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From: jfh@browngr.UUCP (John (Spike) Hughes)
Newsgroups: net.cooks
Subject: Re: Everyone should have _Joy_of_Cooking_
Message-ID: <1935@browngr.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 6-Mar-85 10:10:38 EST
Article-I.D.: browngr.1935
Posted: Wed Mar  6 10:10:38 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 11-Mar-85 06:44:05 EST
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I can't agree with Gary Benson about The Joy...
   I *do* agree that it is, at times, precious, and that many of the recipes
are not wonderful (all of them seem to have too much salt, and many have
too much sugar), but as a guide to various aspects of preparation, storage,
and the other mundane routines of cooking, it is full of information.
   I *do* suggest that the older editions are better. They're not so crowded
with symbols (yes, I object to those, too), and they often have information
that the new editions lack (like how to clean fresh fish, or how to eviscerate
fresh fowl, etc.).

   I rarely use a recipe from the Joy, but I certainly like having it around...
where else do you get that basic stuff. Julia Child can tell you how to cook
wonderful foods, but she doesn't tell you how to store the leftovers. Craig
Claiborne (in his 'Menu cookbok', for example) gives wonderful menus and
recipes for all the subtle items, but what about the routine ones? If he
calls for fresh cranberry sauce, how do you make it? (You look in TJOC and
use the recipe there, with half the sugar).

   Start collecting, by all means, but begin by going to a second-hand bookstore
and getting the oldest copy of the joy that you can find.
   -jfh