Why We Built Our Platform on "Boring" Technology

(The Genius of JSON and Open Data)

We admit it: Our data structure is boring.

If you were to crack open a Flour Power export file and look at the code underneath, you wouldn't see proprietary magic. You wouldn't see encrypted binary blobs that require a supercomputer to decipher.

You would see text. Plain, simple, readable text.

Specifically, you would see a format called JSON-LD (JavaScript Object Notation for Linked Data). It uses the Schema.org Recipe vocabulary -- an open standard supported by Google, Bing, Yahoo, and others. It looks something like this:

{

"@context": "https://schema.org",

"@type": "Recipe",

"name": "Grandma's Apple Pie",

"recipeIngredient": [

"5 apples, peeled",

"1 cup sugar"

]

}

It is incredibly un-fancy. And that is exactly why it is revolutionary.

Complexity is a Trap

In the software world, complexity is often used as a weapon.

Many recipe apps use proprietary, complex database formats. They tell you it's for "performance" or "intellectual property protection."

But often, complexity is a retention strategy.

If the data is too complex to read, you can't move it. If your recipes are stored in a format that only their app can read (.proprietary_format), then you are married to that app forever. If they go out of business, or if they stop updating the app, your data dies with them because no other software knows how to read their secret language.

Simplicity is Freedom

We built Flour Power on the philosophy of "Data Durable Enough for the Apocalypse."

We use standard, open, text-based data formats for everything. Here is why "Boring Text" is the most advanced feature we offer:

1. Human Readable (The Ultimate Backup)

In a worst-case scenario --let's say the internet collapses, Flour Power shuts down, and all app stores vanish --you can still open your Flour Power export file in Notepad or TextEdit.

You can read your recipes. You can search for "Apple Pie" and find the ingredients.

You don't need our software to read your own data. You just need a computer that can display text. That means your recipes are safe effectively forever.

2. Machine Universal (The Rosetta Stone)

Because we use JSON-LD with the Schema.org Recipe vocabulary (the widely adopted standard for recipe data on the web), any competent developer can write a script to import your Flour Power data into another system.

Want to move to a spreadsheet? Easy.
Want to build your own website? Easy.
Want to import into a future app that hasn't been invented yet? Easy.

We made our data "Liquid." It flows into whatever container you want to put it in.

3. Future Proof

Proprietary software rots. A proprietary file format from 1995 is almost impossible to open today without specialized emulators.

But plain text? Plain text from 1970 is still readable today. Plain text will be readable in 2070.

By stripping away the fancy proprietary coding and storing your recipes as structured text, we are ensuring that your great-grandchildren will be able to read your recipes, regardless of what computers look like in the future.

The "Open Kitchen" Protocol

We built Flour Power on the Schema.org recipe standards -- the same open vocabulary used by search engines and recipe websites worldwide. We believe in making all recipe data more structured and portable.

Why? Because we believe that a rising tide lifts all boats.

If every recipe app used these "boring" text standards, the entire world of cooking would be better. You could share a recipe from Flour Power, and any app that supports Schema.org recipes could read it. You could clip a recipe from the New York Times, and it would import without errors.

We are trying to end the "Tower of Babel" era of recipe apps.

The Confidence to Be Open

Building on open standards requires confidence.

If we make it easy for you to leave, we have to work harder to make you stay.

We can't rely on "lock-in" to keep you as a customer. We have to rely on being the best damn product on the market. We have to have the best search, the best recipe import tools, the best family sharing features.

We built our platform on "boring" technology because we want your recipes to be excitingly safe. We don't need to lock you in with complex code. We'll keep you with great features.