The Joy of Cooking: A Must-Own For Any Aspiring Chef

Photo Credit: cookbook publisher website

by Meghan Jones
03/26/2008

Plain-jane white and red cover facing forward on the bookshelf, the 75th anniversary edition of The Joy of Cooking is a far cry from most of the other star-filled, glossy photo-stocked cookbooks at the bookstore these days. It is a thick and heavy volume, and at first glance, seems unexciting and cumbersome.

The cover price lists it at $35, which is also more expensive than a lot of the aforementioned cookbooks, which could convince a kitchen queen – or king - to choose another set of recipes to try. That would be a mistake. After browsing the 4500 recipes and over 1000 pages in the new Joy, I have decided that, as Julia Child once said, this is the sole cookbook I would have if I could have no other.

The interior flap of The Joy of Cooking proudly states its history: a St. Louis widow by the name of Irma S. Rombauer started the first edition during the Great Depression, and her cheerful and hopeful voice is still prevalent throughout the text. Mrs. Rombauer seems like quite a character, since the first direction she ever gave her would-be cooks, whom she always considered friends, was to “stand facing the stove.” It must be because of this rudimentary, “let’s start from the beginning” attitude that this particular cookbook holds such an appeal to college students. Irma and her progeny have finally given cooking novices careful instructions on how to boil eggs, something I have had to call my mom about on more than one occasion.

Because it is an anniversary edition, this cookbook is written with a proud look backwards. The work was undertaken by Ethan Becker, the grandson of Irma, who insists he “learned how to cook from his mom,” despite a formal education at Le Cordon Bleu in France. The neatest part about this newest edition is that the passage in time is evident, each generation’s input distinct from the others.

While the original version produced by Irma was revolutionary for its own time as one of the first cookbooks to be written by someone without classical chef training, the book, when redone by Irma’s daughter (and Ethan’s mother) Marion, came to include advice on food and nutrition, as well as helpful illustrations. Marion’s career as the first professional director of the Cincinnati Modern Art Society led her to believe that visual representations were an important part of learning. Later, Ethan and his wife, added in information about the jumps in cooking technology we have made over the past few decades, including bread makers and microwaves, as well as the globalization of food culture. The book truly is a family affair, something the reader realizes as soon as they read the multiple introductions, and it is an affair you are encouraged to join.

The book is stocked with lots of extras that you won’t find in those mouth-watering, more exotic cookbooks filled with photographs of what your dish should look like when you’re done. There are features new to this anniversary edition, like the chapter on nutrition. It includes a bit on how to read food labels, a chart of healthy and easy recipe substitutions (switch out whole wheat flour for half of the white flour in muffin recipes; try nonfat plain yogurt in recipes calling for sour cream,) and the good and bad news about alcohol. All of the important words are in bold, turning it into a user-friendly food encyclopedia.

There are lists upon lists of planned out meals for holidays and family gatherings, a dinner party planning section which includes how to set a table for anything, from an informal gathering to a fancy four-course buffet. This is helpful, seeing as how you will no longer have to call Mom eighteen times to ask her where the dessert spoon goes, though she might begin to miss you. There are also “supper club menus,” including all of the recipes from one type of cuisine. This would be a really fun idea for some college students interested in cooking and food culture to try. One of my favorite unique touches is a backpacking menu, a list of all of the recipes that would transport well – and taste delicious – that can be cooked on top of a Sterno. Pretty handy!

An old-turns-new inclusion in this edition is the return of the “Know Your Ingredients” chapter at the end of the book. It is a truly impressive, alphabetical glossary that includes absolutely everything a recipe could call for, from bonito flakes to the many different kinds of mustard. When I have a few hours free, I fully intend to read it from front to back. “Know Your Ingredients” is immediately followed by “Cooking Methods and Techniques,” a 27-page discussion about the many different ways one can bake, fry, grill, braise or deglaze just about any ol’ piece of meat.

Some of the most unique recipes I could find included Lemonade for 100 People, Natural Egg Dye (boiled RED cabbage turns into BLUE dye, fancy that!) and a Snow Cream recipe where the main ingredient is at least two feet of fresh snowfall! It comes with a strict warning not to gather snow off of the ground. That must have been Irma’s idea.

The Joy of Cooking combines Irma’s witticisms and pure talent, Marion’s nutritional guidance and kitchen knowledge and Ethan’s love of his family’s legacy into one perfect package. If you’re willing to forgo all of the glitz and glamour of newer, more processed cookbooks on the market for something homey, warm and substantial, then it’s time to bring Joy into your kitchen.

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