New Cook Book, 75th Anniversary Limited Edition
by Better Homes and Gardens
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Book Summary Information
Author: Better Homes and GardensEdition: Ring-bound
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Format: Deluxe Edition
Published: 2004-08-17
ISBN: 0696222507
Number of pages: 640
Publisher: Better Homes and Gardens
Book Reviews of New Cook Book, 75th Anniversary Limited Edition
Book Review: Maybe 4 1/2. Very Good Choice for the Cookbook with everything
Summary: 5 Stars
The `New Cookbook, 14th Edition' from `Better Homes and Gardens' is a heavyweight contender for best `if you have to have only one cookbook...' title, weighing in against the perennial champion, `The Joy of Cooking', now at its 75th Anniversary edition. The first of these contenders has been my mother's favorite for at least the last 40 years, and her original copy is so beat up (thus the purchase of a new edition), I can't even see the publication date on its binder, where the covers have literally fallen off the spine.
Looking at the bare figures, `Joy' would seem to be a clear winner, with almost twice (1132 versus 656) the number of pages and almost three times (4000 versus 1400) the number of recipes. Going one step deeper and comparing the Tables of Contents, `Joy' has 39 chapters to `Better Homes' 23 chapters, meaning that `Joy' gives some topics a highlighted treatment missing from `Better Homes'. And yet, `Better Homes' has things going for it, especially considering the fact that there are millions of people such as my mother who have been going to it for so many years.
`Better Homes' most obvious attribute is its 3 ring binder style, which means that every page will lay perfectly flat AND one can easily remove any page and photocopy it on an inexpensive home multipurpose copier / scanner / printer. No small consideration compared to `Joy's' sewn signatures which are a bit awkward if you are looking at candies at the end of the book or appetizers near the front of the book. This virtue is diminished just a tad by the fact that the binding is a non-standard size, not carried by your local Staples. (I looked, to try to replace the binder laying on my workbench in three pieces!). Another virtue associated with this design is the tabbed dividers for each section. This makes browsing to look for a nice egg recipe much easier than in `Joy'. The next obvious virtue is its color pictures. This is not a clear win, since `Joy's line drawings of how to techniques are often superior to `Better Homes' static pics.
`Better Homes', after over 40 years on the bookshelves, primarily succeeds at the one thing every `general purpose' cookbook must do well. It has good recipes for virtually every basic, and most of the not so basic preparations the average home cook will want to do in the kitchen in the course of a year. The only stock recipes I could not find was one for Genoise and one for the en papillote cooking technique. Not only do both appear in `Joy', but the Rombauer / Becker clan gives us two different recipes under both rubrics! But, `Better Homes' still has things going for it!
Looking at the layout, writing, and selection of recipes in `Better Homes', I find much that I like. Many standard recipes are provided with well-written variations, and especially variations I am really interested in trying, such as the blueberry variations on pancakes and muffins. There are also many full-blown parallel recipes when there are several classic ways for making a basic dish, such as biscuits, both rolled and cut and drop biscuits. I am also fond of how most of the recipes are written. Few details are overlooked, yet the writing is crisp and no nonsense direct and to the point. The one thing which will most appeal to the average home cook is that the book makes a point of using only familiar ingredients certain to appear even on the smaller local supermarket shelves. On the other hand, there is little or no holdover from the dark days of 1950s cooking making heavy use of canned or dried ingredients. On the other hand, canned mushrooms, mushroom soup, and hydrogenated shortening are not missing entirely and more than once I found recipes where butter does better than Crisco.
The two things which most impressed me were the overall selection of recipes and the excellent introductory chapter on `Cooking Basics'. There is an entire library of cookbooks who try to give a good treatment of this subject, and end up giving us just a short chapter of filler to pad out their standard 250 pages. `Better Homes' does it right, as befitting its `be all things' ambitions. The recipe selection is broad enough to appeal to even the more adventuresome home cook, with its recipes for breads, homemade pasta, and homemade salad dressings. My problem with some of the more elaborate recipes is that the product is almost certain to be not as good as what you get from a commercial source. The cinnamon bun recipe, for example, is not nearly as good as my standard from `Baking with Julia'. I was also skeptical of it's hot cross buns recipe, a preparation which is remarkably difficult, as baked goods go. Remarkably, `Joy' passes on both these recipes, reinforcing my belief that for these specialties, one will be far better off going to a book specializing in baking for an authoritative recipe.
IF I were limited to a single cookbook, my personal choice between these two is `Joy of Cooking', simply because it's recipes are just as good as `Better Homes', and there is more of it. But, if your family tradition belongs to `Better Homes and Gardens', you will not be disappointed by their offering.
Summary of New Cook Book, 75th Anniversary Limited Edition
To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the famous "red-plaid" cookbook, Better Homes and Gardens editors have added a special chapter with 75 "best-of-the-best" recipes from the cookbook?s first 11 editions. This special Limited Edition pays tribute to previous generations of the cookbook that helped establish it as America?s No.1 kitchen resource.Features
64 new pages with 75 "best-of-the-best" recipes from past editions.
Ring-bound volume lays flat for easy use.
More than 1,200 that reflect current eating habits and lifestyles.
More than 700 photos, including 60 percent more of finished food than the last edition.
Dozens of recipes offer ethnic flavors, fresh ingredients, or vegetarian appeal.
Many recipes feature make-ahead directions or quick-to-the-table meals.
Efficient, easy-to-read format, with recipes categorized into 21 chapters, each thoroughly indexed for easy reference.
Expanded chapter on cooking basics includes advice on food safety, menu planning, table setting, and make-ahead cooking, plus a thorough glossary on ingredients and techniques.
Appliance-friendly recipes help cooks save time and creatively use new kitchen tools. An entire chapter is devoted to crockery cooker recipes.
Nutrition information with each recipe, plus diabetic exchanges.
Tab dividers already in place?minimal assembly for readers.
Every recipe tested and perfected by the Better Homes and Gardens Test Kitchen.
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