Channeling Apple?s new software update iOS 8, NYT Cooking utilizes various tools to encourage the hobby of cooking and promote its own recipes. The recipe category is well developed on mobile, with Pinterest serving as one popular option as well as an app from Epicurious and others.  

"Some of our competitors have great recipes,? said Sam Sifton, food editor at the New York Times, New York. ?Others have great technology that allows users to save and use and share those recipes.

?We believe we have both, and that is what sets us apart."

A featured tool brought along by iOS 8 is the widget tool seen in the notification center. 

The NYTCooking app delivers recipes of the day through the widget, and users can access these by single tapping, and users will be taken to the app.

The service contains a recipe box where users can save recipes in one place and access them across multiple platforms.

While cooking, users will notice that the app does not go to sleep. When recipes are displayed, the app remains lit and on to avoid reactivating the screen while the user is occupied.

The enhanced search tool allows users to search by cuisine, diet and meal type as well as apply keyword filters depending on personal preference. The app maintains a learning tool, which is used to deliver recipe suggestions based on previous browsing. 

A cooking newsletter is delivered three times per week via email to provide seasonal suggestions on what to cook during the week.

Much like pinboards seen on Pinterest, users can create their own recipe collections and organize them according to different themes. Preset themes are available, such as ?What to cook this week,? and ?Eight healthy breakfasts that happen to be delicious.?

Video demonstrations are provided that contain useful cooking techniques, such as how to poach an egg, zesting citrus fruits or frosting a cake. These videos feature Times? cooks Melissa Clark, Sam Sifton and Mark Bittman, among others.

Users can rate recipes and share their favorites via email and Twitter.

Pinterest serves as a common reference point for recipe ideas, placing it as one of the Times? competitors, but NYTCooking has definitely implemented the latest technology to stand apart. 

While recipes found on Pinterest have been compiled from other sources, NYTCooking?s content is original and authentic and can be found in one place.

The New York Times has engaged in several mobile activations this year.

The news provider implemented targeted advertising using social channels to take mobile application users back for more via a collaboration with data collector Gallop Labs in an effort to further engage with users. 

Frequent users of the publisher's app should expect to see targeted ads in the future on social sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, as executives look to not only deliver the most personalized content to users but also the most targeted ads elsewhere. The strategy, which is being executed in partnership with Gallop Labs, is one of the many ways that the New York Times is ramping up its mobile strategy this year (see story). 

In July, the New York Times released new features on its iPhone and iPad mobile applications, allowing users to customize their experience by choosing what types of news alerts they receive. 

The development of these features was introduced to encourage more engagement with the apps, given users can filter different news genres, depending on their personal interests. The features launch at a time when push notifications have become a crucial marketing tool to remind users of the brand (see story).

"For NYT Cooking we took inspiration from the past,? Mr Sifton said. ?We have a massive archive of 16,000 recipes dating back to 1981, and we add to it daily to the tune of almost a dozen recipes a week.

?We believed at the start and believe even more passionately today that there is great value in bringing that archive to life as a database that allows readers to search, browse and save recipes, and to become better cooks in the process."