Demy digital recipe reader puts a world of dishes at your fingertips

Looks like the Key Ingredient Corporation is looking to be to recipes what Apple is to music. Instead of iTunes, it has the keyingredient.com website that lets people either share recipes publicly or store them privately and, instead of an iPod, it has the Demy – a digital recipe reader – with 7-inch touchscreen and "kitchen safe" casing – that syncs with your online Key Ingredient account.

Just as the iPod relies on the iTunes software, the Demy relies on the keyingredient.com website. Membership to the site is free, and once you sign up you can download any recipes from the site to the Demy.

You can also enter your own recipes, which you can choose to share with everyone or just a select few. If you prefer to keep your recipes secret, you can store them in your private collection. If transcribing Great Aunt Maude’s box of recipes proves too much of a chore, there’s even a website that will help you scan your recipes. Once the recipes are on the site, it’s just a matter of plugging the Demy into your PC or Mac, via USB, and letting it synch with your keyingredient.com recipe collection.

The Demy is “kitchen-safe”, which means it is splash-resistant and easy to clean – but not waterproof and able to survive exposure to a naked flame. Other features include adjustable font size, three timers, measurement conversion and even an alternative ingredient tool that suggests possible substitutions if you're out of one ingredient and don't fancy an emergency trip to the supermarket.

At USD$299.95, the Demy isn’t cheap, particularly if two-minute noodles are your staple diet; but for those with pages of recipes handed down from generation to generation overflowing from kitchen drawers and recipe books, the Demy could be just what you need to find that all important recipe a little easier and quicker.

The Demy is available now. Recipes can be transcribed for an extra USD$0.39 each.

Darren Quick