What are some of your favourite cook books and why?
September 3rd, 2010 by admin
I own a few cook books which I purchased (and a few which I received as gifts) but honestly, my favourite of all cook "books" are my free Kraft magazines which I receive in the mail every few months lol. I use those more than any of my cook books.
What about you?
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I also get those Kraft magazines as I like some of the coupons for Mayonnaise and the like. I don’t usually make any of the recipes in these books as I try to steer clear of making and consuming too many highly processed food products. Some of the recipes aren’t too bad, but then some of them are just full of highly processed foods.
Most of my favorite recipe books are the ones put out by communities and churches as these are tried and true.
I tend to read recipe books like most people read novels as I find them so interesting and fun. Some of my favorites are from older cook books pre-1960. One of my faves is a pamphlet put out by the War Department in 1942 called "How To Feed A Family of Five For Fifteen Dollars a Week". I would not eat most of the food in this book as it is mainly organ meats, but it is interesting from a historical perspective.
Another cook book that I found highly entertaining was "White Trash Cooking", published about 1987, I think. Hilarious! I have tried many recipes (after I modified them as I only use butter, not margarine), and they are so very good.
Another favorite is The King Arthur Baking Book. What a huge tome! But a real treasure trove of good recipes using real foods.
I own over 900 cook books that date from 1878 to the present, and so I have many interesting and unusual books. I also love all the BH&G, Betty Crocker, and my old Fleischmann Yeast bread cook book that I first learned to make bread with in January of 1975 (but it was published in 1968). Fleischmann’s has updated many of these recipes and they aren’t as good as the old ones!
I also love my Hershey’s Bking books as I love anything chocolate! these always have cakes, candies, cookies, bars, drinks, and pies in them, along with other desserts. It doesn’t get any better than that!
With so many cook books to choose from, I am able to find just about anything I want. Another fave is Aunt Bee’s Cook Book as it has some very good recipes in it from the fans of The Andy Griffith Show Rerun Watcher’s Club. Anyone who would belong to a club like this has to be a nice person and they sure know how to cook!
I don’t use any of my cook books that often as I have many recipes down in my memory, and I have learned to make so much from scratch out of my head (like breads of all kinds), and so I rarely go to a recipe book unless I am making a special cake or other recipe that I have not committed to memory. Many of my favorite recipes are hand-written on 3"x5" recipe cards and are easily accessed as they are in order according to kind of cooking (main dis, cakes, cookies, etc).
I’ve been cooking for more than 40 years and so can make most anything without a recipe card or book in front of me.
Just make sure you change your recipes to be more health-conscious. I try to use light olive oil instead of vegetable oil, butter instead of margarine, and lard instead of shortening (lard has trace vitamin and minerals whereas shortening is all transfat with no vitamins and minerals). I also use unbleached white flour, whole wheat flour that I mill myself, and unprocessed (pink or grey) sea salt in place of table salt. I use a lot of fresh from the farm eggs, honey from a local bee keeper, molasses from a friend down south, and maple syrup from a local farm. Foods that I know are healthy and good for us. I often change recipes in books to reflect these food choices so that I know we are eating healthier.
By the way, most of my cook books have come from yard sales and friends (as gifts). I often get unusual or fun cook books for birthdays or Christmas (such as the Aunt Bee’s), and my family and friends know I love church ones. I have also self-published a family cook book for our family. This one has recipes from everyone in family who contributed, along with recipes from our grandma and great aunts who are long deceased.
The best All Around cookbook for most every recipe hows and whys: Irma Rombauer’s "Joy of Cooking". Though I also use the basic Betty Crocker Cookbook as well as the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook as well if I’m just looking for something very simple.
Others I use: Alton Brown’s cookbooks, I also like the King Arthur Flour baking website, and Smitten Kitten’s website has some great recipes.
i like the better homes and gardens cookbook its acurate and the recipes are delish
I have a few cookbooks but I never use them. I learned to stop wasting my money on them a long time ago because I get all my recipes for free on the internet. You can browse different recipes and most internet sites have reviews on each recipe. I usually use cooking.com, allrecipes.com, and foodnetwork.com the most. Almost everything you purchase, such as Kraft foods, Campbells, Mrs. Dash seasonings, etc. all have websites where you can find recipes as well.