The sixth edition (1975), is considered by many to be the best, the “truest” to the book's vision, the essential Joy, called out on its current website as “the bestselling edition of all time.” The last to be edited by Marion Rombauer Becker, it retains multi-generation flairs, and lots of input from her husband, and son, Ethan Becker. It was around this time that “the” in The Joy of Cooking was dropped from the copyright, making it just Joy of Cooking. The fifth edition, first published in 1962 without Marion Rombauer Becker's permission, had 'so many corrections by Marion that the type had to be reset.' It was cleaned up and reissued, and then became the first to be published in paperback as well as to include pâté and Bolognese sauce. More updates-and many errors-came in the 1960s. If they’re looking for a copy of the Joy-as it’s casually referred to by aficionados-to give as a gift, usually the copy that the gifter is after is the one his parents had.Īnother edition with the poor squirrel. Every couple of weeks Slotnick sees someone examining one of the copies she has on the shelf, sometimes asking a question about a specific edition. “I don’t consider anything after 1975 to be Joy of Cooking,” said Bonnie Slotnick, owner of the iconic “out-of-print and antiquarian” cookbook store in New York City. But which edition is actually the best is highly subjective.

And why, even though the world is full of perfectly decent and functional How to Cook Everythings, the Joy is the one that continues to get handed down, generation to generation.

Which is why each copy, like the text itself, feels personalized and special. But the truth is, the squirrel is probably just in the copy you grew up with, whose pages and recipes are as heavy with nostalgia as they are old dough.Īfter 85 years-eight editions, 1,132 pages and 4,500 recipes- The Joy of Cooking is as important for a well-stocked cupboard as flour and sugar. The squirrel-shown pinned by a boot as gloved hands relieve it of furry hide-is one of the many myths surrounding the book. This, say the knowing, is the mark of a good edition. The advice given to new owners of the Joy of Cooking is to locate the illustration of a skinned squirrel.

Joy of cooking irma rombauer