Food - Drink
The Iconic Cookbook That Shaped 20th Century Cooking
By KATHERINE BECK
While it may seem that all cooking in the United States leads back to Julia Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" or "Betty Crocker's Cookbook," there is an American cookbook that predates those classics that is just as important, if not more so. Julia Child even referred to this cookbook as “the one book of all cookbooks in English” that she believed was essential.
For decades, cooks have turned to “The Joy of Cooking” for its revolutionary approach. The cookbook was written by Irma Rombauer, who made the significant decision to take the ingredients out of the directions and list them separately, changing recipes forever. The recipes are all part of Rombauer’s collection and include Charlotte Russe and Chicken a la King.
The book was published in 1931 by Simon & Schuster which describes it as an “indispensable reference.” It has been updated periodically, such as in 1943 to help cooks dealing with World War II rations, in 1951 to include frozen foods and new technology, and in 2019 with 600 new recipes. It has even been listed as a book that shaped America by the Library of Congress.