Whether it's finding a new recipe, converting teaspoons into tablespoons or defining a mystery ingredient, one thing is for sure: more and more people are turning to the web for their cooking needs. With Christmas just around the corner (meaning plenty of cooking, baking and eating in store) we thought we'd bring you some food related search tips from Google this month. Since 2004, Google searches for recipes have been steadily on the rise in New Zealand, and popular topics can have huge spikes. For example, Google searches for cupcake recipes have increased exponentially since 2007. Television cooking shows are having a powerful influence on the type of recipe searches Kiwis are conducting, with tricky recipes like macaroons and pork belly on the fastest-rising searches list. Google's food-inspired search analysis also reveals Kiwis aren't losing that sweet tooth. Sweet favourites dominate the top 10 recipe searches over savoury dishes. With only chicken and pasta representing the savouries in the top 10 searches over the last year, we are looking to master sweet staples like cake, icing and brownie, while the more intricate dishes are more slowly creeping into popularity. Below are a few of our favourite Google search tips and tricks for foodies with the latest statistics on food searches. Filter recipes by ingredient, cook time and calorie count. Use Google's Recipe View to search for any recipe you can imagine. You'll see options to search for recipes based on an ingredient, cooking time and/or calorie count. Looking for a chicken pasta recipe with basil and that will take under 15 minutes to prepare? No problem! Unit conversion. Convert different units of measurement by entering your desired conversion into the search box. How many teaspoons in a tablespoon? Three to be exact. Define an unfamiliar ingredient. If unusual foods like "sambal oelek” pop up in your recipe, define them with a simple search. Pop that mystery ingredient in the search box following ‘definition' and find out what you're cooking with. Scope out similar dishes. Compare your recipe with others from around the web with Google Images. Go to images.google.com and type in your dish to see how it compares. Is tapioca pudding supposed to be lumpy? Turns out, it is. Translate a recipe. Don't let language barriers prevent you from cooking authentic international cuisine. You can either upload a complete foreign recipe or type it directly in translate.google.com, and Google will translate it from over 50 languages. Find inspiration on YouTube. Sometimes, it's easiest to learn something new by seeing it – not just reading it in a cookbook. Find inspiration in an online cooking show like Chef John's Food Wishes, whose channel has gotten more than 35 million upload views, and Hetal - Anuja's Show Me the Curry, which has gotten over 25 million upload views. Or try a local example: The familiar Food in a Minute is also available online, of course! Top recipe searches over the last 12 months:
- cake
- chicken
- chocolate cake
- pasta
- cupcake
- banana cake
- pancake
- muffin
- icing
- brownie
- cheesecake
- scone
Fastest rising searches* over the last 12 months:
- annabel langbein
- playdough recipe nz
- macaroon recipe
- pork belly recipe
- pancake recipe nz
- vanilla cupcake recipe
- beef wellington recipe
- cheese scone recipe
- chicken fettuccine recipe
- creme brulee recipe