Parsnip: Level Up Your Cooking Reviews

by Native Code

This thing asks you to answer a bunch of mostly inane questions (why is a hamburger bun round?) that will not do anything but make a game out of trivia with the payoff being you “unlock” a recipe, as if that’s some reward. There is no learning material just the questions with cutesy answers. And these questions teach you nothing about cooking (true or false a tortilla is bread). This has all the hallmarks of an app built to sell an app rather than build an app that you believe is really useful. These types of apps sell you a lie that they can make difficult things easy, boring things fun, or laborious things fast. It’s mostly a lie. If you want to learn to cook look elsewhere. This dev uses sketchy marketing to promote Parsnip , like making posts on Reddit as if they are an unrelated party asking if there is an app that teaches cooking and the full on promoting Parsnip using a different account in answer to the question. Nothing but lies.

by Katmaas

my biggest issue with Parsnip is the streak system: changing ur time zone at all entirely resets ur streak. the first time this happened I was upset but thought maybe I just did miss a day but it happened again a week later when I flew back home
secondly while the lessons r nice and cohesive they certainly don’t cover everything. sometimes the questions and possible answers given r misleading. i also wish there was a way to see the explanation for the wrong answers without actually having to get it wrong. i find the explanations helpful but if I want to see every different explanation i have to get the question wrong even if I know the answer. also, for questions where multiple options r correct, i would love for there to be an actual explanation to go with it
other than that this game is a rlly easy and nice way to pick up new cooking information that I do daily like duolingo

by Cdk523

It gives pretty good instructions and helps a lot with learning from the ground up. It gives very tasty but easy recipes and really helps you get your feet under you when your starting out. My only complaint is that it could do with an expansion of the recipe roster as it can become pretty thin quicker than you would expect.

by Appley456

I’ve just downloaded Parsnip and I’m pretty impressed so far! The questions are a good idea and the recipes seem solid. The only fault I could find were minor spelling mistakes that can be easily resolved. I also wondered if the recipe meant for us to dice the onions rather than slice them.

by Kly2025

this app has taught be a few things, such as making fresh herbs last longer. I love the informative way Parsnip teaches tells you about cooking methods, proper storage, and buying groceries. Getting questions wrong also give a good explanation for why it’s wrong. I recommend giving it a try.

by Vtcash

So far this is an absolutely fantastic app to help understand a lot of the little things in cooking you don’t get from reading someone else’s recipes. In 3 days I’m already changing the way I store and prep things and I’m getting a little more confident in picking things out at the store. Wonderful job this app team, hats off to you.

by Lynxesthelynx

I love cooking but sometimes I never know what to make. While there are thousands of recipes out there, if not more, it’s kind of like Netflix. You sit around figuring out which one you want to make. This takes the guess work out of dinners by making me work for the recipe and educating me along the way. Amazing work on this! Keep it up!

by 1111wsh

Found Parsnip through Reddit- the developer commented about looking for ways to advertise on social media, and linked Parsnip . He described it as “duo lingo for food” and I would say that’s pretty accurate. I’ve only completed one lesson but I learned so much I didn’t know. They start with walking through how to buy the right ingredients and what to look for, and how to prep. Then after you go through all the steps you unlock the recipe!
Loving it so far, and surprised by how much I didn’t know.

by Milt1444-1820

What a fun way to learn to cook and learn new recipes. Gamification via short quizzes that also explain the “why” to a lot of cooking techniques. Plus the recipes themself are tasty. Every single one has been a huge hit with my family, and the kids come running in with requests any time they hear me in the kitchen starting to cook.

by Natcoukoulis

I absolutely love to bake and hate cooking, so I gave Parsnip a try to help teach myself. I love that this starts from the basics, goes into details on how to cook that would have never thought of, and quizzes you throughout the way. It also tells you the “why” behind certain decisions, versus just doing something because you were once told to do it but didn’t know why. Reminds me of the fun science behind baking, so I’m hoping this motivates me to start cooking for fun.

by Dizzy0420

I am a cooking fun, and I am excited to finally find an app that teaches cooking in a systematic and interesting way! They must be a team who are full of love and are dedicated to spread love around the world. Otherwise, they can not come up with this wonderful idea and put so much effort in it to realize it. I hope they could keep improving it and add more recipes. I can not wait to learn more.

by NikkiG2131

I have been cooking for years and I consider myself a VERY average cook. I downloaded Parsnip in hopes of improving my skills and becoming better. I have learned so much in just the few minutes after beginning! Excited to apply my new knowledge.

by Asholi 7

For someone who’s been cooking for years, it’s really been helpful to know the terminology for everything that I’ve been doing. For me, I use the recipes as a baseline and I normally change things up to my liking. But if you are someone new to cooking I recommend following the instructions until you get the hang of things. It definitely got me more excited about cooking recently because of the game aspect. The streak is nice but I do mainly use it for additional recipe ideas and proper term usage. I do enjoy that you can pick recipes based on vegan, dairy free, vegetarian, quick, etc.

by NYC Commuter 8000000

Parsnip is different than other cooking apps. It’s organized around quizzes and when you do enough of them, you unlock a recipe, which the quizzes prepared you for. Quite simple and engaging, really. I found that I learned something new with every quiz. They put a lot of thought into making the questions humorous and informative.

The only drawback right now is that there are only 6 recipes in Parsnip . That makes this really a 4.5 star review, but they’re new and promise to add more, so I’ll round up to 5 for now.

by Draconis6996

Let me start this off with this is the only app I’ve ever taken the time to review. Parsnip is fantastic, while I have always considered my self a decent cook I have learned quite a bit already. Parsnip starts with you picking a what skill level you have and what types of food you might be interested in. The. Parsnip walks you through how to pick the best ingredients with useful tips along the way. Next you learn the proper way to prepare the ingredients. And finally you go through useful tips on actually cooking the dish.

by Anonymous28848948

Pick a food you’d like to make, then complete a series of quizzes over time to check your instincts and refine your process. After scoring enough points, you unlock the recipe! This covers tips and basic knowledge about shopping for ingredients, using kitchen tools, safety, etc. Really clever and enjoyable, and makes cooking less intimidating!

by Gwyn M.

Each lesson is a series of quizzes with multiple choice questions. I started as someone who never cooks so it started me off with all of the basics; such as how to pick different produce and meats, how to safely prepare and cook chicken, how to store various herbs and produce and meats, and kept building on those skills. As you answer more questions you are building your way up to unlock a recipe, which is related to the questions that you answer. It’s super user friendly and informative.

by Aiden Steel

The quizzes are fun and do a great job of providing you with information. my only real complaint is that there aren’t many recipes but they can always add more. I will say I had some minor problems with the “next” button skipping a lesson and one question having the answers set up wrong but these are minor and didn’t really effect anything.

by Toulios84

Have been using Parsnip in testing mode being one of the beta testers for a while now. I think what has stuck to me the most is all these little bits of knowledge, tips and tricks that I have been wondering my entire adulthood life about and never knew how to do. Seriously one of the more entertaining apps I’ve used in years- and I’m now more naturally drawn to cooking. Definitely helped with getting points in my marriage 😁

by Analisa1305

Wow, so many good things to say about Parsnip. It is so good at achieving its main goal, which is to teach people how to cook. But it goes so much deeper than that. It will tell you how to look for the right produce, special kitchen techniques, etc, and it achieves all of this while still being approachable to novices. It’s encouraging and sweet and I have thoroughly enjoyed using Parsnip. It’s definitely worth a try.

by LivABC123

I’m a college student and found Parsnip on Reddit. I honestly love it so much. I don’t know the first thing about cooking, but there are a lot of good lessons/introductory facts that have helped me a lot in understanding why things are done the way they are in the kitchen. Also gives ideas for great recipes, a huge variety. I never write reviews for apps but I feel like this one deserves it. It’s just so cute and really helpful.

by CardiBurger

I feel Parsnip can help many people learn more terms and get an understanding on how the cooking techniques works. Parsnip is also refreshing my memory since I’ve been a chef for years. No complaints yet. The quizzes are a little too long but it feels very rewarding!

by Butchy22352

Try Parsnip. I’ve only used it for about 20 mins and I’ve already learned super useful tips for cooking and prepping eggs! (Which was surprising cause I’ve been cooking regularly for 15 years)
Can’t wait to keep learning and apply the skills to my next omelette 🤗🍳

by Sasha888

Learning new things is something we all think we are above. Parsnip is great for teaching us and reminding us about tips and tricks and is a great resource for young people who NEED to cook at home to feed themselves!

by Louise Houte

I've been LOVING using this app to hone my cooking skills. I'm a somewhat experienced home cook, but I still have learned a few things, and really enjoy testing my knowledge!! Keep more recipes coming. =)

by Gamer Fae

So far Parsnip is a quick and fun way to learn the basics of cooking and ingredients. Very convenient having so much information in one place. Would recommend to people who want to learn about cooking.

by LGlass_M

This is a cute little app. It is consistently updated, and occasionally i go in to see whats new. Ive learned a few things from their cute style of quizzes. overall it is worth the time (:

by ~Alli M.~

It really is like Duolingo for cooking. It teaches you theory in addition to recipes, which makes me feel so much better when I’m reading through recipes and ingredient lists. And it’s fun!

by WaffleDonut

Had failed to make Shakshuka in the past several times. Learning all the pieces that go into it changed the experience entirely. All in the first day.

by Kristimarie8799

I wasn’t expecting much from Parsnip initially but it is pretty fun. It has helped improve my cooking and the recipes are good. Definitely recommend it.

by Samsammy45

At first hearing quizzes I wasn’t sure if I’d like it but I was actually learning a lot from the info. Plus there’s engaging questions so it’s fun to play

by Beth GB

I thought I’d pass every test with flying colors but I’ve learned a lot that I didn’t know.

by Joanne162

This is an intelligent cooking tutor and playful game all in one. I’m having a great time so far and learning a lot. Can’t wait to see more recipes!

by YouMacaroni

The quizzes are fun and help to better understand the recipe before making