The Joy of Cooking: Volume 1: Main Course Dishes

by Irma S. Rombauer, Marion Rombauer Becker

These revised and enlarged editions are available for the first time ever in mass-market editions, the "Joy of Cooking" Vol. 1": Main Course Dishes and "Joy of Cooking" Vol. 2": Appetizers, Desserts & Baked Goods feature hundreds of new recipes and cooking tips as well as the enduring favorites. For the beginning cook or the seasoned chef, "Joy of Cooking" shows how to present food correctly and charmingly, from the simplest to the most formal service.
-- "Joy of Cooking" is for both beginning and experienced cooks
-- These are the only mass market cookbooks of its kind!
-- "The finest basic cookbook available. A masterpiece of clarity!" -- Craig Claiborne
-- "Covers the entire gamut of kitchen procedures...easy to use!" -- James Beard

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference

688 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published May 1, 1998

About the author

In 1931, a St. Louis widow named Irma von Starkloff Rombauer took her life savings and self-published a book called The Joy of Cooking. Her daughter, Marion, tested recipes and made the illustrations, and they sold their mother-daughter project from Irma's apartment.

Reviews

[DeAnne · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have my grandmother's copy of this book. It's my standard "go to" for questions on things like "how do I disassemble this cow?" and "what's the traditional method of making béchamel?" This edition of the cookbook is to the American cook what the Larousse Gastronomique is to serious French cooks. It's got encyclopedic amounts of knowledge, and thousands of tested recipes. Sure, it's heavy on cream and butter...because those things make life worth living.

Later editions of this book are horrible, pale imitations of the first through 4th editions, and are not to be trusted.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This two volume set is the first cookbook that I bought when I moved out of my parents' house. I turn to for answers to basic (and not so basic) cooking questions. We have since replaced it with the 1975 hardcover version but have kept the paperbacks to take with us on camping trips.

The first volume (Main Course Dishes) contains many recipes, including one for chicken stock that I still use. The second volume (Appetizers, Desserts, and Baked Goods) includes the handy "know your ingredients".

[Louise Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Am using this treasure yet again. A delight. I gave away my first copies that were gifted to me in the early 1970s. Mistake. I missed them so much that I trolled the bookshops for replacements. Upon the advice of some online food communities, I searched for the original editions. These include the recipes for squirrel and whale meat, among others. I have made the squirrel recipe which is similar to chicken chasseur and very tasty. I have now the 1978 edition of vol. 1 published by Signet in paperback. An invaluable resource which I highly recommend. A novice cook will learn many of the basics, and a skilled cook can riff on old treasures.

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encyclopedic

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am sure I will be referring to this for years.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book helped may me the cook I am.