Rating: 
Summary: New text formatting reduces ease of use.
Review: In the previous edition of this wonderful cookbook the ingredients were a distinctive bold text. In this edition, the embolded text is weak and we didn't purchase.
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Summary: A "must have" for master chefs and everyday hacks!
Review: Do you know how to operate a stove and oven? Do you ever prepare food in a kitchen? If YES, then you need this book! This is the best all purpose guide I have ever seen because it has informative descriptions and diagrams in addition to being clear and easy to read. I started using my Mom's dogeared and stained copy when I was about 12 years old. (Can I tell you how much I covet that book?!) The authors tell you how to make great chocolate chip cookies, fricasee a chicken, choose an appropriate cut of beef, sear a chop, blanche an almond, or make yellow cupcakes! Since this will become your favorite kitchen reference tool (and we know what a messy place the kitchen can be) you will definately want to purchase a hardcover edition. Otherwise the book will wear out in no time! I hope you love yours as much as I love mine!
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Summary: the only one you'll ever need AND the perfect gift
Review: I received this book as a wedding gift 25 years ago. It's 2 volumnes are in tatters, and almost every page is stained. This is the only book I have used day in and day out. It has everything you need from storage, cuts of meat, history, cooking times, sample menus, table settings, alternative methods, etc. It is a virtual encyclopedia, and never feels dated because it is not "trendy." I have given it as a wedding present to countless other couples and they have ALL told me years later that is it the only cookbook they refer to still, a timeless and invaluable necessity in the kitchen.
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Summary: Wonderful cookbook!
Review: Great for the beginner to the more experienced. Wonderful as an all-around reference, from guacamole to hummus, with a great deal of detailed explanation. :) Happy cooking!
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Summary: BUY THIS NEW "JOY"! - BUT KEEP THE OLD
Review: I'm surprised how many readers are offended by the changes in "Joy"; did they expect that 26 years could pass without extensive revisions? Canning, for good or ill, is currently a dying art. OTOH, breadmaking from scratch is making it's way back, thanks to automatic breadmakers, oddly. The borders of "American" cooking have been widened, and the new "Joy" reflects all of that. I'm keeping the 1976 version, affectionately, for the recipes for possum and squirrel -- stuff I'll never have the occassion to make,as well as the kitchy '50s fare I'd never want to. Old "Joy" is a wonderful historical document, waiting to be rediscovered by future generations of chefs. OTOH, I think that those who don't want to hear about cooking masala or ostrich are just grumps. The culture has moved toward ethnic cuisine in a big way over 25 years, and a lot of what was offered as "exotic" then is now just so much chop suey. Ethan Becker does no service to his foremothers' memory by staying frozen in time. There's still plenty of useful hints in case you need to cook cardoon or sweetmeats or poussin -- or even just if you want to know what these things are.
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Summary: A Good All-Around Cookbook
Review: Many of criticized the "New Joy of Cooking" for being, well, new. But let's face facts, Irma Rombaur's original, first published in 1931, is hardly relevant to today's taste buds. (And, if you don't believe me, you can still get a word-for-word copy of that first edition and see for yourself. Anyone need a good recipe for squirrel?) The updated version is simply "Joy" with a 90s take."Joy of Cooking" is synonymous with good, old-fashioned practical cooking--no nouvelle cuisine here--and the updated version simply keeps with the times, adding new techniques which take into account modern equipment and food mores (things like fat, cholesterol and sodium are, at last, taken into consideration). Every good cook I know owns at least one copy of this book--many have two or three.
For example, if you're really offended by the 1997 edition, the 1975 edition, the last written by Rombaur's daughter and still available for sale, is a good compromise between old and new. I have, and use, both, as well as the reprint of the 1931 edition, which has some great, old-fashioned baking tips and recipes. (The "New Joy" was written by Irma's grandson.)
All in all, the "New Joy of Cooking" is a super all-purpose cookbook, offering well-tested, straight-forward recipes for just about any food you can think of. Alongside the classic "Betty Crocker Cookbook," the "Fannie Farmer Cookbook" and something new from Martha Stewart (I like the "Martha Stewart Living Cookbook," which is a compilation of recipes from her magazine) and/or Cook's Illustrated (either "The Best Recipe" or the "Cook's Bible"), "The New Joy of Cooking" will create a perfectly balanced recipe collection for the experienced cook or novice baker.
On a final note, I'd recommend the hardcover edition, as the softcover model I saw in a bookstore was not very sturdy. Cookbooks get a lot of use and abuse, so I'd recommend spending a bit extra to get the hardcover edition.
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Summary: Handy
Review: This is an excellent resource to have around, with its wealth of recipes for just about anything and for basic cooking information.
I have one serious problem with the cookbook, however. Its format for recipes is very hard to follow. Most cookbooks list all the ingredients first and then list the directions afterwards. The recipes in Joy of Cooking jump right into the directions, listing the ingredients only when they are involved in a step, and in paragraph form that runs together making it hard to see each distinct procedure. This has caused many catastrophes in my kitchen. Oftentimes, especially when I am in a rush to cook something, an ingredient, and usually it's the most important ingredient thanks to Murphy's Law, gets omitted. I'm left holding the half baking cake with the missing cup of sugar wondering what the heck to do now... These recipes require careful reading and memorizing where one has left off...
The desert section is the best that there is to be had. I highly recommend it.
I also think that they should have left the original part in about cooking squirrels and other game animals. It's such a distinct part of our colorful American culture.
It's my second favorite cookbook for American cooking, after Bittman's How to Cook Everything. I actually consult sometimes both cookbooks to compare and contrast before cooking....
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Summary: Awesome
Review: VERY SIMPLY PUT, THIS IS THE FINEST COOKBOOK EVER WRITTEN. HOW ANYONE COULD RATE IT ANYTHING BUT FIVE STARS IS SIMPLY BEYOND COMPREHENSION.
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Summary: How My Mom Saved Me And My Roommates
Review: My mom sent me this book back in my bachellor days, vastly improving the quality of life for me and my rommates and probably saving us from all the health problems discussed in Super Size Me and Fast Food Nation. It opened up my eyes to the world of cuisine so that before too long my friends would come to me with all their culinary questions, saying, "Ask Chris, he's the cooker [sic]." I'm not bragging, though. These guys had never eaten a meal that did not include aerosol cheese before I started cooking out of The All New, All Purpose Joy of Cooking.
I got a lot out of the sections on basic stuff like nutrition, seasoning, pros and cons of different cooking methods, which types of food go well together, and basic staples that will always ensure you can make a decent meal when you want to.
When I have followed the recipes here closely, I have never had a meal that wasn't good. For four years, this book enabled me to cook successful, complete Thanksgiving meals for the whole household as well as for whatever significant others and tag-alongs happened to be present.
I especially recommend this book for desserts, sauces, and dressings. When you want to cook something you have not tried before, The All New All Purpose Joy of Cooking will give you a safe recipe guaranteed to yield a tasty result.
Rating:
Summary: Good cookbook
Review:
This is a great cookbook that includes some but not all of the basics. I, like a reviewer above, had always wondered where the basic chocolate cake and scalloped potatoes recipe were. Even though another reviewer kind of answers the question I don't totally agree with them. If you are a beginning cook you may not link the instructions about bechamel sauce on 46 to making scalloped potatoes and you also would not know how long to cook them for, what size dish to use, etc. Also you would not think of the Chocolate Sheet Cake as being a basic chocolate cake (really it isn't). I was also suprised that there were no ice-cream recipes.
Still, this is one of my favorite cookbooks and I think the recipes I have tried taste wonderful. I would reccommend it but it just leaves out some important recipes that beginning cooks need to know. If you can buy the old edition of Joy, it is much more complete.
After eliminating my coffee habit with the help of a wonderful coffee substitute called soyfe e I'm feeling so much better. Its made from soybeans which help lower cholesterol and promote strong bones. You can google under so ycoffe e.c om to find it. There is an interesting free feeling to this book, as though for the authors is in a new place too. A wonderful, wonderful book. Highly recommended!!
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