Betty Crocker's Picture Cookbook, Facsimile Edition: The Original 1950 Classic (Betty Crocker Cooking)

I've loved this book for over 40 years! My aunt sent me a copy for a wedding present in 1970. My mother had used one when I was a child, & like her, I learned to cook from it. My sons were brought up on its recipes, & wanted to cook them for themselves when they left home. By that time my copy was extremely dog-eared (& full of cooking stains!), so I was delighted to obtain a pristine new reprint about 10 years ago. It's identical to the original (which I still have). One by one, I'm buying copies for each of my sons' households; this one was a present for my eldest son's partner. A professional cake/pastry/confectionery chef, she also loves 'retro' things from the 1950's, & was very pleased with this.This is a truly unique and beautiful book, worthy to sit beside Mrs. Beeton's on any shelf. Like Mrs B's before it, this classic cookbook captures the aura of its age, with a wealth of 'historical' and folklore anecdotes. In the Betty Crocker book, these have been drawn from the many different cultures which have influenced American family life, from colonial times to the middle of the 20th century. The colourful illustrations - charicteristic of the 1950's - are fun & entertaining at times, or clear & descriptive when needed.Dating from a time when family meals were still usually home-cooked, from fresh ingredients, this book has a renewed relevance for today's cooks, now that people are once again realising the value of wholesome food, and that it's worth a bit of extra time preparing it. There are sections on nutrition, food safety/storage/preparation & meal-planning, with much advice that rings true even after the 60 odd years since it was written.You can learn to cook from scratch with this (it even tells you how to make coffee & tea, as well as boil an egg!), & those who have one on their shelf will never run out of new ideas to try. You'll need a set of American measuring cups & spoons, though, as they're slightly different from the British ones.But possibly best of all, it is so very entertaining! A cookbook that has a sketch of a 'housewife' stretched out on a tiled kitchen floor, advising tired cooks to relax for a few minutes this way, is surely worth a look. ;~D.

My mother had this cookbook when it first came out in the 50s. When she replaced it in the 70s with a newer edition & I got her original. Later she'upgraded' again and the olter one was given to me. I combined the two editions in one hinder. I'd always check the newer version of a receipe against the original before using - and usually used the original.By now my two editions had been used continuously for 60 and 40 years respectively and were really showing their age - I'm not the tidiest of cooks! I was delighted to find this reprint. It arrived it pristine condition & might even look better than the original did when it was new.There is one thing missing. The original had a really helpful herb chart inside the front cover & other information inside the back. I do miss that, but I'm surviving & already enjoying getting ingredients on new pages again. We live in Scotland. And I've passed my combined version on to a younger cook who's delighted with with all the American recipes.

My mother had this book. I was delighted to see this facsimile version, and even more delighted when I bought it. The pictures were magic, as were the recipes - both for historical interest and for the wonderful cakes and cookies from when baking was an everyday art, American style. This book has taken me back in the best possible way, one of the best things I have bought in years.

My mum has the original one of these from the late 1950s early 1960s whenever it was published. It's always been a favourite and I was very pleased to find a new published edition. There are one or two favourites from my mums book that don't seem to be in here, and several new additions - ringing the changes i guess. I recommend it for anyone starting up in a house as it has all the information you could posibly need for almost any aspect of cooking.

The book presentation and content is good but the paper pages are very flimsy. There were pages torn on arrival which was a shame as the hook was not inexpensive and too far to send back

Perfect condition meaning it opens all pages are there and it’s a good copy. Brilliant and not expensive. Thankyou I couldn’t be happier unless it came with a chef haha. 👍👍👍