The Joy of Cooking
Encyclopedia
Joy of Cooking, often known as "The Joy of Cooking" is one of the United States' most-published cookbook
s, and has been in print continuously since 1936 and with more than 18 million copies sold. It was privately published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a homemaker
in St. Louis, Missouri
, who was struggling emotionally and financially after her husband's suicide the previous year. Rombauer had 3,000 copies printed by A.C. Clayton, a company which had printed labels for fancy St. Louis shoe companies and for Listerine, but never a book. In 1936, the book was picked up by a commercial printing house, the Bobbs-Merrill Company
. Joy is the backbone of many home cooks' libraries and is commonly found in commercial kitchens as well.
The book was illustrated by Rombauer's daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, who directed the art department at John Burroughs School
. Working on weekends during the winter of 1930-31, Marion designed the cover, which depicted St. Martha of Bethany
, the patron saint
of cooking, slaying a dragon. She also produced silhouette cutouts to illustrate chapter headings.
Much slimmer and more conversational than later editions, the original Depression
-era edition included sections on canning, pickling, and instructions on how to use meats such as squirrel
, opossum and raccoon
.
This edition was published in paperback format (most notably, a two-volume mass market paperback edition) . It is still widely available in used bookstores. The 1964 edition was also released as a single-volume comb-ring bound paperback mass-market edition starting in November 1973 and continuing into the early 1990s (ISBN 0-452-25665-8).
" in the name, (e.g., "Fruit Cake Cockaigne"), after the name of her country home in Anderson Township, near Cincinnati, Ohio.
The 1975 edition remained in print, primarily in various inexpensive paperback
editions, until the 75th Anniversary edition arrived in 2006.
and others. Guarnaschelli, under the supervision of Rombauer's grandson Ethan Becker, oversaw the creation of the controversial 1997 edition, published by Simon & Schuster's Scribner
imprint. The new edition kept the concise style of its predecessors, but dropped the conversational first-person narration. Much of the book was ghostwritten by teams of expert chefs instead of the single dedicated amateur that Irma Rombauer had been when she created the book. The 1997 version is fairly comprehensive, covering a great deal of detail that is not traditionally part of American cooking; however, it deleted much information about ingredients and frozen desserts.
Originally sold with the title The All-New, All-Purpose Joy of Cooking, it was reissued in February 2008 with the title The 1997 Joy of Cooking after being sold for some time alongside the 2006 edition.
and store-bought wontons. The 2006 edition also reinstates the cocktail section and the frozen desserts section, and restores much of the information that was deleted in the 1997 edition.
The new version includes a new index section called "Joy Classics" that contains 35 recipes from 1931-1975 and a new nutrition section.
In 1998, a reproduction, described as "a perfect facsimile of that original 1931 edition," was released.
Cookbook
A cookbook is a kitchen reference that typically contains a collection of recipes. Modern versions may also include colorful illustrations and advice on purchasing quality ingredients or making substitutions...
s, and has been in print continuously since 1936 and with more than 18 million copies sold. It was privately published in 1931 by Irma S. Rombauer, a homemaker
Homemaker
Homemaking is a mainly American term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping or household management...
in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
, who was struggling emotionally and financially after her husband's suicide the previous year. Rombauer had 3,000 copies printed by A.C. Clayton, a company which had printed labels for fancy St. Louis shoe companies and for Listerine, but never a book. In 1936, the book was picked up by a commercial printing house, the Bobbs-Merrill Company
Bobbs-Merrill Company
The Bobbs-Merrill Company was a book publisher located in Indianapolis, Indiana. Bobbs-Merrill was known for publishing such authors as Richard Halliburton, David Markson, Ayn Rand, James Whitcomb Riley, Walter Dean Myers, and Irma S. Rombauer. Bobbs-Merrill also published the early works of...
. Joy is the backbone of many home cooks' libraries and is commonly found in commercial kitchens as well.
First Edition (1931)
In 1931, Rombauer, a recent widow needing a way to support her family, self-published "The Joy of Cooking: A Compilation of Reliable Recipes with a Casual Culinary Chat."The book was illustrated by Rombauer's daughter, Marion Rombauer Becker, who directed the art department at John Burroughs School
John Burroughs School
Founded in 1923, John Burroughs School is a private, non-sectarian preparatory school with nearly 600 students in grades 7-12. Its 47.5 acre campus is located in Ladue, Missouri , an affluent suburb of Saint Louis. It is named for U.S...
. Working on weekends during the winter of 1930-31, Marion designed the cover, which depicted St. Martha of Bethany
Martha
Martha of Bethany is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem...
, the patron saint
Patron saint
A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...
of cooking, slaying a dragon. She also produced silhouette cutouts to illustrate chapter headings.
Much slimmer and more conversational than later editions, the original Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
-era edition included sections on canning, pickling, and instructions on how to use meats such as squirrel
Squirrel
Squirrels belong to a large family of small or medium-sized rodents called the Sciuridae. The family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels, chipmunks, marmots , flying squirrels, and prairie dogs. Squirrels are indigenous to the Americas, Eurasia, and Africa and have been introduced to Australia...
, opossum and raccoon
Raccoon
Procyon is a genus of nocturnal mammals, comprising three species commonly known as raccoons, in the family Procyonidae. The most familiar species, the common raccoon , is often known simply as "the" raccoon, as the two other raccoon species in the genus are native only to the tropics and are...
.
1962-1964 Editions
In 1962, the year of Irma Rombauer's death, a revised edition of Joy was published. This edition was released without Marion Becker's consent. Subsequent releases of the book in 1963 and 1964 were essentially massive corrections, and Becker was known to swap copies of the 1962 edition for later corrected versions.This edition was published in paperback format (most notably, a two-volume mass market paperback edition) . It is still widely available in used bookstores. The 1964 edition was also released as a single-volume comb-ring bound paperback mass-market edition starting in November 1973 and continuing into the early 1990s (ISBN 0-452-25665-8).
1975 Edition
The 1975 edition was the last to be edited by Becker, and remains the most popular. More than 1,000 pages long, it became a staple in kitchens throughout the country. Though many of the sections may feel dated to the contemporary American palate, many home chefs still find it a useful reference and it is still widely consulted. The foreword to this edition explains that Becker's favorite recipes include "CockaigneCockaigne
Cockaigne or Cockayne is a medieval mythical land of plenty, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand and where the harshness of medieval peasant life does not exist...
" in the name, (e.g., "Fruit Cake Cockaigne"), after the name of her country home in Anderson Township, near Cincinnati, Ohio.
The 1975 edition remained in print, primarily in various inexpensive paperback
Paperback
Paperback, softback or softcover describe and refer to a book by the nature of its binding. The covers of such books are usually made of paper or paperboard, and are usually held together with glue rather than stitches or staples...
editions, until the 75th Anniversary edition arrived in 2006.
1997 Edition
After the 1975 edition, the project lay unchanged for about 20 years. In the mid-1990s, publisher Simon and Schuster, which owns the Joy copyrights, hired influential cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli, formerly of Willam Morrow, and editor of works by Jeff SmithJeff Smith
Jeff Smith may refer to:*Jeff Smith , coach in the Minnesota Twins' organization*Jeff Smith , councillor in Manchester*Jeff Smith , creator of the comic book Bone...
and others. Guarnaschelli, under the supervision of Rombauer's grandson Ethan Becker, oversaw the creation of the controversial 1997 edition, published by Simon & Schuster's Scribner
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
imprint. The new edition kept the concise style of its predecessors, but dropped the conversational first-person narration. Much of the book was ghostwritten by teams of expert chefs instead of the single dedicated amateur that Irma Rombauer had been when she created the book. The 1997 version is fairly comprehensive, covering a great deal of detail that is not traditionally part of American cooking; however, it deleted much information about ingredients and frozen desserts.
Originally sold with the title The All-New, All-Purpose Joy of Cooking, it was reissued in February 2008 with the title The 1997 Joy of Cooking after being sold for some time alongside the 2006 edition.
75th Anniversary Edition
In 2006, a 75th Anniversary edition was published by Scribner, containing 4,500 recipes and returning Rombauer's original voice to the book. The new version removes some of the professionalism of the 1997 edition and returns many simpler recipes and recipes assisted by ready-made products such as cream of mushroom soupCream of mushroom soup
Cream of mushroom soup is a simple type of soup where a basic roux is thinned with cream or milk and then mushrooms and/or mushroom broth are added. It is well known in North America as a common type of condensed canned soup. Cream of mushroom soup is often used as a base ingredient in casseroles...
and store-bought wontons. The 2006 edition also reinstates the cocktail section and the frozen desserts section, and restores much of the information that was deleted in the 1997 edition.
The new version includes a new index section called "Joy Classics" that contains 35 recipes from 1931-1975 and a new nutrition section.
Other Special Editions and Printings
In 1995, a hardbound edition illustrated by Ginnie Hofmann and Ikki Matsumoto was released.In 1998, a reproduction, described as "a perfect facsimile of that original 1931 edition," was released.
Further reading
- Mendelson, Anne. Stand Facing The Stove: The Story Of The Women Who Gave America The Joy Of Cooking. Scribner, 1996.
External links
- Official site
- Publication history
- Biography by Author Irma Rombauer's daughter. Part of a series of Notable American Unitarian biographies