Why RecipeMirror does that
The reasoning behind the things the app says. Screens link here rather than explaining themselves every time.
Why is an amount left blank?
Because the source did not give one. If a video says “a little oil”, the guide says “a little oil” — turning that into 15 ml would be RecipeMirror inventing a fact and handing it to you as though the cook in the video had said it.
It never blocks you. Cook now and judge it at the pan, which is what you would do anyway — and what you used is remembered for next time.
It never blocks you. Cook now and judge it at the pan, which is what you would do anyway — and what you used is remembered for next time.
What is the difference between “the cook never said” and “could not read”?
Two different failures, and RecipeMirror will not blur them.
The cook never said — the source really was silent. “A little oil.” Nothing to read.
Could not read — the source stated an amount and RecipeMirror failed to understand the unit. “2 garlic cloves” is a real amount; we could not turn it into a measurement. Saying the source was silent about it would be a false claim about somebody else’s recipe.
The cook never said — the source really was silent. “A little oil.” Nothing to read.
Could not read — the source stated an amount and RecipeMirror failed to understand the unit. “2 garlic cloves” is a real amount; we could not turn it into a measurement. Saying the source was silent about it would be a false claim about somebody else’s recipe.
Why are salt, oil and garnish treated differently?
Because cooks leave those open on purpose. A recipe that says “season to taste” is not missing information — it is telling you the amount is yours. RecipeMirror still shows that no figure was given, but it will not stand in front of you demanding one before you start.
Why is there no share button on a family recording?
Because that consent was for private analysis on your account — not for sending the guide on. Before the microphone opens you confirm that everyone being recorded is happy for RecipeMirror to capture the recipe; that confirmation is kept with the recording for our records, and having permission stays your responsibility.
The recording is never published. Hiding share is how that promise is kept, rather than offering a button and hoping nobody presses it.
The recording is never published. Hiding share is how that promise is kept, rather than offering a button and hoping nobody presses it.
What does “provisional” mean?
The guide was built from one demonstration and has not been validated by repeated cooking. It is RecipeMirror’s reading of what one person did once.
That matters most for allergies and food safety: an extracted amount may be incomplete or wrong, and it is not a substitute for checking a label or a temperature yourself.
That matters most for allergies and food safety: an extracted amount may be incomplete or wrong, and it is not a substitute for checking a label or a temperature yourself.
Why can I sometimes not jump to the original?
Show Original takes you to the exact moment a step happens. It needs RecipeMirror to have located that step in the video — and sometimes it cannot, or there is no video at all because the recipe came from a page, a photograph or your own typing.
Where the moment is not known, no button is offered. Jumping you to a guessed timestamp would look like evidence and be nothing of the kind.
Where the moment is not known, no button is offered. Jumping you to a guessed timestamp would look like evidence and be nothing of the kind.
What is a “preparation”, and why is it limited?
Preparing is RecipeMirror reading a source and building a guide from it. That is the part that costs real money — a model reading a video — so it is metered at 15 a month, resetting each calendar month.
Saving a link costs nothing. Cooking costs nothing, however many times. A photo RecipeMirror cannot read costs nothing either.
Saving a link costs nothing. Cooking costs nothing, however many times. A photo RecipeMirror cannot read costs nothing either.
What happens when I correct an amount?
It becomes yours. Your correction sits above the reading and is never overwritten by a later pass. If RecipeMirror re-reads the source and disagrees with you, it shows you the difference and asks — it does not quietly replace what you established.
How is a calorie figure worked out?
From what went in and what came out — not from a photograph of the plate. A photo can name the foods; it cannot weigh them, and RecipeMirror will not pretend otherwise.
Weigh the pan empty, then full at the end. That one number turns a raw total into calories per 100 g of what you actually eat — the figure every food label uses, and the one no recipe app can work out for you.
Weigh the pan empty, then full at the end. That one number turns a raw total into calories per 100 g of what you actually eat — the figure every food label uses, and the one no recipe app can work out for you.
What does scaling change, and what does it leave alone?
Amounts only, rounded to something a kitchen can measure.
Times, heat and the pan stay exactly as they were. A bigger batch does not want a hotter hob or proportionally longer — if you double a curry, brown in batches rather than stretching the same pan. Scaling those automatically is how a recipe gets ruined by arithmetic.
Times, heat and the pan stay exactly as they were. A bigger batch does not want a hotter hob or proportionally longer — if you double a curry, brown in batches rather than stretching the same pan. Scaling those automatically is how a recipe gets ruined by arithmetic.
Why does RecipeMirror want to know my pans?
Capacity is what decides whether a recipe fits. With your pans recorded, RecipeMirror warns you before you pour two litres into a one-litre pan, and tells you what to use instead when a source names something you have not got.
What is in the export of my data?
Everything RecipeMirror holds for you, as a file: your sources, guides, corrections, cooking history and lists.
Not the original videos — RecipeMirror never held those, it reads them where they live.
Not the original videos — RecipeMirror never held those, it reads them where they live.
Where do the shopping suggestions come from?
Only from your own past lists and the ingredients in your own dishes. Never from a list of foods RecipeMirror wrote — that would be guesswork, and it would only be in English.
Nothing you type is sent anywhere to produce them.
Nothing you type is sent anywhere to produce them.
What can RecipeMirror actually notify me about?
A cook timer reaching zero. The alert shows the source’s own cue — “check the colour”, not “your timer finished”. It works while RecipeMirror is open in a tab; close the tab, or let the phone put the page to sleep, and it may not arrive.
A source still being read. The bell lights up inside the app. That is a mark on the screen, not a phone notification.
Nothing else. No email, no marketing, no alert from a server. There is no push queue, so RecipeMirror does not pretend a finished reading will find you once you have left.
A source still being read. The bell lights up inside the app. That is a mark on the screen, not a phone notification.
Nothing else. No email, no marketing, no alert from a server. There is no push queue, so RecipeMirror does not pretend a finished reading will find you once you have left.
What happens to a photo of a page?
It is read and dropped inside the request. No copy is kept — a photograph of a cookbook page is somebody else’s work, and there is nothing to re-read anyway because the page is still on your table.
If any line is not sharp, the whole photo is refused rather than half-read. Blur is not local: the amounts that look fine were read from the same pixels.
If any line is not sharp, the whole photo is refused rather than half-read. Blur is not local: the amounts that look fine were read from the same pixels.