Platform 2 Guide — This article applies to the new platform. Looking for classic platform docs? Browse the Platform 1 collection.
Why: Streamline your recipe creation process by effectively managing ingredients. This feature allows you to customize ingredient names, set preferred units, and ensure your members have a seamless experience when using your app.
Navigate: App Station > Settings > Content Settings > Ingredients
Quick Start
Go to the Ingredients section in App Station.
Click Add Ingredient to create a new custom ingredient.
Edit existing ingredients by clicking on their names.
Set preferred units and serving sizes for each ingredient.
Use the Replace Ingredient option to swap ingredients across recipes.
Understanding Ingredients
Ingredients in your app can be categorized into two types:
App Default Ingredients: These are pre-populated ingredients available to all apps. You can customize their names and properties to fit your brand.
Custom Ingredients: These are specific to your app and can be created by you as an admin. Members cannot create new ingredients; they can only use existing ones.
Ingredient Library Management
You can manage your ingredient library through the Ingredients section in App Station. Here, you can:
Rename ingredients to better fit your content.
Set preferred measurement units (e.g., grams, ounces).
Manage the visibility of ingredients for your members.
Show Checkboxes in Recipe Detail
You can enable checkboxes for ingredients in recipe detail views. This allows members to check off items while viewing a recipe. Note that these checks are not saved and will reset when they leave the recipe. Cooking Mode will always show the same check-off in its ingredients drawer.
Optional Ingredients
You can mark ingredients as optional in the recipe editor. Optional ingredients will appear dimmed with an "Optional" badge and will be excluded from shopping lists and nutrition calculations by default. Members can choose to include or remove each optional ingredient individually, and their choices will persist for that member and recipe.
Who Can Create Ingredients
Only users with ADMIN, OWNER, or SUPERADMIN roles can add new ingredients to the ingredient library. Members cannot create new ingredients; they can only attach existing library ingredients to their own recipes or customizations.
Serving Size
When creating or editing a custom ingredient, you can specify the serving size that the nutrition values represent (e.g., per 100g, per 1 oz, per 1 cup). The default serving size is 100 grams, but you can change this to any unit available in the system, including imperial units like ounces and cups. The platform automatically converts between units when calculating recipe nutrition.
Ingredient Editor Layout
The full-page ingredient editor uses a 5-tab layout:
Basics: Contains the ingredient name, aisle, and preferred toggle.
Nutrition: Displays serving size and nutritional values.
Density: Shows density (g/mL) and wet/dry classification for volume-to-gram conversion.
Portions: Allows you to add per-count portion entries (e.g., '1 medium banana = 118 g').
Allergens: Lists allergen tags.
Each tab shows a dot indicator when there is an active tenant override. The active tab is saved in the URL, allowing you to bookmark or share a specific section.
Portion Overrides
You can add per-count portion entries to any ingredient, including app-default library ingredients. For app-default ingredients, portions are stored as a tenant override and do not modify the shared library.
Bulk Importing Ingredients via Excel
You can bulk import ingredients using an Excel template. To do this:
Download the pre-filled Excel template from App Station > Settings > Content Settings > Ingredients.
Fill in the spreadsheet, ensuring to use the dropdowns for aisles and units.
Upload the completed file back to create all ingredients at once. Duplicates will be automatically skipped.
Bulk Replacing an Ingredient Across Recipes
From the Content Library, you can filter recipes by ingredient, select multiple recipes, and use the Actions > Ingredients > Replace Ingredient option to swap one ingredient for another across all selected recipes. This will update ingredient references, recalculate nutrition, and refresh shopping lists automatically.
Global Replace from Ingredients Settings
In App Station > Settings > Content Settings > Ingredients, you can click Replace Ingredient to swap one ingredient for another across all recipes without needing to select specific recipes. Amounts, units, and notes are preserved, and nutrition and shopping lists will recalculate.
Uncurated Ingredients
Ingredients that are auto-created during platform migrations or bulk recipe imports are marked as 'uncurated' and hidden from member-facing pickers and autocompletes by default. You can review these in two places:
Migration Review Tool: For P1 to P2 migrations.
Import Ingredient Review Tab: On the Ingredients page for bulk recipe imports.
You can filter the list to one import job and approve mappings, which will make them available in pickers.