You are probably familiar with the Amazon Echo. If not, it is a little speaker that acts as a personal assistant named Alexa. If you have questions, just ask Alexa. Alexa can play music and has a number of different skills. She is very versatile in the kitchen, so here is our guide to using Amazon Echo for cooking.

Shopping List

Gone are the days of writing your shopping list on a piece of paper and losing it. Amazon Echo can help you maintain your shopping list and any other to do lists. All you have top do is tell Alexa what you want add and to which list.

“Alexa, add beer to my Shopping list!“

To check your shopping list, all you need to do is check the Amazon Alexa app on an iOS or Android device, or go to the Amazon Alexa website. You can even sync your Amazon Echo to other supported services such as:

Any.do
AnyList
Cozi Lists
Picniic
Todoist

Just connect your accounts in the Alexa app. For automatically copying your list to iOS Reminders, Evernote or another note-taking service, use IFTTT to create an Applet that will do one-way sync.

Manage several timers at once

Getting your cooking times right is easy to do with an Amazon Echo. All you need to do is say “Alexa, set a timer for 30 minutes“. You can set multiple timers for all the different things you are cooking for your meal. If you need to know how long is left on a specific timer, just say “Alexa how long left on my timer?”. One of the great advantages of doing this, is that it is all hands free. Which is better than setting timers with your phone and getting barbecue sauce all over the screen.

Converting Units

What is 250g in Oz?! When cooking, you have to convert units of measurement quite often. This is much easier with an Amazon Echo. All you need to do is ask Alexa to do the conversion and she will tell you the correct measurement you need.

Operate Appliances

Your Amazon Echo can control various appliances and cooking devices, such as precision or slow cookers.

Examples of which, are the Anova and Joule precision cookers. The Amazon Echo allows you to set the temperature or get tips for cooking specific types of food. It also lets you check the progress of the cooking process.

The Amazon Echo also works with some ovens and refrigerators. For example, if you connected it to GE’s Geneva, it lets you preheat your oven by just talking to it.

The Smart Insta View fridge from LG has Alexa already installed!

If you own one of the handful of full-size smart appliances integrated, you can control your oven, dishwasher, refrigerator or slow cooker with Alexa as long as you have IFTTT.

Get Recipes

Recipe ideas isn’t Alexa’s strong point, unless you install one of the recipe skills. This is done in the app or online.

You may want to check out the Allrecipes skill. This has a few really useful features, such as a recipe of the day. It can also give you a recipe based on ingredients you have how long you have or your preferred method of cooking.

The AllRecipes skill will even send recipes to your phone if you provide your mobile number or save a recipe to your favourites within the app.

Check Your Calories

For those that are on a health kick you will be helped by using the Amazon Echo for cooking. If you are counting the calories, but are not sure how many calories a particular food has, just ask Alexa. The Amazon Echo also gives you easy access to other nutritional information for generic foods.

Check Cooking Times

If you are unsure how long you should cook a certain type of food, Alexa has the answer. This is especially useful when you need to cook a Sunday roast or Christmas Turkey.

Get Boozy

When you are throwing a dinner party and you want to make sure your choice of wine compliments your food, you can use one of the Amazon Echo Wine Skills. You may wan to check out Wine Pairing or Virgin Wine Advisor.

These are not perfect, so try to keep your questions simple and you should get some good answers.

So how do you get your guests warmed up before dinner? With COCKTAILS! But, if you are not sure what to mix, use the Easy Cocktail skill. With this skill, you can ask Alexa how to make a Margarita and she will tell you how to make it and list the ingredients.

If you have guests coming over for drinks, but you’re not sure where to begin, just say, “Alexa, open Easy Cocktail.” Then, to use Easy Cocktail, say, “Alexa, ask Easy Cocktail how I can make an Old Fashioned.” First, Alexa will list off the ingredients, then she will tell you the steps of making the drink.

Make Coffee

Once your dinner party is coming to a close and it is time for a coffee With a Mr. Coffee 10-Cup Smart Optimal Brew — or a simple drip coffee maker, plus a smart switch, you can get Alexa to start your coffee machine.

Listen to Cooking Music

There is something about putting on some tunes, and sipping a glass of wine while you are cooking. With an Amazon Echo, you have access to all of your music and even more if you sign up to Amazon Prime. If you need some inspiration on what to listen to, just ask Alexa to play music to cook to.

Let us know your thoughts and questions in the comments section below.

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