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Help & Support

Everything below matches the current version of Simmer & Sear for iPhone (iOS 18). Can’t find your answer? Contact us.

Getting started

Simmer & Sear opens to your recipe library. Three ways to fill it:

Import from Paprika — bring your whole library over in one pass (see below).
Save from the web — paste a recipe link (see below).
Write your own — tap + in the library and choose New Recipe.

Want something to poke at first? Settings → Add Sample Recipes seeds a few starters you can freely edit or delete — adding them twice never duplicates.

Import from Paprika

1. Export from Paprika

In Paprika: Settings → Export → Paprika Recipe Format, and save the .paprikarecipes file somewhere reachable — iCloud Drive or Files is easiest.

2. Open it in Simmer & Sear

In the library, tap + → Import Paprika or Files and pick the file, or
from the Files app or a Mail attachment, share the file and choose Open in Simmer & Sear.

Import runs in the background with live progress and finishes with a report of what came in. Photos, categories, ratings, and notes all survive the trip. Single-recipe .paprikarecipe files work the same way.

Re-importing is safe

Importing the same archive again never creates duplicates. For each match you choose: skip, replace, keep both, or merge.

Save recipes from the web

Tap + → Import from Web and paste the page address. Simmer & Sear reads the structured recipe data most cooking sites publish, fills in the ingredients, steps, times, and photo, and keeps the source link with the recipe.

If a page doesn’t offer usable recipe data — some sites don’t, and paywalled pages usually can’t — Simmer & Sear tells you and offers a manual clip: paste the ingredients and steps yourself and keep the link attached.

Groceries & pantry

From any recipe, tap the cart button (or long-press a recipe in the library) to send its ingredients to your grocery list. A review sheet lets you untick anything you don’t need first.

Quantities merge. Two recipes calling for onions become one line, not two; amounts in the same unit are summed, and compatible units combine.
Aisles group the list. Produce with produce, dairy with dairy — check things off as you shop.
The pantry pays attention. Track what you have with stock levels (in stock / low / out) and optional expiry dates. Ingredients you already have stay off new lists.

Meal planning

The Plan tab lays out your week by day and meal. Add recipes to any slot, adjust servings per entry, and when the week looks right, one tap sends every ingredient to groceries — consolidated and pantry-aware like any other list.

Cook mode & timers

Start Cooking on any recipe opens cook mode: one big, readable step at a time, with the screen kept awake while you cook.

Timers find themselves. Durations mentioned in a step (“simmer 20 minutes”) appear as tappable timers. Run several at once; pause and resume freely.
Notifications are optional. If you allow them, a finished timer alerts you even with the app in the background or closed. If you decline, the in-app countdown still works.
Scaling & units. Scale any recipe from ×½ to ×4, and switch between US and metric. The original wording is always preserved — scaling never rewrites your recipe text.

iCloud sync & backup

If your iPhone is signed into iCloud, your recipes (including photos), grocery lists, pantry, and meal plans sync through your own private iCloud database — infrastructure tied to your Apple Account that the developer cannot read. There is no Simmer & Sear account and nothing to sign up for.

Offline is first-class. Everything works with no network; changes sync when you’re back.
Not using iCloud? The app is fully functional locally. If you sign in later, your existing library is adopted and synced.
Reinstalling or getting a new iPhone? Install Simmer & Sear, sign into the same Apple Account, and your library downloads back — photos included.
Backup you can hold. Settings → Export writes your entire library as a JSON file, anytime.
Trash is forgiving. Deleted recipes stay in the trash for 30 days and can be restored on any of your devices.

FAQ & troubleshooting

A website didn’t import — what now?

Some sites don’t publish structured recipe data, block automated fetching, or sit behind a paywall. Simmer & Sear will say so and offer the manual clip, which keeps the source link with the recipe. Double-check the address is the recipe page itself, not a gallery or search page.

Sync seems slow between my devices.

iCloud batches changes, so a few seconds — occasionally minutes — is normal. Make sure both devices use the same Apple Account, iCloud Drive is on, and open the app on the receiving device to give it a nudge. Low Power Mode and poor connectivity delay background delivery.

A timer didn’t ring.

Check that notifications are allowed (iOS Settings → Notifications → Simmer & Sear) and that a Focus mode isn’t silencing them. With notifications off, timers still count down inside the app.

My iCloud storage is full.

Simmer & Sear keeps working locally and says so in Settings — nothing is lost. Sync resumes once space frees up.

I deleted a recipe by accident.

Library → Browse → Recently Deleted. Recipes stay there for 30 days; restore puts them right back.

Can I get my recipes out?

Always. Settings → Export produces a JSON file of your entire library. Your collection is never locked in.

Contact

Stuck, found a bug, or missing a feature? Email support@simmerandsear.com — a human reads it. Include your iOS version and what you expected to happen; screenshots help.

For privacy questions, see the privacy policy.