# Cool old cookbooks



## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

My grandmother-in-law picked up a bread and soup cookbook printed in 1976 and a Betty Crocker recipe file box printed in 1971. They are fantastic! Almost all of the recipes call for real food that I will someday be able to produce at home.

It got me to thinking. What is your favorite old cookbook? What is your go-to?


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## MJsLady (Aug 16, 2006)

Hmmm I don't have a go to. I tend to thumb through them and decide hey that sounds good...
My favorite was called i think Grandmother's in the kitchen. It had things going back to the late 1700s in it. I gave my copy (now oop and hard to get) to my Aunt who is the best cook in the family!

Now i have the American's Woman's ... drat I forget anyway it was printed in the 1930s. 
I have many old ones, I have an original 1950's BHG one too. They still used canned milk and such that I do not generally use but it is easy to fix when needed!


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## gone-a-milkin (Mar 4, 2007)

Cookbooks from the '70's are considered "old"?
Well, I guess they are. :sob:

My go-to cookbook is The Joy of Cooking (I have several versions)
and I guess the Moosewood Cookbook is old now too!
It was written in 1977. (back when I was a child  )


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## Jacktheknife (Feb 5, 2013)

gone-a-milkin said:


> Cookbooks from the '70's are considered "old"?
> Well, I guess they are. :sob:
> 
> My go-to cookbook is The Joy of Cooking (I have several versions)
> ...


I am right there with you, didn't realize 1970s would be "old." I treat cookbooks as litterature, tales of another time. I like ones from the late 1800s to the 1950s.


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## Taylor R. (Apr 3, 2013)

I'd like to get my hands on a REALLY old one, but I was just so excited to get a cookbook that doesn't call for cream of this or that, cake mixes, and pre-packaged junk. The '70s were 40 years ago  That's quite a bit older than me!

I think my dad has a BHG from the fifties that belonged to my grandma. I've got all of her recipes already, but I need to write them all down in my own hand so I can read them more easily. I'd heard talk of printing them all up in a book for the kids and grandkids and great grandkids (there are 19 grandkids and 33 great grandkids on my dad's side) so I hadn't done it yet.


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## Horseyrider (Aug 8, 2010)

I collect pre-WWII cookbooks, because they ate then more like we do now. My favorite go-to book is an encyclopedic cookbook that was given to my mother as a young bride. It's yellow with polka dots all over the cover, published in 1949. I love to search it for ideas and find the little checkmarks and X marks she made by recipes. It jogs dim memories of eating these selections as a child.

Having Mom as a bride in 1949 might suggest to you that my 1970s cookbooks aren't old, just dusty.


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## Vosey (Dec 8, 2012)

I have a 1970's Fannie Farmer that my mom gave me when I went to college in the 80's. It was her "go to" cookbook and I often refer back to it. The recipes are so simple! It has all my favorite childhood foods. 

And yes, I do consider it old! Cooking has changed since then, I have a dog-eared Silver Palate cookbook that was my bible in the '90's that seems outdated now. In early 2000's I was given a huge yellow Gourmet magazine cookbook that I referenced for years. Now I just google...


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## Jacktheknife (Feb 5, 2013)

I find it very odd how the world is moving further and further away from cooking. Canned pasta, gravy from a jar, coffee in a pod!


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## Ardie/WI (May 10, 2002)

Jacktheknife said:


> I find it very odd how the world is moving further and further away from cooking. Canned pasta, gravy from a jar, coffee in a pod!


After cooking for 50 years, I love any convenience I can find!


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## MO_cows (Aug 14, 2010)

My favorite is Kitchen Klatter. They used to publish a magazine, sell a line of flavorings and extracts, etc. An older family friend gave me a copy of the 21st edition of their cookbook as a wedding present in 1981. The recipes seem to date back to the 40-60s. Pizza is in the "dishes with a foreign flavor" section, how long ago was pizza considered a "foreign" or exotic dish?


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## amandaleigh (Apr 10, 2013)

Amazon has a ton of old cookbooks (free!) in their kindle store. My favorite so far has been The Whitehouse Cookbook from 1887.


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## Jacktheknife (Feb 5, 2013)

amandaleigh said:


> Amazon has a ton of old cookbooks (free!) in their kindle store. My favorite so far has been The Whitehouse Cookbook from 1887.


I pulled that one off of Project Gutenburg, haven't started it yet.


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## opalcab (May 16, 2011)

I guess My Copy Of Modern Encyclo. of Cooking From 1947 Hardcover Is Still A newbe


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## my3boys (Jan 18, 2011)

I have a Boston Cooking School cookbook I found in an antique store. The inscription on the inside cover page says "From Mother to Francis, Christmas 1942".

I haven't made anything from it yet but have several recipes I plan to try.


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## susieneddy (Sep 2, 2011)

I got a lot of old The best of Southern Cooking cookbooks off freecycle.org You would be surprised what you can get from there


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## soulsurvivor (Jul 4, 2004)

We were married in 1978 so many of the cookbooks I have came from then to now. Most are the fund raising cookbooks that the local churches sold back then of member's favorite recipes. Some of the recipes are unhealthy if following today's nutritional guidelines. 

I also have most of the Taste of Home magazines from our subscriptions in the 90s. We used to enjoy trying to find the hidden toothpick monthly. I also got to attend one of their cooking school shows in the early part of this decade. Came away with lots of free samples and nice food gifts.


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## suitcase_sally (Mar 20, 2006)

gone-a-milkin said:


> Cookbooks from the '70's are considered "old"?
> Well, I guess they are. :sob:


 
That's what I was thinking!


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## jkhs (Sep 17, 2010)

I love old cookbooks, reading each one is like a small glimpse into what the world was like at the time the book was written. I find it fascinating how cooking styles, and tastes have changed over the years, and it's neat to see how some recipes evolve over time. The oldest cookbook I have right now is the "Phi Kappa Phi Cookbook" from St. Olaf College, it's dated 1908 and is filled with not only really unique recipes but also handwritten notes from one of the book's previous owners.


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## maxbetta (May 6, 2013)

I also love older cookbooks. Ebay is a great place to find them as well! I have some from Ebay, some that I've found at Goodwill, and a few that were handed down to me from my Grandmother. When I was still a young child, one of my Grandmothers gave me an original "Better Homes and Gardens Junior Cookbook" from the 1960's. I must have made every recipe in there! Some of the cookbooks I love just for the pictures.


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