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Book Summary InformationAuthor: Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker Illustrator: Ginnie Hofmann Illustrator: Ikki Matsumoto Edition: Hardcover Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published) Published: 1985-05-01 ISBN: 0026045702 Number of pages: 928 Publisher: The Bobbs-Merrill Company Accessories:
Book Reviews of JOY OF COOKINGBook Review: Beaver and Muskrat and Armadillo, oh my Summary: 5 Stars
`The Joy of Cooking' is touted as the most comprehensive culinary manual published in English by the unprecedented appearance of introductory blurbs by the holy Trinity of American culinary writers, Julia Child, Craig Claiborne, and James Beard. That is more than enough incentive to see if this hoary classic has clay feet. I am very pleased to report that in spite of a few hiccups here and there, this book deserves every bit of reputation it has acquired as the `go to' cookbook for America.
A little hint I learned early on about assessing the quality of non-fiction books is the number of editions through which the title has been printed. I do not know what the record is, but `The Joy of Cooking' probably comes close to it for a book that is not published every year such as an almanac. A lot of editions means that the book has been popular and that many eyes have gone over the text and have corrected just about any misstatement which may have crept in. My copy reports thirteen (13) editions beginning in 1931. Since agriculture, nutrition, cooking fashion and equipment changes with the times, especially in the last 100 years, I would not trust an older book as a practical kitchen guide, although I may value it as a historical source. The changes over the last 30 years in the fat content of pork alone can turn a host of good recipes into recipes for shoe leather. `The Joy of Cooking' shows many signs of being abreast of the times, up to the mid 1970s, but it also shows some signs of not knowing about important recent trends. While both Julia Child and Elizabeth David both endorsed nonstick surfaced skillets for cooking eggs and other protein, `The Joy of Cooking' has no entry in its index for `Teflon' and does not mention stick-free cookware in its discussion of omelet making techniques.
The other side of the coin is that the `Joy...' covers most subjects, including omelet making to a level of detail which would impress even the most fastidious culinary writers such as Judy Rodgers and Jeremiah Tower. It does not just give us a single omelet technique, it gives us five. Where most 300 page cookbooks gives us six or seven topics, `Joy...' has 32 chapters of recipes plus three chapters on general food topics such as preservation techniques in 850 pages. My favorite all-purpose cookbook `James Beard's American Cookery' comes in at a close second at 840 pages. `Joy...' covers a greater range of topics than Beard and probably has a lot more material than the scant 10 pages difference in size suggests as `Joy...' has a smaller typeface and is printed in double columns. Size would count for nothing if the information were not good. It turns out that the quality of the instruction on standard tasks such as making stock, cooking an omelet, and making a basic piecrust is very, very good. The directions for stock making cover all the cautions and recommendations of Judy Rodgers, the writer / chef whose stock recipes are by far the most careful I have ever seen.
`The Joy of Cooking' reminds me of promotional material for the Encyclopedia Britannica, where the 24 volume set was pictured as a replacement for a library comprised of fifty or more books. `Joy...' covers numerous subjects which you may be surprised to find outside a book specializing in subjects such as artisinal breads, canning, and game animal cookery. And, while Beard has instructions for cooking bear and squirrel, he missed out on the recipes for muskrat, woodchuck, beaver and armadillo. So, I agree 100% with the notion that if you start a collection of cookbooks with the intention of actually cooking from them, the latest edition of `The Joy of Cooking' should be the very first one. But, I also recommend that if you are especially fond of a certain style of cooking or with any type of bread or pastry making, that you get at least one or two books on that speciality. In bread baking, `Joy...' covers yeast breads and sourdough breads, but it does not address techniques for using natural yeasts and its yeast rising for certain breads such as brioche take short cuts to avoid an overnight rise. Oddly, the book also takes shortcuts to speed up the usual 3-day marinade for sauerbraten. So, this is definitely for the everyday cook and not for the artisinal or the `slow cooking' devotee.
From the low price and binding style, one may approach `Joy...' as a greatly inflated church lady fund raising cookbook. Nothing is further from the truth. The writing is as skillful, as crisp, and almost as entertaining as the best of Julia Child's text. There are long, intelligent essays on foods and how to identify the best produce, meats, and fish. The book does not give you the Shirley Corriher angle on techniques, but it does give you all the best techniques and a common sense explanation of why they are good. I even suspect my favorite culinary nerd Alton Brown lifted some ideas from these pages, as it includes the notion of storing root vegetables in sand, something I have seen on `Good Eats'.
There are a few minor lapses, such as overlooking a mention of the high acidity (7%) of white wine vinegar and the low acidity (4.5%) of rice vinegar. A sign of the age of the text is the fact that it doesn't even mention balsamic vinegar. Another small blemish is that the text often refers to pictures that are not located where the text points. I will also point out that the book makes extensive use of references to other pages for procedures or preparations to fill out a recipe. A small price for a truly encyclopedic work.
Highly recommended as a first cookbook and a reference for even jaded foodies.
Summary of JOY OF COOKINGJoy 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. 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.
Reference Books
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