One of the first cookbooks I bought in college was Joy of Cooking. Although I grew up cooking out of my mother’s 1950’s-era Betty Crocker Cookbook, Joy seemed to be a bit more cosmopolitan to this farm girl. I liked the chapter on ingredients. I also liked the conversational tone of the recipes. Even though I’ve got many more cookbooks from which to choose, Joy of Cooking is still a go-to volume in our home. When we’ve had a dispute about something, Julian will often say, “Let’s consult Irma on this.”
All my Joys.
Over the years I’ve added three more editions to the collection. I bought the “cast of thousands” edition (edited by Maria Guarnaschelli) in the late 90’s. Last month I bought the latest edition, edited by Irma Rombauer’s great-grandson, John Becker, and his wife, Megan Scott. The new edition is a keeper. Becker and Scott have added hundreds of new recipes and updated many older ones. The new recipes include gluten-free breads and items from all over the world. I daresay Irma would look askance at the inclusion of kimchi jigae (Korean kimchi soup) in the latest edition of Joy.
The edition on the left (copyright 1943) is a treasure. I picked it up at my church’s used book sale about 15 years ago for $1. It had belonged to the mother-in-law of a church member. I didn’t realize it when I picked it up, but it was AUTOGRAPHED by Irma. In addition, the original owner had notations and other recipe clippings stashed in the book. Definitely a find.
Julian’s knock against the various editions of Joy is the recipe format. Rather than having all of the ingredients listed at the start of the recipe, the ingredients are listed at the step where they’re added. My response to this: Read the *&^%$#@! recipe!
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