Importing recipes
Where to start
Choose “Add recipe” in the menu and then “Import recipe”. You see the sources you can import from. Each source opens a file picker that only shows matching files. You can also drag files onto the screen.
Files and documents
The Savour reader reads these sources, free and without AI:
- Word: .doc and .docx, even with hundreds of recipes in one document.
- PDF: digital PDFs. A scanned PDF is read by AI (Savour Pro).
- Typing or pasting text: from an email, WhatsApp or a note.
- Other text files: .txt, .md, .rtf, .odt, .html and Pages.
- Spreadsheets and CSV: Excel or Google Sheets, saved as .csv.
- JSON and schema.org: recipes in a structured format, and Savour files.
- A whole folder or zip: everything mixed, in one go.
Photos and websites
Photos of handwritten or scanned recipes and the camera are read by Savour Pro’s AI: see Photos and notes. Bring in a recipe from a website with its link: see Recipe from a website.
Moving from another app
Savour reads exports from Paprika, Mela, Mealie, Tandoor, Recipe Keeper, Copy Me That, Crouton, MasterCook, Cookmate, Living Cookbook, Evernote, Google Keep, Flavorish, CookBookManager and Plan to Eat. Notes from Apple Notes, OneNote, Notion and other apps: see Notes apps. The overview is in Moving to Savour.
Always review first
Nothing is saved before you have seen it. The review screen shows per recipe what was read, and what Savour is unsure about. Savour never invents quantities, ingredients or steps.
Free and Savour Pro
A free account imports Word, PDF, text and exports from other apps, up to 100 recipes. If you have less room left than you import, Savour saves the first recipes that fit and the rest stay in the review screen. With Savour Pro you keep unlimited recipes and AI reads photos, scanned PDFs and recipes the reader has doubts about, up to 150 imports a month. See When the AI helps.
No time to do it yourself
With the import service, the chefs behind Savour move your whole recipe folder over for you.
Reviewing and saving an import
The review screen
After processing, “Import multiple recipes” opens. At the top you see how many recipes were found and from how many files, and whether everything was read clearly. Below, each recipe is a card with the fields Title, Ingredients, Method, Yield and Category. You change anything directly in the card.
Messages when in doubt
Savour shows where it is not sure:
- “Corrected automatically”: small typos the reader fixed itself, so you can check them.
- “Not clearly readable, please check”: a part you should compare with the original.
- “Possibly incomplete”: something seems to be missing. Recipes that are not complete in the source are skipped; with “Import anyway” you still add them, marked to check later.
Removing a recipe or rotating a photo
If a card does not belong, for example a table of contents or a note that is not a recipe, remove it with the cross. For a recipe from a photo, “Rotate photo” turns the photo a quarter turn.
Saving
Choose “Save all recipes”. If a recipe is already in your library exactly like this, or appears twice in the import, Savour saves it only once and tells you how many duplicates were skipped. “Back to import” returns without saving.
On a free account
If you have room for fewer than the recipes you import, Savour asks whether to save the ones that still fit. The others stay in the review screen; with Savour Pro you keep unlimited recipes.
What to do next
Remove numbers in front of recipe names from an old recipe book (“12. Veal jus”) in one go with Clean up. Then organise the recipes in categories and folders.
What to look out for
Check the numbers, units and yield in particular. A 3 and an 8 or a 1 and a 7 are easily mixed up on a stained note. For a recipe from a photo, open the original later with “View original note”.
Import recipes from Word
How to import
Choose “Add recipe” → “Import recipe” → “Word file”. Pick one or more .doc or .docx files and choose “Process”. Then review the recipes.
What the Savour reader recognises
The Savour reader splits a document into separate recipes on its own, even when it holds hundreds of them. For each recipe it recognises the title, yield, ingredients and method. This is free and uses no AI.
How Savour spots a new recipe
A new recipe starts at a Word heading (Heading 1), at a bold line that looks like a recipe name, or at a recipe name followed by a new “Ingredients” heading. Headings such as “Ingredients”, “Method” and “Preparation” help the reader most. A line ending in a colon, such as “Dough:”, becomes a part of the recipe.
Old .doc files
Old .doc files from Word 97–2003 are read too. If a file does not work, save it in Word as .docx and try again.
Tables
If your ingredients are in a table, each row becomes one line with the cells in order. With tables, check the order of quantity and product.
Tips for the best result
Give each recipe a clear title as a heading, put ingredients on separate lines with the quantity first and write “Method” above the steps. More tips: A recipe everyone makes the same way.
Pages and Google Docs
Savour cannot read a Pages file: export it in Pages as Word (.docx) or PDF. In Google Docs choose File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx).
Import recipes from PDF
How to import
Choose “Add recipe” → “Import recipe” → “PDF file”, pick one or more PDFs and choose “Process”. Then review the recipes.
Digital PDF
A PDF made from Word, another program or a website contains text. The Savour reader reads it for free, the same way as a Word file: it splits it into recipes and recognises title, yield, ingredients and method. A large blank space on a page counts as a break.
Scanned PDF
A scan is a photo inside a PDF, without text. AI reads it with Savour Pro, just like a photo. Without Pro, Savour tells you the file contains no readable text.
Two columns and layout
In a PDF with two columns or a lot of layout, the order of lines can come out differently. Check such recipes extra carefully. If you still have the original Word file, import that instead.
Importing photos and handwritten notes
Uploading photos
Choose “Add recipe” → “Import recipe” → “Photos” and pick one or more photos (.jpg, .png or .webp). Each photo is read as a recipe. This works with Savour Pro, up to 150 imports a month.
Using the camera
Choose “Take a photo with your camera”. On a phone the camera opens; on a computer the webcam. Lay the note flat, in good light, and take the photo straight from above with the whole page in view.
What the AI does
Savour first turns the photo upright and then reads a higher-contrast copy. The AI reads what is there and invents nothing: what is not on the note is not in the recipe. When the AI is unsure, you see it in the review screen.
The original is kept
For a recipe read from a photo, the note is kept. Open the recipe and choose “View original note” to compare it with the recipe.
Several photos in a zip
If your photos are in a zip file, choose it under “From another recipe app” or “All files mixed”. If it contains only photos, Savour reads each photo as a recipe. See A whole folder or zip.
Tips for a good photo
One recipe per photo, no shadow from your phone, no flash on glossy paper. Then check the numbers in particular. More tips: From scribbled note to recipe card.
iPhone photos (HEIC)
Savour reads .jpg, .png and .webp. If your iPhone saves photos as HEIC, choose “Most Compatible” under Settings → Camera → Formats, or use the camera inside Savour.
Import recipes from text
How it works
Choose “Add recipe” → “Import recipe” → “Enter text”. Type or paste the text into the box and choose “Process”. You can paste several recipes at once.
What Savour recognises
The Savour reader splits the text into recipes and recognises title, yield, ingredients and method, just like a Word file. When you paste from Word or an email, Savour remembers bold lines: these are often a recipe name or a part such as “Dough”.
Pasting it neatly
Put the title at the top, then the ingredients on separate lines with the quantity first, then the method. A blank line between two recipes helps the reader.
Rather fill it in yourself
To fill in a recipe field by field, use Enter manually.
Importing text files
How to import
Choose “Add recipe” → “Import recipe” → “Other files” and pick your files. Choose “Process” and review the recipes.
Which files
The Savour reader reads these files for free:
- .txt: plain text from Notepad, TextEdit or a notes app.
- .md: Markdown from Obsidian, Notion, Bear, Joplin and other apps. A heading with # becomes a recipe name.
- .rtf: Rich Text from WordPad or TextEdit.
- .odt: OpenOffice and LibreOffice Writer.
- .html: a saved web page. If the recipe is in it in a structured format (schema.org), Savour uses that; otherwise the reader reads the text.
Pages
Savour cannot read a Pages file. In Pages choose File → Export To → Word or PDF, and import that file.
Many files at once
With hundreds of separate notes, use Choose a whole folder or put them in a zip.
Importing a whole folder or zip
All files mixed
Choose “Add recipe” → “Import recipe” → “All files mixed”. You then pick Word, PDF, photos, text files and exports from other apps in one go.
Choose a whole folder
Choose “Choose a whole folder” and point to a folder. Savour takes every file it can read, including files in subfolders. Files it cannot read are skipped.
A zip file
No need to unzip a zip. Savour looks at every file inside:
- Word, PDF, Markdown, RTF and ODT are read as if you had picked them separately.
- Exports from other recipe apps in the zip are recognised, even a zip inside a zip.
- If it holds only photos, each photo is read as a recipe (Savour Pro).
- If it holds recipes and photos, the photos belong to those recipes.
Progress
With many files you see the progress per file. If something goes wrong with a file, Savour tells you which file and why, and carries on with the rest.
Next
All recipes come together in one review screen. Each recipe shows which file it came from.
Import a recipe from a website
How it works
Choose “Add recipe” → “Import recipe” → “Web page (link)”. Paste the link of the recipe page and choose “Process”. You need to be logged in.
What Savour reads
Most recipe sites publish their recipes in a standard format (schema.org) inside the page. Savour reads it directly: title, ingredients, method and yield. If the recipe is not in that format, the Savour reader reads the page text, and with Pro the AI where needed.
No recipe found
If Savour finds no recipe on the page, it tells you and nothing is made up. In that case copy the recipe text and use Enter text.
Pages behind a login
Savour cannot open pages that need a login or payment. Copy the text, or save the page as .html and import it under Other files.
Credit the source
Using someone else’s recipe? Put the source in a note on the recipe.
Import recipes from Excel and CSV
One recipe per row
Savour reads a CSV file with column headers in the first row and one recipe per row. The separator can be a comma or a semicolon.
Column names
Savour recognises these columns, in upper or lower case:
- Title: title, name, naam, titel or recipe (required).
- Ingredients: ingredients, ingredient or ingrediënten.
- Method: directions, instructions, method, bereiding, steps or preparation.
- Yield: servings, yield, opbrengst, porties or serves.
- Notes: notes or notities.
Several lines in one cell
In the ingredients cell, put each ingredient on its own line (Alt+Enter in Excel, Option+Enter on a Mac). The same goes for the method steps.
Saving as CSV
In Excel choose File → Save As → CSV UTF-8. In Google Sheets choose File → Download → Comma-separated values (.csv).
Importing
Choose “Add recipe” → “Import recipe” → “Other files” or “From another recipe app”, pick the .csv file and choose “Process”. If Savour does not recognise the columns, the Savour reader reads the file as text.
JSON, schema.org and Savour files
schema.org Recipe
Many programs and websites store recipes in the schema.org Recipe format, as JSON-LD or inside HTML. Savour reads the name, ingredients, method (including steps and sections), yield, category and notes.
JSON files
Pick a .json file under “Other files” or “From another recipe app”. Savour finds the recipes in the file itself, also in a list or in a Mealie or Tandoor export. Savour cannot read an arbitrary JSON file without recipes in a recognisable form.
Restoring your Savour backup
A backup you download from Savour (.json) can be imported again under “Other files”. The recipes appear in the review screen; recipes already in your library exactly like this are not saved twice.
Savour import file
With the import service you sometimes receive a Savour import file (.json) with recipes that have already been read and checked. Pick it under “Other files” too; nothing is saved until you click Save.
Import recipes from notes apps
The quick way
For one or a few recipes: open the note, copy the text and paste it under Enter text. You can paste several recipes at once.
Apple Notes
On a Mac select a note and choose File → Export as PDF, then import that PDF. On an iPhone, copy the text and paste it under Enter text.
Google Docs
Choose File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx) and import the Word file. One document with all your recipes is fine.
Microsoft OneNote
Export a page or section as Word or PDF (File → Export) and import that file. You can also copy and paste a single page.
Notion
On the page with your recipes choose ⋯ → Export → Markdown & CSV. You get a zip with .md files; pick that zip under “All files mixed”. See A whole folder or zip.
Obsidian, Bear, Joplin and Simplenote
These apps store notes as Markdown or text, or can export them that way. Pick the folder of .md or .txt files with “Choose a whole folder”, or put them in a zip. Each file is then a recipe, with the # heading as the recipe name.
Evernote and Google Keep
Savour has its own import for these: see Evernote and Google Keep.
The Savour reader and AI
The Savour reader always goes first
Word, PDF, text and exports from other apps are read by the Savour reader: Savour’s own program that splits recipes and recognises title, yield, ingredients and method. It is free and nothing goes to an AI.
When the AI helps
With Savour Pro the AI steps in for:
- Photos of handwritten or scanned recipes, and the camera.
- Scanned PDFs without text.
- Recipes the Savour reader has doubts about: these are read again.
Without Pro
On a free account you see how many recipes were read with doubts. They are marked so you can check them yourself in the review screen. Nothing is lost.
The limit
Savour Pro reads up to 150 imports a month with AI. When the limit is reached, the Savour reader takes over, marked for review.
Never made up
The AI may only read what is there. If the method is not on the note, it is not in the recipe. Why this matters: Why AI should never invent your recipe.
The import service
What it is
With the import service you hand in your recipes as they are: Word, PDF, photos, notes or an export from another app. The chefs behind Savour move them over in the structure you choose and check every recipe against the original.
Requesting it
On the Import service page you request it and see the price. Then you upload your files via the site.
What you get back
Your recipes are in your own Savour account, or you receive a Savour import file to import yourself. You check them in the review screen before they are saved.
Read more
How it works in practice: Have your recipe folder moved over.
Problems when importing
“No recipes were found in this export”
Savour does not recognise the recipes in the file. Check that you picked the right export (see your app’s page under Moving to Savour). Savour cannot read an arbitrary zip or JSON without recipes in a recognisable form.
“This file contains no readable text”
It is probably a scanned PDF. AI reads it with Savour Pro. See PDF files.
“Reading photos uses AI: Savour Pro only”
Photos, the camera and scans are read by AI. Try the free 7 days of Pro, or type the recipe with Enter manually.
Two recipes are stuck together
The reader saw no new recipe name. Fix it in the review screen, or make each recipe title a heading or bold in the document and import again.
Ingredients end up in the method
Add an “Ingredients” and a “Method” heading to your document. Savour marks such recipes as doubtful; with Pro the AI reads them again.
A .doc or Pages file doesn’t work
Save an old .doc file as .docx in Word. Export a Pages file in Pages as Word or PDF.
Numbers in front of recipe names
Remove them all at once after saving with Clean up.
Duplicate recipes
Savour saves exactly identical recipes only once. Find near-duplicates with Clean up.
Still not right
Choose “Report a problem” at the bottom of the site and attach your file or a screenshot. See Report a problem and contact.