Joy of Cooking

Rating:
Summary: Contents excellent, book quality horrid
Review: This review is for the spiral-bound edition.

I'll start with the written content: this cookbook is a complete guide not just for cooking, but for food as a whole. There are recipes for every conceivable type of consumable. Beverages (nonalcoholic and alcoholic), appetizers, snacks, candies, jellies, desserts, sauces/toppings, stuffings, and what goes in-between: simple entrees to full-blown multi-course dinners. The instructions are detailed and easy to understand. Unlike cookbooks that tell you to "cut into fillets and braise until done" or "serve with a piquant sauce," the directions take you through step-by-step, always explaining what is really meant. The ingredients range from items found in any supermarket to the more obscure near-alien things that will require serious searching, although most of the ingredients are quite reasonable. There are numerous illustrations throughout, finally letting mankind in on the secret of why some coffee cakes look like they were made from the inside out.

Not just recipes, either. This book includes detailed information on selecting, testing for/maintaining freshness, storing (including an entire chapter on freezing), preparing, and cutting the food. Different types of fruit are explained. Half a dozen pages are devoted to informing the reader about wine. Cuts of beef are explained here; JoC finally explains why chuck is chuck and tip is tip, and where they come from. Table decor, place settings, and appropriate wine glasses are explained too.

The writing style is joyful. Clearly, the authors do not just enjoy cooking, serving, and eating the food... they like talking about it, too. There is a gleeful sense of humor throughout, and anecdotes about where the food originated from and how it got its preposterous name. The contents of this cookbook are a treasure.

Now for the bad part: the physical book. Had the pages been printed on better quality paper, I would upgrade this poor excuse for a tome to galley status. The paper is clearly manga paper, almost (but not quite) as good as the quality of the phone book paper of your yellow pages, yet not quite as thick. The pages are transparent enough that you do not need to turn the flimsy page to see what is printed on the other side. The text size is small, the same size as the print of the listings in a phone book. The ink quality is atrocious; it's obvious that the photocopying machine used to crank out these pages was running out of toner, giving the book dark-text pages and fuzzy pale-text pages. Sometimes it's hard to tell whether the text is in bold print or if the toner cartridge went into its final death throe. The spiral spine is cheap plastic and does not allow easy page-turning. The quality of this (physical) book is absolutely ridiculous.

That's five stars for the content, one star for the physical book.

Rating:
Summary: The Real One
Review: Thank goodness they didn't drop this classic from the market when they brought out their so-called "New Joy of Cooking".

This is the book. This is the one book that ought to be in every kitchen. And, despite readers' comments on the quality of the spiral-bound edition, if you can't afford the hardcover, *buy* the spiral-bound and upgrade to the HC when you can.

You must have this book in your kitchen. ((After this one, get "The Pirate's Pantry", a Lake Charles, Louisiana Junior League cookbook))

Not only does this book tell you how to *cook* things, it has sections that tell you *why* you cook certain things in a certain way and certain things differently.

It covers the most elementary of basics in clear and concise language, and goes on from there to more complex and difficult cooking. And, unlike many, it covers aspects of cooking that you may never need -- but then again, someday you may - things like cooking wild game and other non-everyday occurences.

Best cookbook inna whole flippin' world.

Buy it.

Rating:
Summary: A Males Cookbook
Review: The Book is great for new Cooks like Newly Weds or Young Men learning about cooking. It has it all. Like how to grill. The things men do wrong when grilling the way thier fathers would teach them like, salting your meat prior to grilling. Great pointers as in why Red potatoes are better for boiling than Idaho. Even a reciepe for Hush Puppies. How to cut a Wedding cake and a menu for a New Years party. I tell everyone I know this is the best cookbook you will ever find and its easy to understand. Most books I give up reading after the I have to go to the far east to find the ingredients. I will always... have this book. If you did not learn it all from your mother, and she is not just a phone call away, then you can almost always find the advice you need in this book. It is written in easy to understand verbage and I love it.

Rating:
Summary: Indispensable Guide to the Kitchen
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: The Once and Future Cookbook Champ!
Review: Diehard "Joy" fans rejoice, you can still get the "original" Joy of Cooking everyone's mother and grandmother used. This edition, first published in 1975, is, as I understand it, the last edition written by Irma Rombaur's daughter (the latest, "New Joy of Cooking" was written by Rombaur's grandson). Many prefer this edition to the "New Joy" since it contains less fussy and more classic recipes. Personally, I have them both, and they each have their pros and cons (the "New Joy" finally takes into consideration some basis of healthful cooking, for instance, and drops some of the more antiquated appetizer and cocktail recipes). I also own the "Joy of Cooking : A Compilation of Reliable Recipes With a Casual Culinary Chat," which is a word-for-word reproduction of Irma Rombaur's original, self-published edition of this cooking classic. (With all these editions on the market, it's clear that Irma's grandson knows how to make a profit, if not a perfect chocolate soufflé.)

"Joy of Cooking" is synonymous with good, old-fashioned practical cooking. Every good cook I know owns at least one copy of this book. It's 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 Joy of Cooking" will create a perfectly balanced recipe collection for the experienced cook or novice baker.

Rating:
Summary: it's all in here
Review: It doesn't matter what I'm cooking, JOC has instructions on how to do it. And I love the chatty notes on specific recipes and techniques--they keep it from being stodgy and ponderous.

I only wish the actual book was a bit more heavy duty. The pages are little more than newsprint-weight.

Rating:
Summary: A Fabulous Kitchen Companion
Review: This is the Cookbook of cookbooks. For both the professional chef and the culinary amateur, this book provides invaluable information in the form of recipes, technique, and different preparations of similar dishes.

I have one entire bookshelf of cookbooks, and this is the only cookbook that never quite makes it back onto the shelf. You do not have to be a professional to understand or use this book to create stunnign and flavorful dishes. Rombauer et all manage to compile a staggering list of recipes from all walks of life and areas of the world without lapsing into difficult or unfamiliar techniques.

From mulled wine and wassail to roast stuffed pork tenderloin, from chili con carne to souffles, this cookbook has it all. This cookbook is one that is a timeless classic, and should be a staple in every kitchen.

Rating:
Summary: Kitchen Bible
Review: Answers nearly all questions one might have in the kitchen. It's my textbook.

Rating:
Summary: don't get the comb edition
Review: Having worn out the large paperback edition of this cookbook, and being perpetually annoyed at the small edition's inability to stay open to the recipe I'm cooking, I was thrilled to find a comb edition of this book. (A cookbook that lays flat on the table - what a great idea!).

Unfortunately, this great concept is completely undermined by a lousy execution. The paper in this book is dark and grainy, smoother than pulp paper, but just as unreadable. The text isn't in the large and easy-to-read font we know and love in the original book, but rather in a cramped and heavy typeface. The pages are so flimsy that I'm afraid to flip through the book for fear that I'll tear one out.

The cooking information all seems to be faithfully reproduced. But definitely not the joy.

Rating:
Summary: disappointing
Review: This book is fine if you're in the habit of cooking roast beef dinners with all the trimmings. It has some good old-fashioned information but given the size of this book (big enough to kill someone if dropped on the head) it's disappointing. The muffin recipes have way too much sugar for the amount of flour required, the cookie recipes are not good, and if you're Italian, you will have a good laugh at the pasta recipes.