Since its first private printing in 1931, The Joy of Cooking has been teaching Americans how to cook. Craig Claiborne calls it "a masterpiece of clarity" and Julia Child says it's the one book she'd keep if she could only have one English title on the shelf. The nearly 5,000 recipes are handily organized by meal and ingredient, and no cooking instruction goes unexplained, so you can finally understand the difference between poaching and braising. The book includes nutritional information as well as an extremely helpful list of measures and equivalents. You'll find a version of every recipe your mother ever cooked, along with straightforward instructions for cooking more exotic specialties such as turtles and muskrats.

Review
James Beard The classic work, which covers the entire gamut of kitchen procedures and is easy to use.

Cecily Brownstone Important as is the information in this encyclopedic cookbook, it's the imprint of Irma Rombauer's and Marion Rombauer Becker's personalities that makes Joy of Cooking the best loved cookbook to come out of these United States.

Julia Child ...it is definitely number one on my list...the one book of all cookbooks in English that I would have on my shelf -- if I could have but one.

Review
Craig Claiborne The finest basic cookbook available. It is a masterpiece of clarity.

Review
Craig Claiborne The finest basic cookbook available. It is a masterpiece of clarity.

Book Description
Joy is the all-purpose cookbook. There are other basic cookbooks on the market, and there are fine specialty cookbooks, but no other cookbook includes such a complete range of recipes in every category: everyday, classic, foreign and de luxe. Joy is the one indispensable cookbook, a boon to the beginner, treasure for the experienced cook, the foundation of many a happy kitchen and many a happy home. Privately printed in 1931, Joy has always been family affair, and like a family it has grown. Written by Irma Starkloff Rombauer, a St. Louisan, it was first tested and illustrated by her daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, and subsequently it was revised and enlarged through Marion's efforts and those of her architect husband, John W. Becker. Their sons -- Ethan, with his Cordon Bleu and camping experiences, and Mark, with his interest in natural foods-have reinforced Joy in many ways. Now over forty, Joy continues to be a family affair, demonstrating more than ever the awareness we all share in the growing preciousness of food. Special features in this edition are the chapter on Heat, which gives you many hints on maintaining the nutrients in the food you are cooking, and Know Your Ingredients, which reveals vital characteristics of the materials you commonly combine, telling how and why they react as they do; how to measure them; when feasible, how to substitute one for another; as well as amounts to buy. Wherever possible, information also appears at the point of use. Divided into three parts, Foods We Eat, Foods We Heat and Foods We Keep, Joy now contains more than 4500 recipes, many hundreds of them new to this edition -- the first full revision in twelve years. All the enduring favorites will still be found. In the chapter on Brunch, Lunch and Supper Dishes there are also interesting suggestions for using convenience and leftover foods. Through its more than 1000 practical, delightful drawings by Ginnie Hofmann and Ikki Matsumoto, Joy shows how to present food correctly and charmingly, from the simplest to the most formal service; how to prepare ingredients with classic tools and techniques; and how to preserve safely the results of your canning and freezing. Joy grows with the times; it has a full roster of American and foreign dishes: Strudel, Zabaglione, Rijsttafel, Couscous, among many others. All the classic terms you find on menus, such as Provencale, bonne femme, meunière and Florentine, are not merely defined but fully explained so you yourself can confect the dish they characterize. Throughout the book the whys and wherefores of the directions are given, with special emphasis on that vital cooking factor -- heat. Did you know that even the temperature of an ingredient can make or mar your best-laid plans? Learn exactly what the results of simmering, blanching, roasting and braising have on your efforts. Read the enlarged discussion on herbs, spices and seasonings, and note that their use is included in suitable amounts in the recipes. No detail necessary to your success in cooking has been omitted. Joy, we hope, will always remain essentially a family affair, as well as an enterprise in which its authors owe no obligation to anyone but to themselves and to you. Choose from our offerings what suits your person, your way of life, your pleasure -- and join us in the Joy of cooking. Because of the infinite patience that has gone into the preparation of Joy of Cooking, the publishers offer it on a money-back guarantee. Without question there is no finer all-purpose cookbook.

FROM OUR EDITORS

America's most popular kitchen bible has been revised for the first time in more than 20 years. Much is still familiar -- the recipe structure, with ingredients listed as they are called for, has been left intact, for instance -- but there's plenty that's new. Concerns about healthy eating are reflected throughout the new Joy, but old-fashioned, fat-laden dishes aren't gone entirely -- there are still plenty of appealing recipes for pies, tarts, puddings, eggs, and meats that set cholesterol scales tipping. As in previous revisions, changing tastes in food and the widening influence of ethnic cuisines have caused the most major changes in Joy. This is the ideal book for beginners, and a great reference for experienced cooks to have on hand as well.

ANNOTATION

The newly revised and expanded edition of this American household classic includes more ethnic recipes while stressing healthier, lower-fat cooking.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Joy is the all-purpose cookbook. There are other basic cookbooks on the market, and there are fine specialty cookbooks, but no other cookbook includes such a complete range of recipes in every category: everyday, classic, foreign and de luxe. Joy is the one indispensable cookbook, a boon to the beginner, treasure for the experienced cook, the foundation of many a happy kitchen and many a happy home.

Privately printed in 1931, Joy has always been family affair, and like a family it has grown. Written by Irma Starkloff Rombauer, a St. Louisan, it was first tested and illustrated by her daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, and subsequently it was revised and enlarged through Marion's efforts and those of her architect husband, John W. Becker. Their sons — Ethan, with his Cordon Bleu and camping experiences, and Mark, with his interest in natural foods-have reinforced Joy in many ways.

Now over forty, Joy continues to be a family affair, demonstrating more than ever the awareness we all share in the growing preciousness of food. Special features in this edition are the chapter on Heat, which gives you many hints on maintaining the nutrients in the food you are cooking, and Know Your Ingredients, which reveals vital characteristics of the materials you commonly combine, telling how and why they react as they do; how to measure them; when feasible, how to substitute one for another; as well as amounts to buy. Wherever possible, information also appears at the point of use.

Divided into three parts, Foods We Eat, Foods We Heat and Foods We Keep, Joy now contains more than 4500 recipes, many hundreds ofthem new to this edition — the first full revision in twelve years. All the enduring favorites will still be found. In the chapter on Brunch, Lunch and Supper Dishes there are also interesting suggestions for using convenience and leftover foods. Through its more than 1000 practical, delightful drawings by Ginnie Hofmann and Ikki Matsumoto, Joy shows how to present food correctly and charmingly, from the simplest to the most formal service; how to prepare ingredients with classic tools and techniques; and how to preserve safely the results of your canning and freezing.

Joy grows with the times; it has a full roster of American and foreign dishes: Strudel, Zabaglione, Rijsttafel, Couscous, among many others. All the classic terms you find on menus, such as Provencale, bonne femme, meunière and Florentine, are not merely defined but fully explained so you yourself can confect the dish they characterize. Throughout the book the whys and wherefores of the directions are given, with special emphasis on that vital cooking factor — heat. Did you know that even the temperature of an ingredient can make or mar your best-laid plans? Learn exactly what the results of simmering, blanching, roasting and braising have on your efforts. Read the enlarged discussion on herbs, spices and seasonings, and note that their use is included in suitable amounts in the recipes. No detail necessary to your success in cooking has been omitted.

Joy, we hope, will always remain essentially a family affair, as well as an enterprise in which its authors owe no obligation to anyone but to themselves and to you. Choose from our offerings what suits your person, your way of life, your pleasure — and join us in the Joy of cooking.

Because of the infinite patience that has gone into the preparation of Joy of Cooking, the publishers offer it on a money-back guarantee. Without question there is no finer all-purpose cookbook.

SYNOPSIS

Whether you're wondering what to do with that pheasant your brother-in-law shot or how to cook a perfect coddled egg, every home cook needs a reliable reference cookbook to turn to for solid information, advice on technique, and great recipes. We've collected our favorite kitchen bibles of all time, including the latest edition of Joy of Cooking, useful not just for the beginning cook but for old kitchen hands as well.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal