Title- The Joy of Cooking 1953 & 1971 Editions
Author– Irma S. Rombauer & Marion Rombauer Becker
Type– Nonfiction /
ISBN-978-1501169717 (2019 edition)
Purchase Links– Amazon / B&N (2019 Edition)
Description– The Definitive American Cook Book, The Joy of Cooking was originally written and compiled in 1931 as America was emerging from The Great Depression, during the midst of prohibition. Frequently updated and adjusted to be educational and informative for households of every generation, The Joy of Cooking is probably the most useful text one could give a young couple, bachelor, or bachelorette prior to sending them out to make a home of their own.
At its core the book is a near totality of cooking and kitchen knowledge handed down across generations. From Butchering to Baking, From Cocktails to Crab Cakes if you need instruction on how to kill it, cut it, cook it and properly present upon a plate The Joy of Cooking is the first place to look.
Importance/Utility– It’s of little wonder that The Joy of Cooking was the one book chosen by notorious gourmand and sociopathic psychologist Hannibal Lector in the novel Silence of the Lambs. The book is almost 1,000 pages of recipes, cooking techniques, and proper etiquette for hosting and serving meals and parties.
With Civics and Home Economics completely removed from public education, it is vital that teens and young adults are educated in how to maintain a household. This starts with the kitchen which is the heart of the home and the place which the family gains nourishment. If our goal is to create a society of free thinking do it yourselfers, we should probably go for the gut.
Rating– 6/10 – As a Health Care worker I’m exposed to the consequences of public health, social, education, and economic policies that discourage home cooked family meals in favor of unhealthful fast food. If we want a society that is healthful, wealthful, and wise there are few places better to start than the kitchen, and The Joy of Cooking is a great place to start. The book does have some draw backs, first being that it’s content changes based upon societal norms so some editions may not have the same content, or the recipes may change some. It also is very dense with very small print so some individuals may have a hard time reading it.
A lot of the utility of cook books is lost to the internet which can deliver a recipe for anything with tips and videos through a simple search. Likewise many websites devoted to cooking and keeping house exist that offer all the same information for free. So for a little effort you can save some money by just doing web searches.
Recommended Format– I recommended getting a new edition as well as a much older edition of The Joy of Cooking simply to see how our tastes, culture and customs have shifted over the years. A physical copy is really the only way to go with a cook book since you could get the same info for free doing a web search, which would negate the need for a digital copy.
One reply on “The Book Report (6) – The Joy of Cooking”
Mine’s from 1966. Since my entire home is furnished in “Late Relative,” it’s hard to say who I got mine from, but I know it’s too clean to have been my mom’s. I think my niece got that one. That’s good for her. She’ll be able to easily find the tried and true recipes by the amount of food splatters on the page.