MacGourmet News

"Joy of Cooking," the most popular cookbook in America, has just undergone another makeover just in time for the 75th anniversary.

The new version puts back a lot of the information removed from the original and 1975 editions by the 1997 update. The strengths of "Joy of Cooking" have always been, according to the NYTs review, information on all things: "You open it to figure out how to structure a soup, how long to boil an egg or how much condensed milk goes into a coconut macaroon. Need a short history of basil? It's here, along with tips on working with a caterer and recipes for every holiday cookie you've ever tasted."

According to the New York Times (free subscription required):

...Scribner, the publisher, wants you to add a new "Joy" to the shelf. Just in time for its 75th anniversary, "Joy of Cooking" has undergone radical surgery. Meet the Best Loved and Brand New "Joy of Cooking," in bookstores for $30 this week.

If this sounds a little familiar, that's because "Joy of Cooking" underwent a similar transformation in 1997, when we were asked to forget our beloved dog-eared copies and buy the All New, All Purpose "Joy of Cooking," priced at $35.

That well-engineered but unloved revision turned out to be the New Coke of cookbooks.

Caught between unhappy family heirs and tepid reviews, Scribner is now suggesting we just forget about all that nonsense 10 years ago. They didn't really mean it when they scrubbed the homey Rombauer-Becker family wisdom and killed the canning section.

Apparently, the makeover in 1997 removed a lot of the "home wisdom" of the original, but in the 75th edition it's back.

The new old "Joy" is essentially a rewrite of the 1975 edition, the most popular one. It corrects, at least in the mind of Ethan Becker, Irma Rombauer's grandson and the keeper of the family franchise, the big mistake that was the 1997 version.

There appears to be both good in the new book:

...the new book has a much deeper section on grains, and devotes lots of space to cooking vegetables in a microwave, a method I am increasingly fond of. The very solid cocktail section has been restored and, in keeping with the sensibilities of the founding family, there is more material on how to grow food and forage.

and some bad:

While the new book rightly restores sections that fell to Ms. Guarnaschelli's pen - the ice cream and pickling sections, for example - it goes too far in its effort to rebuild the family house. Some of the gee-shucks recipes are just not very good, and the Becker family homage woven throughout the chapters can seem creepily cultish.

but according to the Times reviewer:

...the new version is the most complete and current "Joy" you can buy. If I didn't have my trusty 1975 version, I would shell out $30. But for the number of times I actually dip into "Joy," the '75 will suffice. After all, a meringue is a meringue and cuts of beef don't really change.

Read the entire review while it's available: Does the World Need Another 'Joy'? Do You?

Buy Joy of Cooking: 75th Anniversary Edition at Amazon.com, where you can also find a lot more reviews of the new edition.