Hi I’m Guy Greenstein, CTO and architect of Manna! Welcome to the first episode of What Does Manna Do? (guitar riff plays). When I started designing the app, I wanted to build a massive database of recipes for people to enjoy. We aren’t trying to compete with recipe publishers in creating content, nor do we want to put the burden solely on the users to input every recipe. Our goal is to make it easy for users to bring the recipes they know and love from the web and import them into the app, and thus, the Manna Scanner™ was born.

The Scanner uses cutting edge technology to read and analyze recipe data from over 30 of the most popular recipe websites worldwide. The Scanner functions in two main parts:

(1) First, it reads the recipe from the website. And it reads each website in a unique way; the modular design allows for easy addition and removal of a website from our accepted list.

(2) The second part is where the real magic happens. The recipe data is then analyzed with our proprietary algorithms, identifying and separating the ingredients, amounts, measurements, preparation and directions. This allows us to reformat every recipe into our own Manna format, instantly integrating it with our database and all our other features. The ability to integrate and personalize recipes from the internet empowers Manna users to share their favorite recipes or enjoy recipes brought in by other users.

As we grow our user base, the recipe database will also expand. The power of Manna generates from our community – it’s a self-feeding cycle of user generated content with exponential possibilities, iterations, and connections. Growth begets growth; recipes beget recipes.

I’ll be posting more updates about features and give insight into how I built the app, how it works and how it's evolving. Thanks for tuning in. More soon!

– Guy Greenstein | Manna Co-Founder + CTO