cookCal 2.0, a cookery calculator for the iPhone and iPod Touch, now available on the App Store

As I mentioned the other week (post) I was working on a new version of cookCal (download link), and one of the most remarkable things was that the update of cookCal was approved by the App store in just 3 days – post…

So, what is new in cookCal?

cookCal is a very easy to use cookery calculator that helps you do those tricky calculations such as cooking a piece of meat from 25 minutes, and then at 20 minutes per pound (or 44 minutes per kilo), and resting for 15 minutes before carving. Using the calculator is very easy, you just touch on the number that you wish to enter until it turns green (see the screen shot below – standing time shown), and then using the number buttons to enter new values.

With version 1.0 you could:

1. Enter the time per weight (min per pound or min per kilo)
2. The weight as kilo (kg) or pounds (lb)
3. Any standing time or pre-cook set times (such as the 25 minutes in the above example)
4. Set a start time and get an end time, or set an end time for cooking and get the start time.

It was also possible with cookCal to enter a time per weight for min per pound cooking, and the weight in kilos (or vice-versa) and get the cooking time calculated.

Version 2.0 of cookCal, builds on version 1 and has some great new features and these include:

1. Pre-cook set times (such as the 25 minutes in the above example) can be added
2. A post-cooking standing (relaxing) time can be added
3. Start and end cooking times, and the time to remove the meat from the oven, can all be calculated – enter a start time and get the end time, enter an end time and get a start time, enter the time you wish to remove the meat from the oven and get start and end times calculated
4. Cooking guide – meat presets – cookCal now comes with a number of suggested cooking times, and oven temperatures, for a range of meats including beef (rare, medium, and well done), chicken, duck, goose, lamb (medium rare, medium, and well done), pork and a range of turkey sizes.

Just like version 1.0 there is also an extensive help section built in to cookCal.

Screen shots of cookCal

New imperial cookCal calculator
If your recipe called for the meat to be cooked for 15 minutes and then at 20 minutes per pound, with a 10 minutes rest before carving, then the data would be entered as shown above. The 10 minutes would be entered as the ‘Set Time’ and the resting time as the ‘Standing’ time.

New metric cookCal calculator
If your recipe called for the meat to be cooked for 15 minutes and then at 44 minutes per pound, with a 10 minutes rest before carving, then the data would be entered as shown above. The 10 minutes would be entered as the ‘Set Time’ and the resting time as the ‘Standing’ time.

Cooking start and end times calculator
Once the required cooking time (including any resting time) has been calculated it is possible to calculate start and/or end times. If you enter a start time the time to remove from the oven (assuming there is a rest time) and the time for serving will be calculated. Alternatively, the end time can be entered and the start time calculated. It is even possible to enter the time you wish to remove the food from the oven and have the start and end time calculated.

Suggested cooking times and temperatures
cookCal now has inbuilt cooking guide for a range of meats including beef (rare, medium, and well done), chicken, duck, goose, lamb (medium rare, medium, and well done), pork and a range of turkey sizes. The calculator gives suggested cooking temperature, cooking time, cooking time per weight, rest times, and some cooking hints.

Suggested cooking times and temperatures
cookCal also comes with an extensive help section.

cookCal is now available for download on the iTunes App Store.