The late Peg Bracken’s I Hate to Cookbook has been updated and rereleased by her daughter Johanna. Fun to read and easy to follow.
My parents gave each kid Fannie Farmer when we moved out on our own, and that was my one cookbook for years. I also have how to cook without a book but found that when I was starting out I wasn’t confident enough to really cook without a book. Now my cookbook collection extends to 40 books including a bunch of locally published ones from the 1900s - '20s but in a pinch I always pull out my Fannie Farmer to remind me of the basic skills, like how long do you have to boil an egg anyway?
Once the basic concepts are down, the best thing nowadays might just be joining a site like allrecipes and using that. Reading the reviews helps because it teaches you how others tweak while still working within the basic framework of the recipe.
I agree with this. I learned on Joy of Cooking, and I recently picked up a cheap copy of How to Cook Everything just to have it around the house. Were I starting out, I think HtCE would be my preference. It’s definitely better for beginners.
ETA: Oh, and I also had that Better Homes & Gardens cookbook when I was first learning. That also was better suited for the beginner than Joy of Cooking.
I like Jamie Oliver’s Cook With Jamie, a good intro to basic techniques that doesn’t feel preachy or talk down like some beginner cook books can. Lots of very accesible, interesting recipes, it’s quite a hefty size.
of four grown daughters, one wife. Great recipes for all cuisines, tested, plenty of hints and product reviews. Best all -round guide to food prep for a beginning and experienced cook.
To Serve Man is a classic. 
The New McCall’s Cookbook is outstanding. I learned how to cook from it when I was 17, and I still have a copy of it to this day, despite the fact that it has been out of print for decades. No photos, but all of the recipes are simple and delicious.
That was the first cookbook I ever used, and it’s still a great one for beginners, with simple recipes that are nutritional and taste good. They’ve removed some over the years (like sloppy joes, I think, the bastards), but it’s still a good book. BH&G cookbook has more involved recipes, IMO, but it’s still a good one for initial stretching of wings.
Mean Mr. Mustard, new cooks can also benefit from a good cooking glossary which will explain to them methods such as poach, simmer, etc. Some cookbooks are better than others at explaining these terms.
It also deals with cooking as a practical manner. Sometimes you don’t want 45 ways to fix a lamb chop, you just want to know one way other than broiling it (paraphrased). And it’s a good reference to turn to when everyone is tired of cooking, but everyone is also tired of drivethrough food. And it has some of the old classics in it that many people grew up on.
I have the new edition, but I’m going to keep my old edition of The Compleat I Hate To Cookbook, because at least some of the old recipes were left out.
I recommend “How Cooking Works” by Sylvia Rosenthal and Fran Shinagel.
It’s kind of a “Joy of Cooking” in a lighter version.
I have no idea if it’s still available, my version was published in 1981. The ISBN code is 0-02-605090-0.
It has good recipes along with the usual how- to- do written in a way that makes things simple.
I like Michael Ruhlman’s The Elements of Cooking for this. Most of it is the glossary, but he leads with a chapter on how to make excellent stock. I’m a vegetarian, and the man had me wanting to make veal stock of all things. :eek: There are many different stock variations in the chapter, but just the way he talked about the veal version, whoa…
Another vote for “How To Cook Everythng” - it’s fantastic.