Customer Reviews (500)

I luv potato’s • 2025-03-20T14:40:51-07:00

The app doesn’t let me save or bookmark recipes-why?

JuulesK • 2025-03-20T13:55:25-07:00

I have really enjoyed the recipes. They’re well written and have great explanations. It’s also nice to see other comments.

Cottager1950 • 2025-03-19T07:18:38-07:00

I enjoy cooking with this app now that I’m retired and no longer need to cook everyday. I’ve learned so much about other cuisines and methods of cooking. The selection of recipes is vast, and they are usually extremely well explained and tested. The comments are invaluable

Summary of Key Insights

The NYT Cooking app is generally well-received for its extensive recipe collection, reliable recipes, and helpful user comments. However, recent updates introducing autoplay videos and Instacart integration have generated significant user dissatisfaction. Many users express frustration with ads, connection issues, disappearing saved recipes, and a lack of essential features like scaling recipes and advanced filtering options. The sentiment is mixed, with many loyal users appreciating the content but criticizing the app's functionality and recent changes.

Key Strengths:

  • Vast and diverse recipe collection
  • Reliable and well-tested recipes
  • Helpful user comments and tips
  • Clean and user-friendly interface (historically)
  • Inspiration for cooking and meal planning

Key Weaknesses:

  • Intrusive ads, especially for paying subscribers
  • Autoplaying videos disrupting audio and user experience
  • Connection issues and bugs affecting saving and sharing recipes
  • Loss of saved recipes and notes
  • Limited filtering and search capabilities
  • Lack of recipe scaling and measurement conversion
  • Poor grocery list functionality
  • Apple Watch app issues
  • Printing issues on iPad

Overall Sentiment: Mixed. While the content is highly valued, the app's usability and recent changes are drawing criticism.

Quantitative Metrics:

  • Overall Rating: N/A (Calculated from score distribution: ~4.03 stars)
  • Score Distribution: 1-star (16.8%), 2-star (10.2%), 3-star (9.8%), 4-star (10.2%), 5-star (53%)

Data & Methodology Overview

  • Data Sample Size: 500 reviews
  • Time Frame: Not explicitly stated, but based on the review content, the reviews span from recent updates to historical experiences.
  • Analysis Methods:
    • Sentiment Analysis (manual): Categorizing reviews as positive, negative, or neutral based on expressed opinions.
    • Keyword Extraction: Identifying frequently used words and phrases to pinpoint recurring themes and issues.
    • Frequency Analysis: Counting mentions of specific features, bugs, and requests to prioritize issues.

Key User Pain Points

  • Ads for Paying Subscribers: Many users express strong dissatisfaction with the presence of ads despite paying for a subscription. Impact: Degrades user experience, feels like a bait-and-switch tactic.
  • Autoplaying Videos: Autoplaying videos are a major source of annoyance, disrupting audio from other apps and consuming bandwidth. Impact: Frustrates users, makes the app less enjoyable to browse, and potentially increases data usage.
  • Connection Issues: Users frequently report problems with saving recipes, sharing recipes, and accessing their saved recipe boxes, often encountering "We're working on our connection" errors. Impact: Prevents users from fully utilizing the app's core features, leading to frustration and potential subscription cancellation.
  • Loss of Saved Recipes/Notes: Several users report losing their saved recipes and private notes after updates. Impact: Erodes trust in the app, discourages users from investing time in organizing their recipes.
  • Poor Grocery List Functionality: The Instacart integration has negatively impacted the grocery list feature, making it less functional and more ad-driven. Impact: Hinders meal planning, makes grocery shopping less efficient, and promotes unwanted Instacart usage.
  • Limited Filtering/Search: Users desire more advanced filtering options, such as filtering by multiple criteria (e.g., meal type and vegetarian) or searching for recipes based on available ingredients. Impact: Makes it difficult to find relevant recipes, reduces the app's usefulness for specific dietary needs or pantry constraints.
  • Lack of Recipe Scaling: Many users want the ability to easily scale recipes up or down to adjust serving sizes. Impact: Limits the app's usability for smaller households or for those who want to prepare larger batches.
  • Apple Watch App Issues: Many users report the Apple Watch app not functioning correctly for extended periods. Impact: Negatively impacts the overall user experience for Apple Watch users.

Frequently Requested Features

  • Advanced Filtering: Ability to filter by multiple criteria, ingredients, and dietary restrictions.
  • Recipe Scaling: Automatic adjustment of ingredient quantities based on desired serving size.
  • Measurement Conversion: Option to display measurements in metric units.
  • Enhanced Grocery List: Combined grocery list across multiple recipes, organized by grocery store section, and ability to export the list.
  • Improved Note-Taking: Enhanced note-taking features with search and organization capabilities.
  • Option to Disable Autoplay Videos: A setting to turn off autoplaying videos.
  • Print Recipe Photo Option: Ability to print the recipe photo along with the recipe instructions.

Strengths and Positive Aspects

  • Extensive Recipe Collection: Users praise the vast and diverse selection of recipes, covering a wide range of cuisines and dietary needs.
  • Reliable Recipes: The recipes are generally considered well-tested and reliable, producing consistently good results.
  • Helpful User Comments: The comments section is a valuable resource for tips, modifications, and advice from other cooks.
  • Clean Interface: Many users appreciate the app's clean and user-friendly interface, although recent updates have introduced clutter.
  • Inspiration: The app provides inspiration for cooking and meal planning, helping users discover new dishes and expand their culinary horizons.
  • Recipe Organization: The ability to save and organize recipes into folders is a popular feature.
  • "Screen Stays On" Feature: The "Start Cooking" feature, which prevents the screen from locking, is appreciated by many users.

Prioritized Action Recommendations

High Priority:

  • Remove Ads for Paying Subscribers: Immediately eliminate ads for users who pay for a subscription to improve user satisfaction and retain subscribers.
  • Provide Option to Disable Autoplay Videos: Implement a setting to disable autoplaying videos to address the widespread annoyance and bandwidth concerns.
  • Fix Connection Issues: Investigate and resolve the persistent connection issues that prevent users from saving and sharing recipes.
  • Address Loss of Saved Recipes/Notes: Implement measures to prevent data loss and restore lost recipes and notes to affected users.
  • Re-evaluate Instacart Integration: Either remove the Instacart integration or provide an option to disable it and restore the original grocery list functionality.

Medium Priority:

  • Implement Advanced Filtering: Add more sophisticated filtering options, allowing users to filter by multiple criteria, ingredients, and dietary restrictions.
  • Add Recipe Scaling: Develop a feature to automatically scale recipes based on desired serving size.
  • Enhance Grocery List Functionality: Improve the grocery list feature to combine ingredients across multiple recipes, organize by grocery store section, and allow for easy export.
  • Improve Apple Watch App: Fix the ongoing issues with the Apple Watch app to provide a consistent user experience.
  • Address iPad Printing Issues: Investigate and resolve the printing problems on iPads, ensuring recipes print correctly.

Low Priority:

  • Add Measurement Conversion: Implement an option to display measurements in metric units.
  • Enhance Note-Taking Features: Add search and organization capabilities to the note-taking feature.
  • Add Print Recipe Photo Option: Allow users to print the recipe photo along with the instructions.

Opportunities for Startup Ideas

  • AI-Powered Recipe Recommendation Engine: A personalized recipe recommendation engine that takes into account user preferences, dietary restrictions, available ingredients, and skill level.
  • Smart Grocery List App: An app that automatically combines ingredients from multiple recipes, organizes them by grocery store section, and provides real-time price comparisons.
  • Interactive Cooking Assistant: An app that provides step-by-step cooking instructions with voice guidance, video demonstrations, and real-time feedback.
  • Recipe Scaling and Conversion Tool: A standalone app that allows users to easily scale recipes up or down and convert between different measurement units.

Trends and Observations

  • Negative Sentiment Towards Recent Updates: The introduction of autoplay videos and the Instacart integration have triggered a significant wave of negative feedback.
  • Loyalty to Content: Despite the app's shortcomings, many users remain loyal due to the high quality of the NYT Cooking recipes.
  • Value of User Comments: The user comments section is consistently praised as a valuable resource for tips and advice.
  • Feature Creep: Users are wary of features that seem more focused on monetization (e.g., Instacart integration) than on improving the core cooking experience.

Conclusion

The NYT Cooking app has a strong foundation in its extensive recipe collection and reliable content. However, recent updates have introduced significant usability issues and monetization strategies that are alienating users. To maintain its position as a leading cooking app, NYT needs to prioritize addressing the key pain points identified in this analysis, focusing on removing intrusive ads, fixing technical issues, and enhancing core features like filtering, scaling, and grocery list management. By focusing on user experience and content quality, NYT can regain user trust and ensure the app's continued success.

Overall Recommendation: Prioritize fixing the high-priority issues and focus on improving the user experience to retain subscribers and attract new users.

Original App Link

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/nyt-cooking-recipes-tips/id911422904?uo=2