Already have a recipe written somewhere else?
Use the Ingredient Importer to quickly bring its ingredients into Cookaborough instead of adding them one by one.
Add your existing recipe from a URL, image, file or pasted text, and Cookaborough will identify the ingredients and suggest matches for you to review before adding them to your recipe.
Beta: The AI Ingredient Importer gives you a head start, but you'll still need to check the suggested ingredients before importing them.
What can I import?
You can import ingredients from:
- a URL
- an image
- a file
- text you copy and paste
The importer focuses on your ingredients. It doesn't currently import other recipe information such as your recipe name, description or instructions.
For help setting up the rest of your recipe, read Create and edit a recipe.
1. Open the Ingredient Importer
From your recipe, go to Ingredients and select Import ingredients.
If you've already added ingredients, you can also find Import ingredients by selecting Edit ingredients.
2. Add your recipe
Choose how you'd like to provide your existing recipe:
- URL – add a link to an online recipe
- Image – upload an image of your recipe
- File – upload a recipe file
- Text – copy and paste your recipe
Add your recipe and follow the prompts to continue.
Cookaborough will scan what you've provided and identify the ingredients it can find.
3. Review the suggested ingredients
Before anything is added to your recipe, you'll see a list of the ingredients Cookaborough has identified.
For each ingredient, check:
- the suggested ingredient match
- quantity
- unit
- notes
- available allergen information
Where available, you can choose from up to 5 suggested ingredient matches.
Important: Always choose the ingredient that most closely matches what you actually use in your kitchen. The first suggestion won't always be the right one.
If Cookaborough can't confidently identify a quantity, you'll be asked to enter it yourself.
Branded ingredients
Some branded ingredients may be matched to a generic equivalent.
For example, Heinz Ketchup may be matched to Tomato ketchup rather than creating a new branded ingredient.
If you need more help adding or managing ingredients, read Manage ingredients.
4. Make any changes
Before importing, you can:
- choose a different suggested ingredient match
- change the quantity or unit
- edit ingredient notes
- remove ingredients you don't need
- restore an ingredient you've removed
If your original recipe includes ingredient headings, these will also be carried across where possible.
Note: Ingredient headings aren't the same as sub-recipes. If your recipe uses sub-recipes, you'll need to add these separately.
5. Import your ingredients
Once you've reviewed your ingredients, select Import ingredients.
The selected ingredients will be added to your recipe.
You can make further changes to your ingredients after importing if needed.
What happens next?
Once your ingredients have been imported, continue setting up the rest of your recipe.
Your ingredients contribute to other recipe information, including allergens and nutritional information, so make sure you've selected the ingredients that best match what you use.
Read Create and edit a recipe to continue setting up your recipe.
Good to know about the Beta version.
The Ingredient Importer is designed to help you get your ingredients into Cookaborough faster. It is currently in Beta, which means it still has more updates and features being worked on.
It doesn't currently:
- Match ingredients to existing sub-recipes
- Turn ingredient headings into sub-recipes
- Let you search for another ingredient from within the importer if a suitable match isn't suggested
- Automatically add pricing unless pricing already exists for the ingredient
- Import your recipe name, description or instructions
- Create new branded ingredient records from branded ingredients in your source