the iOS App Store. Subscribers gain access to additional features, including a discovery section for cooking inspiration, 14-day meal planning support, Apple Reminders integration for shopping lists, and more.