The Ingredient Catalog

What the catalog is

The ingredient catalog is a built-in database of common ingredients, each assigned to a supermarket category (e.g., "chicken breast" → Meat, "spinach" → Vegetables, "all-purpose flour" → Baking).

This catalog powers two key features:

1. Autocomplete — as you type an ingredient name when creating a recipe, Grocerly suggests matches from the catalog.
2. Smart Sort — Grocerly uses the catalog to know which aisle an ingredient belongs to, so it can sort your grocery list correctly.

The blue dot indicator

When adding or editing ingredients in a recipe, you'll notice a small dot next to each ingredient:

• Blue dot = the ingredient is recognized in the catalog. Smart Sort knows which section it belongs to.
• Grey dot = the ingredient is not in the catalog. It will be placed in the "Other" category by Smart Sort and sorted alphabetically.

Can I add to the catalog?

Yes. If an ingredient you use regularly doesn't appear in the catalog, you can add it yourself (see article Adding Custom Ingredients).