How to Scan Recipes from Photos

Want to digitize your cookbooks and recipe cards? This guide shows you how to scan any physical recipe using your phone camera - from beloved cookbooks to handwritten family recipes. Preserve grandma's recipes forever and organize your entire cookbook collection digitally!

Getting Started with Photo Scanning

Snap your cook books, a dish at your favourite restaurant, or even your nan's secret cookie recipe. Here's how:

Step 1: Open the Scanner

Tap the "+ Import recipe" button in the Flamyay app
Select "Scan recipe"
Choose your photo source:
- Open Camera - Take a photo right now
- Choose from Photo Library - Use an existing photo
- Open Files - Import from your device or cloud storage

Taking Great Recipe Photos

For the best results, follow these tips:

✅ Lighting is Key

Use natural light when possible
Avoid harsh shadows across the text
Make sure all text is clearly visible

✅ Keep it Flat

Lay cookbooks or recipe cards on a flat surface
Try to keep the camera parallel to the page
Avoid extreme angles that distort the text

✅ Fill the Frame

Get close enough that the recipe fills most of the photo
Make sure all edges of the recipe are in frame
Crop out unnecessary background

✅ Focus and Clarity

Tap to focus on the recipe text
Hold steady to avoid blur
If the text is small, take multiple photos of different sections

What Can You Scan?

Flamyay's AI-powered scanner works with:

📖 Cookbooks - Any cookbook, any language, any format

📝 Recipe Cards - Both sides will be scanned and combined

✍️ Handwritten Recipes - Yes, even grandma's cursive!

📰 Magazine Clippings - Cut-outs from food magazines

🍽️ Restaurant Menus - Capture dishes you want to recreate

📱 Screenshots - Recipe screenshots from your phone

After Scanning

Once you've taken your photo:

Review the imported recipe - Flamyay will extract the text and structure it
Contact support if needed - If anything needs correcting, we're here to help
Save to your collection - Organize and build your digital recipe library
Start cooking! - Use your new digital recipe

What Gets Extracted?

Recipe title
Ingredients list with quantities
Step-by-step instructions
Cooking times and temperatures
Serving sizes
Any additional notes

Tips for Scanning Cookbooks

Dealing with the Book Spine?

Press the book as flat as possible. If you can't get it completely flat, take two separate photos (one for each page) and import them separately.

Multiple Recipes on One Page?

Take individual photos of each recipe for best results, or Flamyay will extract the most prominent recipe.

Recipe Spans Multiple Pages?

You can scan each page separately. If you need them combined into one recipe, contact our support team and we'll merge them for you.

Scanning Handwritten Recipes

Flamyay's AI is trained to read handwriting, but here are some tips for the best results:

Make sure the handwriting is clear and not too cursive
Good lighting is extra important for handwritten text
If some words aren't recognized correctly, contact support and we'll help fix them
Consider taking multiple photos if the recipe is long

Troubleshooting

"Can't read the text" error?

Try:

Taking the photo in better lighting
Getting closer to the recipe
Making sure the photo isn't blurry
Using the "Paste recipe text" option if you can type it out

Only part of the recipe imported?

This can happen with complex layouts. Contact our support team and we'll help complete the recipe for you. You can also try taking a closer photo of the missing sections and re-importing.

Wrong language detected?

Flamyay auto-detects languages. If there are any translation issues, contact our support team and we'll help correct them.

Pro Tips

💡 Keep Originals: Your photos are processed but not stored, so keep the original photos if you want to reference them later

💡 Review Immediately: Right after import is the best time to check for any scanning errors while you still have the physical recipe in front of you. Contact support if anything needs fixing.

Related Guides

More ways to get recipes into Flamyay:

Import from Websites - Save online recipes
Import Recipe Cards - Digitize meal kit cards
Import from Instagram - Save social media recipes
Import from TikTok - Save recipe videos

View all import options →

Frequently Asked Questions

What types of recipes can I scan?

Flamyay can scan virtually any printed or handwritten recipe: cookbooks, recipe cards, magazine clippings, handwritten notes, restaurant menus, and even screenshots. If you can photograph it, Flamyay can digitize it!

Does it work with handwritten recipes?

Yes! Flamyay's AI is trained to read handwriting. For best results, make sure the handwriting is legible and the photo has good lighting. Very cursive handwriting may need some manual corrections after import.

Can I scan recipes in languages other than English?

Absolutely! Flamyay supports recipes in many languages including Spanish, French, Italian, German, and more. The AI can extract recipes from text in any language with Latin characters.

What if my cookbook won't lay flat?

Press the book as flat as safely possible. If you can't flatten it completely, take separate photos of each page and import them individually. Contact our support team if you need multiple pages combined into one recipe.

How accurate is the scanning?

Flamyay's AI is highly accurate with printed text (95%+) and very good with clear handwriting (80-90%). Always review the imported recipe and contact support at [email protected] if any corrections are needed.

Will scanning damage my books?

Not at all! You're just taking photos - there's no need to press hard or flatten pages excessively. For valuable vintage cookbooks, take extra care to handle them gently while photographing.

Can I scan multiple recipes at once?

For best results, scan one recipe at a time. This ensures accurate text extraction and proper organization. The whole process takes less than a minute per recipe!

Now you can finally organize all those loose recipe cards and create a digital backup of your beloved cookbooks! 📸👨‍🍳