# Joy of cooking, circa '64 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 15, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907 "2008-11-15T21:54:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![deball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@deball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deball)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/1 "2008-11-15T21:54:33Z")
Yes, I’m the kind of guy who reads cookbooks for fun. While going through my library last night I chose as my bedtime reading, The Joy of Cooking 1964 edition. See, I’m deploying in a few days so I figured on making an early Thanksgiving dinner. I wanted gnarly high-fat recipes to go with it. I noticed in my readings the amazing differences from '64 to present. Now, I’m not just talking about aspics and weird jelly things. The main thing that stuck out to me was the whole cold-war feel to this edition. To paraphrase: In the"know your ingredients" section I learned to not drink water that’s been contaminated by radioactive fallout (p. 494). And, if you have to eat blackbirds or crow, make sure you parblanch them first (p.480) You just don’t see this stuff in modern cookbooks (well, maybe a survivalist type thing). I was curious, since the initial printing of Joy of Cooking was 1931, what kind of stuff has changed from one edition to the other (exempted are the whole “low-fat, less-rich” changes)? ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/2 "2008-11-15T22:58:24Z")
I did a thread on this a few years ago. My mom’s copy of TJoC from the late 60s is the one I grew up with. When I bought my own copy in the 80s, it was almost completely different. I had to search long and hard, in those pre-eBay days, for an older edition that had the recipes I grew up with. I think they’d make a lot of money if they published various “retro” editions of the book. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2008, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/3 "2008-11-15T23:17:51Z")
The old, original, (ie “good”) editions include recipes and prep tips for such things as opossum, porcupine, turtle, and other various road-kill type critters. ---
**Author:** ![deball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df705f/32.png) [@deball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/deball)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/4 "2008-11-16T00:17:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The old, original, (ie “good”) editions include recipes and prep tips for such things as opossum, porcupine, turtle, and other various road-kill type critters. I just busted it out again and for sure, there is a way to cook opossum, and to my surprise, there is the normal recipe for basil pesto. How many people were tuned into pesto in '64? the JoC is pretty amazing. ---
**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/5 "2008-11-16T00:27:04Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > The old, original, (ie “good”) editions include recipes and prep tips for such things as opossum, porcupine, turtle, and other various road-kill type critters. I’m using the 1975 edition, and it indeed includes these as “Game.” ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/6 "2008-11-16T00:29:34Z")
That’s the edition I use as well. The last of the good ones. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/7 "2008-11-16T00:29:54Z")
My old JoC has fallen apart. Looks like I need to head out to a used book store soon. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/8 "2008-11-16T00:33:38Z")
Amazon has a Revised 1975 edition in hardback for $23.10. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/9 "2008-11-16T00:50:40Z")
There’s a facsimile of the [1931 edition.](http://www.amazon.com/Joy-Cooking-1931-Facsimile-First/dp/0684833581/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226796468&sr=1-4) I stopped buying them when the “how to peel out the x glands of y critter” sections went away. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/10 "2008-11-16T01:34:24Z")
Yeah, my mom’s has a recipe for Crow. It says something like (maybe someone here can confirm . . .) you should only eat Crow if you’re starving out in the wilderness, because it’s nasty. Then the recipe is like, “Marinate for 24 hours in a dry white wine.” Cracked me up. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/11 "2008-11-16T02:06:59Z")
I enjoy such sentiments as “If you are a new cook and are called upon to dress a chicken, remember, please, that among other things it has a crop that must be removed – (I am speaking from experience). The following is the best way to prepare a large chicken of doubtful age.” (1931) ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/12 "2008-11-16T02:17:27Z")
I just checked my copy, which used to belong to my mother, and it was published in 1953! I’m thinking she must have gotten it when she and my father got married. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/13 "2008-11-16T02:21:24Z")
> [@lissener](#): > > Yeah, my mom’s has a recipe for Crow. It says something like (maybe someone here can confirm . . .) you should only eat Crow if you’re starving out in the wilderness, because it’s nasty. Then the recipe is like, “Marinate for 24 hours in a dry white wine.” Cracked me up. No Crow in my edition. But it does say that you should serve muskrat with Creamed Celery. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/14 "2008-11-16T02:38:43Z")
> [@BiblioCat](#): > > I just checked my copy, which used to belong to my mother, and it was published in 1953! > I’m thinking she must have gotten it when she and my father got married. Yes, my mom’s was a wedding present. It’s often my choice for a housewarming gift for a person’s first apartment. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/15 "2008-11-16T03:08:35Z")
If I am really fond of a student (get your mind out of the gutter!), I’ll get them either a copy of JoC or Brewer’s. ---
**Author:** ![freckafree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/freckafree/32/3050_2.png) [@freckafree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/freckafree)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 3:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/16 "2008-11-16T03:40:56Z")
I, too, have the 1975 edition, a wedding gift. We ought to have a thread showing pictures of our copies of JoC. The covers of mine are held together with strapping tape and the front cover is bespattered with who knows how many things. I love the section in “Foods We Heat” on microwave cooking. Note the lack of an article with the word microwave. It’s not THE microwave. It’s just microwave. > [@](#): > > Our experience with microwave has follwed a familiar contemporary pattern: inadequate response to great expectations. For who among us, on the long summer afternoons, has not harbored the recurring and roseate dream of prolonging to the very last minute the joys of gardening – or tennis, or beachcombing with the children – before returning to the kitchen and putting dinner together in a trice? Even microwave’s most obvious advantage – defrosting and reheating frozen foods – has proved of limited value… ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 3:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/17 "2008-11-16T03:44:57Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > But it does say that you should serve muskrat with Creamed Celery. Are you saying you wouldn’t? Philistine. ---
**Author:** ![BiblioCat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@BiblioCat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BiblioCat)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/18 "2008-11-16T04:00:32Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > No Crow in my edition. But it does say that you should serve muskrat with Creamed Celery. I would be up for trying muskrat, but _creamed celery_? Eewww. _::: shudder :::_ And I have the recipe in mine! Creamed Celery on page 282! I don’t see a recipe for muskrat on a quick perusal, but I do see ones for Praire Chicken, Guinea Hen, Pigeons and Squabs, and a whole bunch of recipes for rabbit. And handy pictures on skinning rabbits, hares and squirrels. **freckafree** , mine is a smallish hardback, with a gray cover and 8 small “Joy of Cooking” logos on the front. It looks like there may have been a dust jacket at one point, but I don’t have it. The spine is decidely faded, probably from sitting on a kitchen shelf for ages. It’s in pretty good shape, considering its age. There’s a small tear on the spine, but it’s nothing bad. ---
**Author:** ![Rebo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rebo/32/13005_2.png) [@Rebo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rebo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 4:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/19 "2008-11-16T04:37:40Z")
I have [two copies.](http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/rmix/house/joy%20of%20cooking/?action=view¤t=DSCF2971.jpg) The one on the left was my Mom’s, circa 1967. [It only cost $6.95!](http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/rmix/house/joy%20of%20cooking/?action=view¤t=DSCF2976.jpg)The one on the right was one [my mom gave my sister,](http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/rmix/house/joy%20of%20cooking/?action=view¤t=DSCF2980.jpg) [circa 1977.](http://s18.photobucket.com/albums/b109/rmix/house/joy%20of%20cooking/?action=view¤t=DSCF2983.jpg%5B/url) My mom and sister both passed away around twenty years ago, and I will cherish both cookbooks forever. They have notes in the margins, and recipes stuck in amongst the pages. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2008, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907/20 "2008-11-16T05:02:38Z")
Just for the sake of comparison, I’ve got the newest edition of the JoC. It still mentions “small game” like muskrat, squirrels, etc. but says that there is no longer a need for detailed recipes for those animals. Suffice it to say that if you’re willing to eat these varmints, you probably know how to clean them. They can be cooked like chicken. The new version seems to be geared more toward ease of preparation and toward healthier recipes. I’ve made recipes from my parents’ 1960s-era _Good Housekeeping Cookbook_ that took most, if not all, of the afternoon. I’ve yet to spend more than an hour on anything from a modern cookbook. Robin [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joy-of-cooking-circa-64/472907.md?page=2)