Recipe app Pestle is rolling out a new feature that can automatically turn your favorite TikTok recipe videos into detailed, step-by-step instructions, using AI.
The new feature processes the video’s caption, where creators tend to document their ingredient list and instructions, but is powered by on-device machine learning instead of using a third-party AI provider. The feature is similar to one Pestle launched for Instagram Reels earlier this summer.
Launched in 2022 by developer Will Bishop, Pestle’s recipe app and cooking assistant lets you easily save recipes you find on the web, similar to other apps in its space. You can also make shopping lists, create meal plans, and cook hands-free using voice commands.
However, Pestle’s users have long clamored for a way to save recipes they found on social media too, given how many cooking videos they would take inspiration from. Bishop says he first pushed back against the idea, because recipes on social media could be written in so many different ways they would be difficult to parse without using AI. And Bishop didn’t want to integrate with third-party solutions like ChatGPT over concerns about processing time and OpenAI’s relationship with privacy. Instead, he began to explore how on-device machine learning could handle the job and how on-device processing could speed things up.
As a result, Bishop added a feature to Pestle this summer that could turn Instagram Reels videos into saved recipes. Now, that same functionality is coming to TikTok.
Already, the social video app’s popularity has made a number of recipes go viral, like the mac and cheese that “broke the internet,” the baked feta pasta that was dubbed “worth the hype,” and, more recently, the numerous ways to eat cucumbers. Now you can save these and other TikTok viral recipes directly in the Pestle app as you scroll through the video app.
To use the feature, you’ll share the video with Pestle from TikTok, similar to how you would save a link on the web. The app will then import the recipe information, including the ingredient list, instructions, and, as of this update, the nutritional info, too.
The feature is arriving alongside another update that will allow users to save “recipe notes,” like tips or substitutions, that the recipe’s author mentioned on the recipe’s website, Pestle notes. These details can now be captured upon the initial import from top sites like AllRecipes and Australia’s RecipeTinEats, among others.
Pestle’s app is a free download on the iOS App Store. Paid subscribers gain access to expanded features, like a Discover section for cooking inspiration, 14-day meal planning support, shopping lists with Apple Reminders integration, and more.
