Comments on: The Genius of the Joy of Cooking

By: jessica

jessica — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 20:31:45 +0000

If you love The Joy of Cooking, check out my blog–I’m cooking my way through it (I’m over two years into the project):

http://www.thejoyofthejoyofcooking.blogspot.com

I’m a huge Mental_Floss fan too, I’ve been reading it since the very beginning.

By: SurferGurl

SurferGurl — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 06:12:23 +0000

My mom bought me a copy of Joy of Cooking when I moved into my first apartment back in the 70s. A couple Christmases ago she gave me the 75th Anniversary edition. I get most of my recipes off the internet these days, but nothing beats Joy as the best reference book ever.

By: Katrina Scrimsher

Katrina Scrimsher — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 03:27:23 +0000

I’d like to thank you for writing such a nice article about Joy. The Rombauers are my relatives and family and I’m quite proud they’ve made such a mark on the modern age.

By: war tiger

war tiger — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 18:29:12 +0000

love the article. love cookbooks.

By: Bill Hitchens

Bill Hitchens — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:00:08 +0000

I’m from St. Louis and Rombauer was a friend of my mother’s large, extended German family — particularly the branch of the family that included my Great Aunt Julia Bloss, whose mother’s birth name was Becker. This is all very fascinating. I’ll have to contact the family geneologist to find out just how Rombauer fits into the family.

BTW, Rombauer was the one and only cookbook that we used for everyday cooking and it was treated almost as reverently as the family Bible. I prefer the original edition to the later ones because of the emphasis on plain cooking and German dishes.

By: Karen

Karen — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 15:35:47 +0000

I don’t know off the top of my head which edition I have, probably the 1997, but it is my favorite cookbook … and I have dozens and dozens of cookbooks. I’ve yet to make a recipe from it that didn’t get rave reviews. People think my pecan pie is an old family recipe…

By: Keith Law

Keith Law — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 05:27:41 +0000

I have the maligned-herein ’97 edition, and I have to say it’s the best of the ones I’ve seen, a significant improvement over the ’75 edition, which included, among other frivolities, instructions on dressing a squirrel. (And I don’t mean putting him in pleated pants.) The ’97 remains my standby – I’m actually on my second edition – and it is the best teaching cookbook I’ve ever found, yet one with enough personality to make reading it pleasant as well as educational.

As for Tim’s claim that “critics slammed” the ’97 edition, I would like to see some references to back that up.

By: Sue

Sue — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 20:18:33 +0000

About 25 years ago I found a 1943 edition in someone’s trash. It has been my go-to reference for many recipes. My favorite biscuit (cheddar) and corn bread recipes are from that book.

By: Diane

Diane — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:43:57 +0000

I have a copy of joy–I believe the 63 edition. Terribly handy. I find myself using it quite often. If there’s a cooking question I can’t answer, joy can!

By: Oliver

Oliver — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 19:38:05 +0000

Awesome article, really makes me want to search out a recent edition of the book! I have an old cook book lying around [not Joy, the 1963 edition of McCall's] and though I have – literally – a boxful of various cook books I’ve acquired it still remains my most used and referred to. There’s something lovely about any cooking book that simply teaches you how to do so, and doesn’t extol any one virtue over another other than simply making what tastes, and feels good.