Cooking is generally considered a chore that we do out of necessity: to feed this body of ours. The task is all the more resented because there are hundreds of fun activities we could be doing instead of cooking. But cooking can be fun and rewarding too. Indeed cooking can be considered a form of art; art we create and consume–literally–ourselves.
True, cooking can indeed be overwhelming, especially for those who are new to cooking or have busy schedules. But we can make it an enjoyable activity. And fortunately, we can use ChatGPT for cooking assistance to make the task easier and more palatable.
ChatGPT can provide assistance with everything from recipes to meal planning. Whether you’re looking for new ideas for dinner or need help sticking to a healthy eating plan, ChatGPT can provide personalised guidance and support. In this article, we’ll explore some of the ways ChatGPT can assist with cooking and how it can help make your life easier in the kitchen.
Ways to use ChatGPT for cooking assistance
We can use ChatGPT for cooking assistance in a number of ways. The fact that we can interact with it in a conversational way means that we can ask for every minute detail help that we may need in the process of cooking and it’ll give fairly good answers.
Let us explore some of the ways we can use ChatGT for cooking assistance.
1. Recipe suggestions
ChatGPT is a great tool for getting recipes. It can suggest all kinds of recipes. It can provide recipe suggestions that are tailored to your needs and preferences, making it easier to find the perfect meal for any occasion.
ChatGPT can suggest recipes based on the ingredients we specify, meal types, dietary requirements, flavour profile, cooking time and so on.
Below are some examples of using ChatGPT for cooking assistance to generate recipes.
Recipe suggestions based on ingredients
Tell ChatGPT what ingredients you have on hand, and it can suggest recipes that use those ingredients.
I have chicken, broccoli, tomato, onion and rice. What can I make for dinner?
You can also give more specific instructions with specific details about dietary requirements.
Give me a healthy recipe that makes three servings of 500 calories each, has at least 25g protein, 10g fibre, and less than 20g fat. It should take less than 30 minutes to prepare.
Recipe suggestions based on dietary preferences
Let ChatGPT know if you have any dietary restrictions or preferences, such as gluten-free, vegan, or low-carb, and it will suggest recipes that fit your needs.
I’m looking for vegan recipes that are high in protein and low in carbs. Can you suggest me one?
Recipe suggestions based on meal type
Specify the meal type you’re looking for–breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a snack–and ChatGPT will suggest recipes appropriate for that meal.
I want a spicy dish for dinner. What recipe can you recommend?
Recipe suggestions based on cooking time
If you’re short on time, tell ChatGPT how much time you have to cook, and it can suggest recipes that can be prepared quickly
I only have 30 minutes to cook, what are some quick and easy dinner recipes?
2. Ingredient substitutions
If asking a chatbot for recipes is not your cup of tea and you prefer getting it from cooking websites, then in this case too, you can suitably employ ChatGPT. You can ask it to translate recipes, substitute ingredients in the recipe, and convert the units to a more digestible metric.
Can you translate this recipe from Japanese to English and convert the units to the imperial system?
[Paste the recipe here]
If you don’t have a particular ingredient or want to omit specific ingredients from the recipe, you can ask ChatGPT to suggest you alternatives.
Can you help me modify this recipe to be gluten-free?
[Recipe here]
What can I substitute buttermilk with in this recipe?
[Recipe]
Related: How to Write Effective Emails with ChatGPT: Tips and Tricks
3. Cooking techniques
ChatGPT can be helpful in guiding you through certain cooking techniques. It can provide you step-by-step instructions, explain unfamiliar cooking terms, suggest alternative techniques to help you achieve similar results, and even provide troubleshooting tips should things go awry.
Say, you want to learn more about grilling. You can ask specific questions about grilling and ChatGPT will provide you with sound, practical advice.
What’s the best way to season and marinate meat for the grill?
How can I tell when my meat is done grilling?
What’s the best way to prevent meat from sticking to the grill?
4. Cooking times and temperatures
We can also use ChatGPT for cooking assistance to provide us with information on the appropriate cooking times and temperatures of different types of food.
Although cooking times and temperatures can vary based on factors such as the size and shape of the food, the booking method used, and the equipment used, it can provide general guidelines for cooking times and temperatures.
How long should I cook chicken on the grill and at what temperature?
What’s the recommended cooking time for making a pot roast in a slow cooker?
5. Nutritional information
ChatGPT can also give basic nutritional information for a specific recipe or dish–the calorific value, fat and sugar content, and so on.
We need to note that the nutritional information it gives will not always be accurate–but it will confidently state it with no hint of whatever that it may be inaccurate. So you need to cross-check the results, especially if you’re on a strict diet.
You can ask for more information that you want to know about a specific recipe.
Related: How to Import Nutritional Information to Google Sheets
6. Meal planning
Creating a meal plan, though a simple task in itself, often requires more than a considerable amount of effort. With ChatGPT’s assistance, though, we can create a suitable meal plan in a couple of minutes.
ChatGPT can help you create a meal plan for the week, taking into account your preferences, dietary requirements, and time constraints.
Create a 5-day meal plan, including 2 vegetarian dishes, one pork dish, and one chicken dish.
You can then ask ChatGPT for the recipe for each of the meal; or you can ask the recipe for a specific meal.
You can modify the parameters to avoid the food you don’t like, are allergic to, or are avoiding for dietary reasons, etc.
Create a weekly meal plan for two. Do not include eggs, onions, rice, any pickles, or tuna. Ingredients may be reused to minimise groceries.
If you are an overscrupulous person and want a meticulous meal plan, you can specify your BMI, your calorific intake requirements, and so on. ChatGPT will give you a meal plan accordingly.
Can you make a meal plan for a 40-year-old man with a BMI of 20.8? The plan should help lower cholesterol and BMI and needs to be inexpensive, healthy, and natural and provides the necessary daily intake of calories, vitamins, proteins, fats and carbs.
Related: How to Use ChatGPT to Master Excel and Google Sheets
7. Grocery shopping
After you’ve got the recipes and your meal plan, you can ask ChatGPT to give you a grocery list. With ChatGPT creating a grocery list becomes a piece of cake.
Create a grocery list of the above meal plan. Include the quantities. Also specify in which section of the store the items can be found.
Or you can ask for a grocery list for a specific dish.
8. Food and flavour pairing
We can ask ChatGPT to give us suggestions for pairing ingredients and flavours to create a balanced and delicious meal. It can offer insights on how to use different herbs, spices and seasonings to enhance the flavours of your dish. It can also suggest ingredient substitutions to create new flavour combinations.
You can ask specific questions related to food and flavour combinations and it’ll provide recommendations and suggestions using its expansive culinary knowledge.
It can also help you choose the best sauce for your pork tenderloin.
9. Recipe scaling
You can also use ChatGPT to adjust the quantities of the ingredients in a recipe to make more or less servings while ensuring that the recipe remains consistent and accurate.
It can also provide suggestions for regulating the cooking time and temperature based on the changes in the quantities of ingredients as well as advice on how to adjust seasoning and spices to maintain the desired flavour in the recipe.
I want to make a recipe that calls for 1 pound of chicken, but I only have 1/2 pound. Can you help me adjust the other ingredient quantities accordingly?
10. Troubleshooting
And finally, as with life, some things will inevitably go wrong with cooking. Whether it’s the oven malfunctioning (or rather, not co-operating), the oil temperature being too low or too high, or the meat refusing to be cooked, one of the hundreds of ways things can go wrong will throw an egg at us.
When that happens (better if before but the permutation of things not working out properly is near infinite, so we can’t possibly be prepared for all botched cooking scenarios), we can ask ChatGPT for assistance.
But let’s ask ChatGPT for some cooking advice.
Can you give me some troubleshooting advice on roasting a turkey?
If you encounter specific problems during cooking and don’t quite know what to do, you can ask ChatGPT to assist you.
There are many other ways you can use ChatGPT for cooking assistance but we’ll end the list here; as there are other things we need to cook. The use cases mentioned here will, hopefully, help you get better at using ChatGPT to help you cook a delicious and healthy meal.
If you’re interested in learning more about how to use ChatGPT for your other tasks such as writing emails, working with Excel and Google Sheets, and learning a foreign language, visit our blog.
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