This ain't your bubbe's cookbook

New kosher cookbook for the iPhone

By Etta Chinskey Issue of Oct. 2, 2009 / 14 Tishrei 5770 Some iPhone users may swear their phone does everything but the dishes. The popular Apple cellular phone still can't do dishes but it can cook. Kosher. Just in time to cook for everyone who can squeeze into your sukkah, there's a new application for the iPhone and iPod touch called Kosher Cookbook. It offers 300 kosher recipes by gourmet chef and food writer Gloria Kobrin, shopping list plans and 50 customized meal plans for Shabbos and Yom Tov. Users can search for recipes by ingredients or by food type, ranging from tofu to pasta to all types of meat ("except pork," one oddly disappointed reviewer noted on the iTunes store). Personal meal plans can be constructed based on favorite recipes, and dishes can be sorted by serving size. Harried Erev Shabbos shoppers can access recipes and revise shopping lists (viewable by store aisle or by recipe) right in the produce section. Local shoppers have an added advantage as the application is supported by Brach's Supermarket. Kosher Cookbook is the creation of Alex Libkind of North Woodmere. He's the CEO of Valley Stream-based APPsolute Media, where the application was developed and where the cookbook is updated regularly, According to Libkind, new dishes and images are added daily. "What we discovered is that the iPhone is an absolutely new platform for the on-the-go consumer," said Libkind. "Why I really pushed the Kosher Cookbook on the iPhone is that it's an appliance. You can go to this phone and do exactly what you want, whether it's to find directions, a movie or a recipe." Libkind founded APPsolute Media this year. He also co-founded Zodiac Interactive, an Emmy award-winning company that built the user-interface for iO digital television. He hopes to feature other cookbook authors in Cookshelf, the platform used for Kosher Cookbook, and is currently in talks with publishers to use either entire books or samples in the app. A cookbook for the iPhone is a logical step, according to Kobrin. "Many young people don't have large cooking spaces, so having this small machine is very efficient and leaves you room for many other things," she explained. "As both a busy mom and a personal chef, I've got to say this could really save me time," said Jordana Hirschel, a gourmet chef based out of Long Island, "Cookshelf" is available for $4.99 at the iTunes store. The online reviews have been positive so far and the application has made it to iTunes' coveted "Hot List". "The best organized app ever" one user declared. Moshe Kimmel, a 19-year old aspiring chef from Far Rockaway was impressed by the idea. "It leaves more room on the counter for the ingredients and helps you not to carry a big pad of paper in the supermarket," he said. He was disappointed that Sprint, his phone carrier, doesn't offer the iPhone. "It makes me want one," he said.

— Additional reporting by Stephen Bronner