Initially we were scratching, biting and pulled dirty tricks to avoid the first (and second) generation iPhone virus, but as soon as Apple announced and released the 3G S, there was no turning back. Oliver and I had to have an iPhone. Said, done. And let me tell you, I wasn’t so excited about an electronic gadget since… probably my first Atari console. Not in my wildest dreams I would have imagined how useful it would become in daily life. Of course you can use it for a gazillion things, but I will list only those, that the food lover in me appreciates dearly:

Recipes
There are countless ways to tap into awesome recipe sources, you can simply surf the web (and your favorite food sites) via the iPhone browser, install recipe apps (like Epicurious, 20 Minute Meals, Lanz kocht, Küchengötter, ItaliensKüche etc.) or access your delicious-bookmarks via its own comfortable app.

Knowledge
Since you’re 99% online (at least in your home country, depending on your contract/net availability), you can always ask Google (or your search engine of choice), it’s like carrying your personal concierge in your pocket. Yet certain apps are especially handy for food lovers, Seasons/Erntefrisch tells you what’s in season (depending on region), iENo lists e-numbers and explains them, RedLaser reads bar codes and compares prices, Fromage is an extensive cheese guide, Seafood Guide tells which fish you should avoid buying and the list goes on and on…

Lists
Zenbe is my app of choice, but I’m sure there are other good ones. Finally the perfect tool for list maniacs, you can store them all in one place. Accessible via iPhone or web interface and   – hold your breath – you can share selected lists with friends. This is extremely useful with food shopping lists, e.g. I keep separate “to shop” ones for different shops (groceries, Asian, etc.) or “to find” ones for when traveling to Italy, France, etc.

Photography
The iPhone may not be equipped with the best camera, yet it’s totally sufficient for everyday life (in contrary to the bulky dslr camera you usually don’t have in your pocket 24/7). It’s so much fun to chronicle things like cool packaging, favorite wine labels, new shop discoveries, funny typos at the market, fantastic restaurant or hotel views, potential food-related gifts and what not. Helpful app: PhotoNote.

Blogs/Feeds
My favorite app when having to kill time (public transportation, doctor,…) is Byline. It syncs with Feedly and makes coping with a plethora of food news or blog posts a breeze. Super efficient.

Travel
iPhone functionality is limited when traveling abroad, unless you have an inexpensive roaming option or you find free wifi (hey, here is one thing McD is always good for). Then you can use Google Earth together with Google Maps as a neat navigation system/city map for your holidays (before each trip I create a new Google Map – or adapt an old one – and mark all interesting places, restaurants or shops we want to visit, together with personal background notes).

Tools
And finally some neat little apps can help you with your kitchen work itself, e.g. the Buggy Kitchen Timer app, The Bread baker Timer app or the Kitchen Calculator PRO app.

(…and then there is this one extra thing I use my iPhone for, I cannot tell you just yet. This much we can say: The bloggers who tested it were pretty exited ;)

What about you? Which kitchen specific uses are your favorites?