Rating: 
Summary: tastier than the older editions
Review: I grew up eating food prepared from the Joy and turned to it when I myself started cooking. The recipes were indeed trustworthy and the writing witty. I have never cooked game or felt inclined to can, but the chapters were fascinating to read.
I received the New Joy for Christmas last year and have never missed the old one. It is expanded and improved and seems to be infused with tricks used in more professional settings. I used many recipes from it for this year's Thanksgiving dinner and have never received so many enthusiastic compliments. The turkey, which I brined according to new instructions in the book, made all the difference, as did turning it during roasting as suggested. If you simply want to make old favorites from the old book, don't bother with this. But if you would like a juicier and more flavorful turkey, a crispier pie crust and recipes for today's times, get this one.
Rating: 
Summary: changed for the worse
Review: I've used my old copy of JOC for years and practically taught myself how to cook from it. I was going to get copies for my friends who are cooking impaired and who think I'm a cooking goddess. I still will but not the new version. It now requires thermometers and much more useless fussing than the old one. Get the older version. It's the one that you want.
Rating:
Summary: Everybody is right
Review: I've looked at many of the reviews of "Joy" and most strike one of two themes: "This is a great cookbook" or "The old editions of 'Joy' were better." I think both themes are correct, and reflect the fundamental and obvious truth: the old editions were great and so is the new edition, but in a different way.The old 'Joys' were designed for a reader who might very well have one cookbook in their household (as many older cookbooks seemed to be.) Thus, you find recipies for woodchuck, beaver, and peccary as well as instructions for making a horse-shaped birthday bread. There was marvelous section about growing, drying and harvesting herbs. All are gone in the fourth edition. You can no longer have the feeling that when any unexpected situation arises in the kitchen 'Joy' will have the answer. Too, if you are an old 'Joy' user, you will inevitably have favorites recipes that are not included in the new edition. (For me, it's Angel Bars--how *could* they?) Small wonder, then, that many readers are disappointed. BUT the new edition is a wonderful cookbook. You just have to think of it differently. It's no longer the only cookbook you need in your kitchen, but it is a darn good compendium of recipes that has servicable versions of the dishes that make up perhaps 90% of what America cooks: Etouffee, Flautas, Bruschetta, Bechamel sauce, Scones, Quesadillas, as well as a good sampling of the increasingly obscure (e.g., Kedgeree). Whatever I'm considering making, I usually consult the new Joy to see what they have to say about it, and I often end up using their recipe or incorporating parts of it. AND the new Joy still has marvelous information in the "about" sections. You either learn something (ahh, that's when persimmons are in season) or you get some tips about an old friend (how to spot truly new potatoes versus those that have been stored). The larger sections that provide instructions on techniques, were, I think, better in the older editions. There was a crisp, no-nonsense tautness to the prose that gave you confidence. The new instruction sections often seem watered down or bloated; they either seem to try to make things a little easier for you (and compromise quality) or they seem to describe too many different options, when one reliable one is what we want from these sections. In sum, it's a great cookbook, but hold on to your old edition, if you have one. It's not better, just different.
Rating:
Summary: MUCH Better than the old one...
Review: I happen to disagree with many reviewers who prefer the older Joy. If you want to learn how to skin opossum and cook rabbit, pick up the old one. Use the new Joy if you want a wealth of information on how to choose ingredients, cooking utensils, and techniques. Everytime I want to cook a new dish, I look for how they make it in the new Joy. My only complaint is that the new Joy is so huge, the binding on my book is broken. I bought the spiral-bound edition of the old Joy because I thought it would be sturdier, but I never use it because I don't like the recipes.
Rating:
Summary: Throws baby out with bathwater!!
Review: I have 4 editions of the Joy: one from the 40's, one from the 50's; the 75 edition, and this one. The 50's & 75 eds are improvements on the original; they retain most of the best recipes, while updating certain sections and techniques. Not so with the "new" edition! Fewer than half of the original recipes are retained, and whole sections (Canning, Game) have been eliminated. While some of the new recipes are good, and the expanded vegetarian offerings are nice, this is no longer the Joy of Cooking that I've known and loved since I first learned to cook. All in all, disappointing.
Rating:
Summary: A fabulous addition to any kitchen library
Review: A wonderful variety of updated recipes using ingredients or techniques not available when the preious 1975 edition was published. Times change, cooking changes and Joy does a great job of keeping up with the changes!
Rating: 
Summary: If I could give this negative stars, I would.
Review: This is, without question, one of the worst cookbooks that I've ever had the misfortune of looking at. I use the OLD, reliable, Joy of Cooking as a springboard for recipe inspiration and modification. I received this "hunk of junk" as a holiday present, and it has MAYBE been opened twice. They got rid of all of the sections that I used on a regular basis, and replaced them with poorly-written sections, that have very little bearing on what I would actually cook at home on any sort of regular basis. Perhaps in the future, the publisher will actually come out with a revised version worth acquiring; until then, AVOID this one, buy the older version, it's more redeeming.
Rating:
Summary: I love it!
Review: I am a beginner cook. I like it a lot. The recipes are great to follow, it explains almost everything about all kinds of food, what things are, how to do things. I have tried about 18 or so recipes and I would do all but one again. I have not read the original, maybe it's better, but this is fine. If you can only have one cookbook, this is it.
Rating: 
Summary: Not so joyous
Review: As a student and someone still learning all the ins and outs of cooking, I decided that a comprehensive book was what I needed. The older JOY was a book that even had instructions on butchering animals. Thankfully, this has been omitted in this newer version, but it seems the new Joy lacks some of the older one's soul. Here are my main criticisms. (1) Many of the recipes are not very good. Adequate at best. It's very hit or miss. I thought the older Joy was more reliable, although usually much less healthy. (2) The older Joy had much more instruction in general. It was more than just recipes. It had commentary on various subjects, lessons, and the like. The new Joy lacks much of this comprehensiveness. That being said, the new Joy is much more healthy. The recipes are more varied and more reflective of the modern diet. It is very functional in that respect. However, in doing so, it's lost a lot of its charm. It's also dated itself. The recipes are not of the timeless variety, but very much representative of 1997. It's also not something you'll keep by your side in the kitchen. I reference it every now and then if I'm trying something new, but for the most part, it sits on my shelf. It's still a useful book, don't get me wrong. And many of the recipes are excellent. It's just not the old Joy.
Rating:
Summary: Don't Be Misled
Review: Don't be misled ... this is not the timeless classic cookbook, "Joy of Cooking", despite the similar cover and overlap in authors. Rather, it's a different kind of classic - a classic period cookbook from the 1990s, very current when it was published then, now aging rapidly. Want to invite guests over, 90s style? Look in this cookbook for recommendations: you'll find plenty of 90s food fads, and a 90s style penchant for menus that would be appropriate served anywhere but the dining room. Yes, in the 90s, you might well have made a big deal of making your own pizza for friends, as recommended by this book, or cooking and serving on the back porch because you couldn't afford a place with a kitchen yet. No need to get out your wedding china and silver for the holidays - this book doesn't tell you how to use it, anyway! Me, I was looking for a more traditional cooking reference, one that wouldn't become dated as quickly, one with menu and table service recommendations for people who cook in the kitchen and eat in the dining room. Fortunately, the traditional Joy of Cooking is still in print - and will no doubt stay in print much longer than this period piece.
|
