Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 (Tek) 9/28/84 based on 9/17/84; site tekgvs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!bellcore!decvax!tektronix!tekcrl!tekgvs!jerem From: jerem@tekgvs.UUCP (Jere Marrs) Newsgroups: net.cooks Subject: Re: Everyone should have _Joy_of_Cooking_ Message-ID: <1060@tekgvs.UUCP> Date: Sun, 3-Mar-85 23:06:27 EST Article-I.D.: tekgvs.1060 Posted: Sun Mar 3 23:06:27 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 6-Mar-85 04:22:15 EST References: <178@gitpyr.UUCP> <558@tpvax.fluke.UUCP> Distribution: net Organization: Tektronix, Beaverton OR Lines: 63 > > I disagree most heartily with this often-stated opinion that everyone should > own "Joy of Cooking". After having heard that from most of the people I ever > discussed cookbooks with, I finally went out and sprung for it. > > Just so that the other side of the "which-cookbook-should-I-buy" question > gets aired, I want to say I think it stinks. There are too many arcane > little symbols, WAY too much cross-referencing, and the attempts at > "cuteness" seem always slightly off the mark. There is also this built-in > piece of snobbishness: recipes that are found particularly delightful > as prepared at the family home are given the "ala whatever" treatment. I > forget the name of the family home, but come on, who cares? > > I agree that it is probably the most extensive book of American cooking > available, and I also agree that I can find a recipe for just about anything > I want to cook. I admit I cannot think of one that would serve better as an > all-around cookbook, but you're going to wind up with a collection anyway if > you like to cook, so eventually you're going to go to be going to one > cookbook for cajun dishes, another for Lebanese, and like that. > > I never recommend Joy, but if someone asks, I tell them to start collecting. > And when I hear someone recommend it, I always take exception for the exact > reasons stated hear. I sometimes feel like the voice in teh wilderness, but > hey, it just goes to show that not *everyone* should own it. I shouldn't. > > -- > Gary Benson {allegra microsoft ssc-vax telematic uw-beaver wavetek} fluke!inc > John Fluke Mfg Co MS 232-E PO Box C 9090 Everett WA USA 98206 (206) 356-5367 * I certainly agree that JOY is not a monograph on the culinary arts, but I think it's an invaluable addition to anyone's cookbook library regardless of the experience of the cook. Julia Child displays it prominently on her book- shelf. Having cooked for myself for 22 years, I found it a reliable resource for the fundamental information about cooking. As my skills have increased, I found upon rereading it that it had somehow 'learned quite a bit' also and I still refer to it often placing it on the shelf with my James Beard books and all the other greats. Many of their reecipes have come from family hand-downs the history of which is not only interesting (at least to some) but important to our heritage. My issue is the 1964 printing, and I believe that the daughter of Marion Rombauer Becker is contributing to the more recent editions. She attended the Cordon Bleu culinary academy in Paris while my sister was there. So the "folksy" presentation does not belie the expertise of the authors. Besides, any cookbook with a recipe for Corn Dodgers can't be all bad. If you want a dry monograph on cooking, you'll have to search a bit. A good approximation is James Beard's "Theory and Practice of Good Cooking," but I'm not sure even that would be academic enough. My notion is that people interested in good cooking would be *interested* in personal notes about recipes and their origins. Should you find a satisfactory book, I would be most interested to know what it is. Jere M. Marrs Tektronix, Inc. Beaverton, Oregon tektronix!tekgvs!jerem ** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***