I've been using Perplexity AI a lot lately. For many topics, it has become my default search engine. Instead of scrolling through a list of links from traditional search engines, it's just more convenient to have all the information compiled and presented to me in a readable format. As long as you make it a point to check the citations or links to its sources when researching facts, I think it's a pretty good tool.
Figuring out what to cook out of whatever ingredients we have in the kitchen takes a lot of time and can often be stressful. Scrolling through different websites, closing pop-ups, and skipping all the way down to where the actual recipe is only to find out that there are several main ingredients that I don't have is time-consuming. Since this is a common thing that I'll be searching for, I decided to explore Perplexity AI's Spaces feature.
What Are Spaces?
According to the Perplexity AI's official website: "Spaces allow you to organize your Threads and files by topic or project, making it easier to collaborate and manage research." In simple terms, it's a dedicated space for a specific topic that you can go back to anytime you want without having to provide specific instructions every time you use it. Let's go ahead and create our own space to understand it better and see how this could be useful to you.
- Install Perplexity AI on your device or go to https://www.perplexity.ai
- On the left side, click "Spaces" and then "Create a Space"
- Type in whatever title or emoji (not required) you want
- Enter the instructions, you can copy the example below:
You are a helpful culinary assistant. When a user provides a list of ingredients they have on hand, suggest 2-3 recipes they can make using only those ingredients. For each recipe, include:
- The dish name
- A brief description
- The main ingredients used (from the user’s list)
- Optional additional ingredients or substitutions
- Basic preparation steps
If the user specifies dietary preferences or restrictions (e.g., vegetarian, gluten-free), make sure your suggestions comply. Be straightforward and keep instructions as simple as possible.
Example Input:
chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns, garlic
Example Output:
Chicken Adobo
A popular savoury dish in the Philippines. The chicken is marinated overnight and is known for its savory, tangy, and sometimes slightly sweet taste, often served with white rice.
Main ingredients: chicken, soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns, garlic
Optional additions: bay leaves, ground black pepper
Preparation:
- Marinade: Mix soy sauce, vinegar, peppercorns and garlic together
- Marinade the chicken overnight
- Brown the chicken in oil
- Put the rest of the marinade mixture into the pan and simmer until cooked
After clicking "Save", you can access the "Dish Helper" under "Spaces" anytime you want. Just type in all of the ingredients that you have.
Spaces are pre-prompted similar to having your own custom GPT (ChatGPT from OpenAI) for free. A similar tool is Google's Gemini Gems. "Pre-prompted" means that it is provided with initial instructions or contexts that is followed for every query that you make. In this case:
- Initial instructions (pre-prompt) - the instructions you enter upon creation of the space.
- Query - the ingredients you enter while in the space (e.g. beef, onion, etc.)
Not satisfied with the output? You can edit the space anytime you want and tweak the instructions to your liking.
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