Half a croissant, on a plate, with a sign in front of it saying '50c'
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Ingredients.com

 A website that will tell you what you can make with the ingredients you have available.
  (+13, -5)(+13, -5)
(+13, -5) 		  [vote for,
against]

I'm not the world's greatest cook, and I typically have a random assortment of produce, meats, spices in my fridge that I don't know how to combine well. When I just look in my cookbooks, I find that I am often missing a key ingredient (or 6). I'd like it if there were a webpage that allowed me to punch in that I have 4 artichokes, and then would ask me a series of guided questions like "Do you have butter?", "Do you have bacon?" and then spit out a series of recipes that I could make with the ingredients I have at hand. This way, I can use my miscellaneous turnips, fava beans, etc, and hopefully learn creative new recipes.

I realize this is similar to the Cooking with Nothing post, but I would rather be questioned as to what I have available -- the idea of entering in (and maintaining) an inventory of my fridge and pantry would take me off the whole idea most likely. I want fast and easy.

—jennyusp, Nov 22 2004

Recipe Finder by ingredients http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/
.. this website allows you to search for recipes with given ingredients [jonthegeologist, Nov 23 2004]

Cooking by Numbers http://www.cookingb...ers.com/frames.html
This does exactly that [ywong, Dec 05 2004]

AllRecipes Ingredient Search http://allrecipes.c...ch/Ingredients.aspx
Search Recipes by Ingredient(s) [paix120, Feb 27 2009]

[link]






       For the last week, I've been playing Kitchen Cabinet Roulette. I haven't bought dinner or ingredients and have just been using whatever I have lying around - - cans of creamed corn, string beans, raman noodles, et cetera. I made biscuits and gravy last night with frozen breakfast sausage, butter-flavored crisco, flour, and water.   

       I think that my meal would have been better with this site. [+]
—contracts, Nov 22 2004
   

       Hello Jenny Unique Selling Point, welcome to the 'bakery.   

       May I take this moment to draw your attention to the "Cooking With Nothing" idea in this very category which is veeery similar to what you have suggested.   

       Edit: I had read Cooking With Nothing as working rather like a search engine, as opposed to a database which requires maintenance. In that light, your idea is different only in relation to the process of entering the ingredients you have into the site forms.   

       If I was being asked if I had ingredients x y z and found myself having to answer no repeatedly, perhaps seeing the dwindling of the number of possibilities represented with each negative answer, until I ended up preparing a meal of mustard-coated Dairy Milk, I would become quite depressed. However, most people are able to stock their larders better than I and may prefer the range of recipies being presented in a more "does this tickle your fancy" stylee.
—calum, Nov 22 2004
   

       I've seen this exact same idea posted before. I think the poster acknowledged the [mfd]baked tags. Foodtv.com had a whole section for this, I don't know if they still have it, though.   

       Edit:
They don't have that section anymore, or at least I can't find it with a five-minute search. So [+].
—Freefall, Nov 22 2004
   

       this website exists. its called google. type in your ingredients plus the word 'recipe'. If you dont get any hits... phone a chinese.
—etherman, Nov 23 2004
   

       What the hell is that supposed to mean?
—bristolz, Nov 23 2004
   

       you talking to me <bris>? I was merely pointing out that Google does this for you. Type in the ingredients and google searches a squillion (approx.) recipe websites. Well thats what I do.
—etherman, Nov 23 2004
   

       I suspect she meant the 'phone a chinese' bit. I know that's the part I'm wondering what the hell it was supposed to mean.
—waugsqueke, Nov 23 2004
   

       My guess: typed "a" instead of "in". At the point that no recipies match the contents of your fridge it's time to call to have food delivered (chinese food, in [ether]'s case).   

       I agree with [jenny]'s arguement that it's cumbersome to try to type all of your ingredients in.
—Worldgineer, Nov 23 2004
   

       Phone a chinese take away is what I meant. If you cant make a recipe out of the contents of your fridge.
—etherman, Nov 24 2004
   

       I say, buy a wok and some peanut oil, stir fry whatever is left in your refrig. Authentic Chinese.
—dentworth, Nov 24 2004
   

       Is stir fried jam and budweiser Cantonese or Szechuan?
—etherman, Nov 24 2004
   

       well I hope you can come up with some rice at least., Cantonese. there's beer or wine in my fried rice recipe.
—dentworth, Nov 24 2004
   

       I have rice crispies. Steam or fry them?
—etherman, Nov 24 2004
   

       fry, uumm I can taste the goodness already.
—dentworth, Nov 24 2004
   

       <chuckles to self about trans-atlantic confusion over phoning a chinese>
—stupop, Nov 24 2004
   

       Yeah, I couldn't get why everyone was so confused. What do they say in America?
—etherman, Nov 25 2004
   

       Enter ingredients   

       > pancake, maple syrup   

       Suggestion: Coq au vin
—etherman, Nov 26 2004
   

       Not sure [etherman], but I imagine it goes something like this:   

       <accent = american (general)>   

       "Hey dude, I've looked in the fridge, we only got Jell-o, twinkies, and mall-rat"   

       "Darn-tootin' cowboy, guess I'm gonna gotta call me in some o dat 'ol Chinese. Yee-hah"
—stupop, Nov 26 2004
   

       (impatient, pedantic moment)"let's order Chinese" or "let's call a Chinese carryout"
—dentworth, Nov 26 2004
   

       get an Indian in.
—po, Nov 26 2004
   

       I had an Italian for dinner.
—spiritualized, Nov 26 2004
   

       who's for a mongolian?
—etherman, Nov 26 2004
   

       I couldn't eat a whole one.
—ConsulFlaminicus, Nov 26 2004
   

       Just order it and put the leftovers on my plate when you're full.
—Pericles, Nov 28 2004
   

       So "small dinner party" huh? I see you decided to feed your cats to your neighbours instead of feeding them to their Great Danes? ;)
—Pericles, Nov 29 2004
   

       cats are better than chicken. With Cats everyone gets a leg.
—etherman, Nov 29 2004
   

       [UB] Take care with Borna Virus - recent work in Un Zud has shown possums to be a vector. In the US, seropositivity to BVD has been found in almost a quarter of acute psychiatric patients.
—ConsulFlaminicus, Nov 29 2004
   

       Possums hangin' around UB's   

       Etherman phoned up a chinese,   

       Consul's mongolian on his plate   

       Cat's in the tree, dinner's late   

       Borna Virus doesn't rhyme,   

       so I'll leave that for another time.   

       Morning's shot, I've had my fun   

       now back to ingredients.com
—dentworth, Nov 29 2004
   

       bravo!
—etherman, Nov 29 2004
   

       Very useful, especially if you shop at a farmer's market or join a CSA.   

       I don't know what Unabubba is talking about -- I've never known a cat to prepare a satay kabab. Mine would just eat the ingredients raw. However, Jenny has some very talented cats, and perhaps they could be trained.
—Magpie, Dec 04 2004
   

       Cats cant be trained they're too damned smart for that. I warn you all, one day the cats are going to take over. Does noone recognise the superior life form in our midst, continually plotting the downfall of man (and spinster) kind.
—etherman, Dec 06 2004
   

       [+] wonderful idea... could have an online personal account of "what I have in my fridge/cupboard" too so the program can suggest shopping ideas.
—FlyingToaster, Feb 26 2009
   

       Cats will only take over once they figure out can openers and door knobs. I suspect the pull top cat food cans of being a feline plot.
—MechE, Feb 27 2009
   

       //Cats will only take over once they figure out can openers and door knobs   

       My cat used to open doors all the time by using the knob, he'd jump up on the shelf then hook it with his paw
—simonj, Feb 27 2009
   

       Didn't read all of the annos above, but Allrecipes has an ingredient search where you put in what you have and it will search for recipes with those ingredients. However, of course most of the recipes will require additional ingredients than what you enter. (linked)
—paix120, Feb 27 2009
   

       I just type all my ingredients into google along with the word "recipe" and see what comes up. That's how I discovered chicken cake.
—wagster, Feb 27 2009
   

       ...and stir-fried green mold.

To be really useful this idea would need to keep track of all the ingredients that you have about the house as well.

So you scan in all the barcodes when you bring the shopping home and then push a button to get a recipe suggestion based on the ingredients in the house. If you accept the suggestion then the recipe components are deducted from your stock. When you get tired of boiled rice in a washing-up liquid sauce you can go and do some more shopping.
—DrBob, Feb 27 2009
   
      
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