Recipe app Pestle is rolling out a new feature that uses AI to automatically turn your favorite TikTok recipe videos into detailed step-by-step instructions.
This new feature handles video captions, where creators tend to document ingredient lists and instructions, but is powered by on-device machine learning rather than using a third-party AI provider. This feature is similar to Pestle, which was released for Instagram Reels earlier this summer.
Pestle's recipe app and cooking assistant, launched in 2022 by developer Will Bishop, makes it easy to save recipes you find on the web, just like any other app in its field. You can also use voice commands to create shopping lists, meal plans, and cook hands-free.
But Pestle users have long been asking for a way to save the recipes they find on social media, given how many cooking videos they get inspiration from. Bishop said he initially objected to the idea because recipes on social media can be written in so many different ways that they would be difficult to parse without the use of AI. Ta. Bishop also did not want to integrate with third-party solutions like ChatGPT due to concerns about processing time and OpenAI's relationship to privacy. Instead, he started looking at how on-device machine learning could process the job, and how on-device processing could speed up the process.
As a result, this summer Bishop added the ability to convert Instagram Reels videos into saved recipes to Pestle. Now, the same feature is coming to TikTok.
Already, the social video app's popularity has seen recipes such as mac and cheese that “broke the internet”, baked feta pasta that was dubbed “deserving of the hype” and, more recently, a variety of other recipes making the rounds online. Eat cucumber. Now you can save these and other TikTok viral recipes directly to the Pestle app while scrolling through the video app.
Image credit: Pestle
To use this feature, share a video from TikTok using Pestle, just like you would save a link on the web. The app then imports recipe information, including ingredient lists, instructions, and, in this update, nutritional information.
This feature comes along with another update that allows users to save “recipe notes” such as tips and substitutions that the recipe author mentions on the recipe website (Pestle notes). These details are now available on your first import from top sites like Allrecipes and Australia's RecipeTin Eats.
The Pestle app is available for free download from the iOS App Store. Paid subscribers have access to enhanced features such as a Discover section for cooking inspiration, 14-day meal planning support, and shopping lists integrated with Apple Reminders.