<p>I need to parse recipe ingredients into amount, measurement, item, and description as applicable to the line, such as 1 cup flour, the peel of 2 lemons and 1 cup packed brown sugar etc. What would be the best way of doing this? I am interested in using python for the project so I am assuming using the nltk is the best bet but I am open to other languages.</p>

Can you be more specific what your input is? If you just have input like this:
```
```
1 cup flour
2 lemon peels
1 cup packed brown sugar
```
```
It won't be too hard to parse it without using any NLP at all.