# NYT Cooking’s AI assistant saved my weeknight chicken, but almost ruined my cake

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/nyt-cookings-ai-assistant-saved-my-weeknight-chicken-but-almost-ruined-my-cake/
- Published: 2026-11-07T15:50:00+00:00
- Updated: 2026-11-07T16:03:19+00:00
- Original publisher: The Verge
- Original article: https://www.theverge.com/tech/1029489/nyt-cooking-ai-assistant-review
- Topics: AI, Culture, Food, Technology

## Key points

- NYT Cooking’s new assistant adapts recipes to available ingredients.
- A chicken and rice substitution worked well for the reviewer.
- A cake mistake showed why its advice needs checking.

## Summary

NYT Cooking has introduced an AI assistant for iOS subscribers, designed to adapt its tested recipes to users’ ingredients and needs. A reviewer found it useful for weeknight cooking, particularly when it suggested practical substitutions, while noting that its errors mean cooks still need to check its advice.

The assistant creates a separate adapted recipe without changing the original and can handle requests such as ingredient swaps or dietary adjustments. In one trial, it adapted a chicken and rice recipe for chicken tenders, green beans and red onion; in another, it nearly recommended using half the butter needed for a cake. The reviewer says the tool draws on reader comments, which can otherwise be time-consuming to search.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.