JOY OF COOKING

The Joy of Cooking has always featured prominently in my kitchen and has served as the cornerstone for many a meal. Due to overuse and many years, I decided to get a new copy to replace the old one and I accidentally purchased the newer edition. WOW! WHAT A DISSAPOINTMENT! The new book is much more difficult to read due to bad color choices (Yellow on white!? come on folks!) and an awful font that is also too small, it is laid out in a manner that is illogical, and the recipes have changed with many of the basic recipes used as the starters for others gone. There is also a renewed desire therein to use the microwave which deadens many of the fine flavors that develop using the old techniques in earlier version (interestingly, the foods take just as long to make so there is no real time savings, only flavor and nutrition loss).What is also missing from the newer version are the more exotic recipes to include straightforward instructions for cooking more exotic specialties such as turtles, venison, and muskrats (to name a few). This along with the excellent coverage of the cooking techniques in the earlier one that is missing from the newer version are what make cooking both successful and enjoyable. The basics not covered in other books could always be reliably found in the Joy of Cooking, until the 1997 edition (and the newer ones). For the novice cook to the master, these have always been important, and Joy has served as the companion cook book to most all of my other cookbooks for that exact reason.This version is one of the greatest cooking guides, the "Must Have" for the kitchen, a culinary masterpiece. I highly recommend this one and also staying away from the newer editions. The new editors clearly just don't get it the way Irma Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker intended it to be. Make sure you get the 1975 edition (it may say revised May 1, 1985).To all newlyweds and people starting out on their own, I purchase the 1975 edition and almost all of the recipients thanked me politely when they received it, and almost all of them have come back years later only to thank me profusely for giving it to them and to tell me what a fantastic book it is.I am on my third copy (I got the first one as a gift from my mother while in the military stationed in Japan in 1985) and will buy it again when this one is laid to rest.

We love this cookbook. You can cook fancy things, simple things, and learn about the nutritional value of foods plus how to do substitutions. I got this for my son when he moved into his own apartment. One bowl cake, sloppy Joe's, banana bread, coq au vin, chicken cacciatore- all there. Clear instructions and easy to follow.

Good grief! It is one of the mainstays for cooking -- an encyclopedia! My own copy is in shambles but I got my daughters' the same edition (heard that later ones may skip needed detail). I started reading the nutrition chapter at the front of the book when I was first became a mom. Learned a lot. The rest of the book covers the basics of everything. If you don't believe me, go to the Smithsonian in Washington and visit Julia Child's reconstructed kitchen. "joy of Cooking" is one of the very few cookbooks on her shelf. Good enough for me.

It’s a good cookbook & a good reference

Joy, particularly the 1975 edition, is the absolute best basic cookbook there is. It covers the basics, and then teaches you how to cook porcupine, just in case you need to do so. In college, I lived in a Group house with 15 people, we took turns cooking and this book was always there, for experienced cooks and beginners. The writer's voice is a reminder of a less cynical, happier time, when cooking was something you did out of love, not to be cool. Occasionally, the book grudgingly throws in a recipe that would be more recognizable to today's kitchen dilettantes raised on Rachel Ray or Sandra Lee - Ugh....Yeah, maybe this sounds like your Grandmother, but I bet she could cook.

22 just begging. If she uses it instead of fast food she will learn something. It's up to her to learn.

Answers any question you might have.

This classic edition of Joy of Cooking is the one most indispensable book in anyone's kitchen or pantry. It has literally thousands of recipes organized by major ingredient - all with sufficient detail to turn out excellent results. Rarely will you find any Western food for which the recipe is missing in this book.In addition, each section has pointers on things to look out for - about the ingredients, about the various cooking methods appropriate to those ingredients, and about the tools used for various kinds of cooking and the utensils used for serving the food. These sections can make interesting reading even if you don't cook - and will make you a better cook if you do.The recipes do assume a kitchen reasonably well stocked with basic spices and other ingredients. Fortunately, the background information helps you to work around any missing ingredients.One note - don't confuse this book with the "new" Joy of Cooking. The latter documents '90s food trends that are already starting to look dated. This classic version will remain a classic for decades to come.

This is your first and last cook book you will never need. From absolute beginner to professional chef, this is an amazing resource to have at your finger tips.

The book was, as stated, in very good condition and a perfect replacement for my very old one!!

If you're looking into this book then, chances are, you don't need any opinions as to the quality of its content!That being said, let me say this: It is, to my knowledge, one of the best home-cooking books still out there! Maybe it's tradition speaking: cooking with my grandma and my mother and the house filled with scrumptious odors of cookies and cakes and oveny-treats and whatnot... Maybe it's just that. Maybe it's the fact that my grandma had this book, my mom has this book, my aunts have this book, my mom's friends have this book... now I have it as well.The instructions continue being as good as they come. Once you get the hang of things, they make everything sound very easy and you quickly find out that, really, things are not that hard. Where stuff gets a little tricky, you have graphics! The old editions had a few and now there are many more and, say, "modernized" graphics. All-in-all, just try out recipes and you'll find that familiar, traditional odor filling your home in no time.My book came to my just before Christmas with red, fall tree leafs as bookmarks throughout. Yes, I bought this one used. I love used books. Some out there might not but I do, a lot. Mine came in a very good condition. Not even the French postal service was able to ruin this one for me! It seems indestructible. Whoever used it before, used it with much care. It seems it was a German lady, judging from the name very prettily noted inside the flyleaf. And I even tried out some of the recipes she had marked with such nice red bookmarks! She had good taste, I must say.Anyway, this is a highly recommended book! New, used, old edition, modern edition, whatever. I recommend it, eyes closed; and I would even accept any invitation to dine at ANYONE'S home who has prepared dinner right out of this book! (So long as they're not serial poisoners!) What else can I say that hasn't been said many times over?Si vous avez des questions, n'hésitez pas à me demander.J'espère que mon commentaire vous aura été utile.

E'un libro completo. Preciso, ricco di ogni tipo di ricetta, anche orientali e giapponesi. Se comprendete l'america english, è meglio di tanti ricettari che ho avuto modo di usare.

Es un libro de cocina muy denso con recetas que nosotros en Europa no conocemos, o casi, pero cuya base es europea y es parte de nuestra historia trasladada a América.