What Mela does
Mela is a recipe manager for iPhone, iPad, and Mac by Silvio Rizzi. It saves recipes from websites, blog feeds, and scanned cookbook pages, syncs through iCloud, and adds a cook mode, meal calendar, and grocery list.
Mela is an app for collecting and cooking from recipes on Apple devices. It focuses on getting recipes from different sources into one personal collection and showing them in a clean, consistent recipe viewer.
There are three main ways to add recipes. The in-app browser detects a recipe on the page you are viewing and shows a live preview, on the same screen on iPad and Mac or one swipe away on iPhone. A share extension adds recipes from other apps. Feeds let you subscribe to recipe blogs; Mela checks new posts for recipes and puts them in a Feeds inbox. You can also scan a page from a cookbook, and text recognition turns it into a recipe. Recipe extraction depends on the site providing the data, which most sites do.
While cooking, a full-screen cook mode uses large text, dims all but the current step, lets you check off ingredients, and runs timers. You can load several recipes into cook mode and switch between them. Meal planning uses a built-in calendar stored in the Calendar app, and the grocery list lives in the Reminders app, so both are available on devices without Mela. Recipes can be sorted into categories and marked as favorites or as want to cook, and they can be printed or saved as PDF.
Mela syncs recipes, bookmarks, and feed subscriptions through iCloud and can share a recipe library with other iCloud users. It does not collect any data and does not use third-party services. It is made by Silvio Rizzi, who also makes the Reeder app, and won MacStories Selects 2021 for Best Design.
Mela is free to download, and a one-time purchase unlocks all features. The iOS and Mac versions are separate purchases; the iPhone and iPad unlock is listed at $6.99 in the US App Store.
Best for
Home cooks on iPhone, iPad, or Mac who save recipes from blogs and cookbooks and want them in one tidy, private collection.
Not for
Android or Windows users, and people who want a recipe discovery service with its own content or a social community.
Questions and answers
How do I add recipes to Mela?
Use the in-app browser, the share extension from other apps, recipe blog feeds, or scan a cookbook page with the camera and text recognition.
Does Mela sync between devices?
Yes. iCloud sync is on by default and covers recipes, browser bookmarks, and feed subscriptions. Browser history and feed recipes are not synced.
Why do I need to buy Mela separately for Mac and iOS?
The macOS and iOS versions are separate purchases, so you only pay for the version you actually use.
Does Mela collect my data?
No. Mela does not collect any data or use third-party services. With iCloud sync on, your data is stored in a private container in your iCloud account.
Can I share recipes with my family?
Yes. You can share a recipe library with other iCloud users. This needs iOS 15 or macOS 12 or later.