Cook'n with Betty Crocker Reviewer's Comments
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Cook’n with Betty Crocker is as close as you will get to a cookbook: you’ll see terms like bookshelf where the cookbooks are located—click for specific chapters, click again for recipes. You won’t thumb through pages, but it will feel familiar. Photos are big and beautiful. Convenient, automated features like generating a grocery list, give it advantages over the traditional cookbook. You'll get a recipes from just one Betty Crocker Cookbook, so if you want a broader selection of reliable favorites, try our #4 rated product Cook'n with Betty Crocker Deluxe.
Cook'n with Betty Crocker Screenshots. Click to Enlarge
Ease of Use:
The first time you use Cook'n with Betty Crocker you'll feel at home. The program comes with helpful video tutorials that cover all of the basics. Intuitive navigation will allow you to move easily from one step to the next. Easily move recipes to different chapters with the drag and drop feature.
Cook'n with Betty Crocker is structured like a cookbook, divided into chapters like breakfast, lunch, dinner, appetizers, and desserts. Use the search function to filter the recipes by keywords or ingredients so you can find the recipe you want. Note: you will encounter the same problem with searching as in the deluxe version.
Recipe Manager:
The recipe manager is the core of cookbook and recipe software, and Cook'n with Betty Crocker does an excellent job.
Each recipe is divided into three separate sections: view, edit and picture. You can edit any of the recipes that come with the program, downloaded recipes and add your own.
The recipe manager also has auto-fill, to make entering recipes fast. The software will automatically find the nutritional value for each recipe as long as you use the ingredients that the program recognizes. You'll be able to generate grocery lists and create weekly menus.
Menu Planner:
Click on the menu planner icon and you'll have a huge database of information and the best meal planning system available at your fingertips. You could literally plan your meals for an entire year. This would be especially helpful for people with special dietary needs like athletes, diabetics or those who are on a special diet.
For each day, you can enter a breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks and more by simply dragging the recipe to the desired meal. The software will calculate the nutritional value and take into consideration brand names like Viva milk or Wonder bread. When it's time to do your grocery shopping, the meal planner will compile a grocery list and group the foods according to where you'll find them in the market.
Feature Set:
Betty Crocker recipes are reliable, simple and traditional. Cook’n with Betty Crocker comes with the best recipes from "The Big Red Cookbook", and a sampling of recipes from Betty Crocker's Bisquick Cookbook.
Automatically adjust recipes according to the number of people you're going to serve. Great for biscuits, but you'll need a larger pan for brownies.
Share your recipes in several ways: print on recipe cards or full sized paper or email them. A simple backup procedure so you don't lose your files.
Bonus Feature
Friendly and helpful videos presented by founder Dan Oaks and his wife Kathy.
Ease of Installation:
We didn't have any problems during the installation of the program.
Help/Support:
The manufacturer of Cook'n with Betty Crocker is dedicated to answering any questions or concerns you have with the program as quickly as possible. They offer email, phone and live chat so you can reach customer service a number of different ways. Customer service answered our email within minutes. When the program first loads, you can watch a video tutorial that will explain how to use the software and give you some helpful cooking tips and tricks.
Summary:
Cook'n with Betty Crocker is an adequate starter program. Reliable recipes, big photographs to help with presentation and friendly tutorials will boost the beginner's confidence in the kitchen. Want more recipes? Try Cook'n with Betty Crocker Deluxe with more than double the recipes ... you'll be off to a great start.
©2008 TopTenREVIEWS, Inc.
