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Summary: a joy forever
Review: I use a well thumbed, 1946 edition with lots of pencil notes in my mother's handwriting. My daughter saw it and asked if she could have it because my cooking is notoriously "creative" and she could not believe that I certainly do use it at least for startoffs. I ordered her a new copy from Amazon. She is now overseas as a missionary and says it is extreemly useful because it EXPLAINS how and what, regardless of where you live or what is selling in the local market. It includes almost everything (except foreign or exotic)but has fascinating comments and little histories. If you want a straight forward, practical and somewhat old fashioned (very few quick mixes or prepackaged ingredients)this is a great all time PLEASURABLE book to use. Not a book with pictures, but several variations on the same page with cross references.
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Summary: I couldn't cook without it!
Review: I have this book and it has recipes for everything I have ever needed. Freinds even call for recipes and hints from it, and I have quite a few cook books. I will never recommend another book.
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Summary: Great learning cook book.
Review: When I was young my mom used the Joy of Cooking book regularly. Then there was house fire and the book was lost. I have been looking for years for a copy of the 1948 Joy of Cooking. I currently have other copies but my mom still talkes about the 1948 and how good it is.
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Summary: this book is a wonder giving great instructions
Review: This book has been a staple around our house and family for over 40 years, no book you buy will give the details and explantions you will find in here. Unlike most books this one gives the why you do it and simple worded steps
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Summary: A Must-Have for any serious aspirant to the Art of Cooking.
Review: After the Boston Cooking School CookBook, this was my second. I've had it for over 30 years and still use it. It's a virtual encyclopedia of cooking everything from soup to nuts. No kitchen should be without it.
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Summary: You're either a Fannie Farmer person or a Joy of Cooking per
Review: I purchased the 1975 edition of this book after hearing about it for years. Although it is a good secondary reference, it does not meet my expectations for a primary reference. I do not go here to review techniques or develop a general approach to a problem. Too many recipes use pre-packaged ingredients and seem overly fussy. My preference is for the simple and straightforward approach that will treat good ingredients (ie whatever looks best at the farmer's market) as simply as possible to get the best out of them. In my opinion, Marion Cunningham's Fannie Farmer Cookbook, just about anything by James Beard and Christopher Kimball's Yellow Farmhouse Cookbook and The Cook's Bible are better books.
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Summary: Ma ma mia!
Review: This book is really excellent. I can find almost all kinds of food which I wish to cook. The recipes are clear and precise. Beginners can simply follow the recipes step by step and produce delicious dishes. The coverage of this book is broad, too. Yet some of the recipes are, I guess, adapted for US; because some of the non-western recipes are not very original. Anyway, that's good enough and the authors should have done their best in brining this book to us. I highly recommend this book.
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Summary: A wedding gift that I still enjoy after 21 years!
Review: It's a great resource on cooking. I wish it were updated to a cd rom. If it is available I would like to have it for my collection.
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Summary: Quintessential Cooking Basics
Review: My soft-covered version is now dog-eared and taped together at the spine, indicating my years of reliance on this cookbook, which to me, is essential to the household kitchen.Written on the basis that "There's no such thing as a dumb question", The Joy of Cooking combines recipes with plain-English cooking instruction and detailed information about the food we prepare and eat. Readers will find food preparation instruction from as simple as hard boiling an egg to the complexity of preparing a roast suckling pig, and the recipes cover everything from soup to desserts. Sections on knowing your ingredients and entertaining basics round out this classic cookbook. While the typical recipes are basic American culinary fare, the book as a whole is a wealth of information for both the beginning and every day cook. You'll find the things you mother never taught you, and things your mother never knew.
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Summary: Reading comfort of the local phone book
Review: I bought this book a result of a reference while looking at other cookbooks. But I do not think it is a really big addition to my library of cookbooks. In the first place nobody mentioned that it is a book without any fotos, just small tiny drawings to illustrate cooking steps. And I really think that cooking books a lot more inspiring with nice pictures. And on the second hand nobody neither commented on the book's very small printing on poor paper. You really get the impression that you are looking something up in a phone book. Because of the two mentioned reasons I really did not concentrate a lot on the recipes. Maybe that the book might be helpful if you are looking for some recipe someone mentioned or you just remembered using it as a kind of encyclopedia. But it is definitely not the right book for lightening up your daily brainstorming about what to cook for your family.
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