Choose the Right Tablet Stand for Your Kitchen iPad
Keeping your kitchen iPad safe but conveniently close while you're cooking
Do you use an iPad or another tablet in your kitchen? As a collector of dead-tree cookbooks, it took me a long time to admit that technology - as in a mobile device, like an iPad - has a place in food prep. But the kitchen iPad full of recipes and with access to all your cooking shows and how-to videos?
Yeah, it turns out to be a real blessing. Especially these days when we're all looking for ways to save space, get organized in the kitchen, and be more efficient to save time.
But where do you put your iPad or tablet, when you're cooking?
You need it close at hand so you can find and follow a recipe - or catch up on Oprah while you toss the salad - but you sure don't want your tablet to get splashed with vinaigrette or knocked off the countertop in the mad flurry of dinner preparation! So, I've been considering the merits of various stands and mounts to prop that tablet up at a readable angle and hopefully keep it safely out of the way.
Read on to see what I've come up with - and let's exchange notes on the best food apps for iPad, while we're at it. Love to hear your thoughts on the best kitchen tablet stands!
Sleek Modern Belkin Stand for Your Kitchen iPad
I'm normally quite a big fan of Belkin products, and some of their well-designed tablet stands models even come with a stylus (sometimes they call it a wand) that lets you keep your food-smeared hands off the iPad when you need to touch-operate) is just plain good thinking.
iPad Fridge Mount - Clever Design! It's by Belkin, of course
IF my refrigerator door wasn't completely covered with cute souvenir magnets, family photographs, and kids' artwork (which it so hopelessly is, all the time) I do believe the sleek Belkin fridge mount would be my first choice of iPad wrangling device. It looks so classy, like those high-end fridges with a TV in the door, only better because it's a tablet... but I don't know what on earth I'd do with all those crayon'd dinosaurs.
If you have another kind of tablet that you use in the kitchen and/or your recipes are stashed on your smartphone, it makes sense to choose a mount or stand that can fit a variety of devices from Kindle to iPad to even your phone, if that's where your recipe apps are stashed. Even better if you can also use it to hold a recipe card or cookbook up out of the splattering batter, where it stays safe and clean but you can easily see it. How about reading a good novel while you're peeling the potatoes? Can do!
Versatile Clear-Acrylic Under-Cabinet Kitchen iPad Rack - Clever Low-Profile Design at an Affordable Price
Clearly the Top Tablet Stand! - Here's why I'm mad about this Space-Saving Kitchen Tablet Stand in clear acrylic:
It doesn't take up any counter space. It cleans easily. It can be easily taken down and put away if you're not using it, then put back up again quick-as-a-wink when you need it. It goes with every style of decor. It looks good enough to use in any room of your house, not just the kitchen.... yep, there's a lot going for this simply acrylic iPad stand.
Tip: Install a Second Under-Cabinet Mount
I like it that you can get an extra mounting piece for the acrylic Kitchen iPad Stand - that's the piece that fastens up under your cabinet, that the stand itself slides into. With a couple of mounts you can put one on each side of the kitchen at different work stations, then use the one stand in both locations, depending on what kitchen task you're doing.
Which Foodie Apps are on Your iPad? - Here are some goodies to try, all available on iTunes
Now, the whole point of buying a kitchen iPad stand is to keep food from getting on the tablet, but we do want lots of luscious food apps to give instruction and inspiration in the kitchen. If you're just starting to explore the recipes available through the miracle of the internet, here are some popular apps you'll find at a reasonable price (or free, in some cases) on iTunes.
Alphabetical order, not necessarily in order of preference:
- Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List
Epicurious Recipes & Shopping List (for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad) is a classic, although the app is not quite up to the high standards set by the fab foodie website - or by some of the fresher competition in the recipe app space - Key Ingredient RecipeGrazer
Key Ingredient RecipeGrazer (for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad) is like flipping through a beautiful foodie magazine for ideas and recipes. Save your favorites and sync with an online account. - Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion
Billed as "the ultimate interactive healthy cooking tool," Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion (for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) helps with menu planning, grocery shopping, and meal prep for those on the WW program.
My Recipe Book for iPad - Why not start with your own recipes!
"Your recipes, finally organized." Think of My Recipe Book app (for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch) as a wonderfully useable and well organized version of that old recipe box your mother used to have. You can read more about My Recipe Book at www.myrecipebookapp.com, to get an idea of what a good app (and of course your kitchen tablet) can do to help you get organized and cook up a storm!
Do you cook with an iPad in the kitchen?
I've actually been considering a kitchen stand / rack / easel for my iPad, so I'm glad to have stumbled on your great research here. The Belkin fridge plate one looks interesting; the faceplate seems like a useful addition. I haven't ventured into food app territory yet, but My Recipe Book certainly looks interesting. Thanks for sharing all this!
No, but I can how incredibly useful a kitchen ipad stand would be for those who do.
Fantastic idea! saves getting flour all over your ipad!
This is a great idea for many applications other than kitchens. Nice!
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