TO BECOME A GOOD COOK MEANS TO GAIN A KNOWLEDGE OF FOODS AND HOW THEY BEHAVE, AND SKILL IN MANIPULATING THEM. {FROM THE INTRODUCTION}

{HISTORY}

Containing over 850 pages, this 1947 revised edition of The American Woman's Cook Book is a giant when it comes to culinary history in both size and scope. Compiled by the Culinary Arts Institute, which was headed up by Ruth Berolzheimer (1886-1965), a prolific 20th-century food writer, the American Woman's Cook Book is a classic kitchen primer. Originally published in 1938, it covers all aspects of cooking from recipes to food preservation, kitchen equipment to table setting, nutrition to menu planning. 

As the first American cookbook to include full-color photographs, it was a trendsetter for its time, catching America's attention and excitement by storm. Selling over one million copies by the early 1940s, The American Woman's Cook Book quickly became a well-regarded kitchen staple. It represented not only a vast vault of early to mid-20th-century American recipes but also was a resource and reference guide for all matters cooking-related. From how to pluck a chicken to how to make a multi-tiered wedding cake, this cookbook was intended for the novice cook as well as the experienced one, offering practical, creative, economical, and contemporary recipes that could be relied on for nutritional health and happiness. 

This 1942 edition features a special wartime cooking supplement in the back, which helped home cooks navigate the challenges of WWII rationing when butter, sugar, coffee and tinned foods were heavily rationed. This section is especially interesting from a food history perspective. It details what home cooks were saving to further extend meals, what they were substituting as far as ingredients, and how they were budgeting based on restricted incomes. With a separate recipe section all its own, it highlights recipes that require very little sugar, suggests menus to ensure adequate nutrition and interest needs are met in the absence of rationed items, and offers tips and advice on waste-free cooking.

As expected of a beloved cookbook, this one has seen some adventure in its day with various cooking spots and stains throughout. This adds a gorgeous layer of authenticity and history to an 80-year-old cookbook that has seen previous home cooks through some of the most challenging times in culinary history.  Along with colorful food photography, and black and white step-by-step demonstration photos, it also includes thumb tabs along the foredge.

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• 1942 Edition
• 757 pages, not including a detailed index and an additional 64-page wartime supplement
• Thumb tabs
• Full-color and black-and-white photographs throughout

{SIZE}

Measures 5.75" inches (width) x 8.25" inches (length) x 2" inches (depth) and weighs 3.3 lbs

{CONDITION}

Please note the info above.  In well-loved, vintage condition, this book contains all the hallmarks of a treasured resource in the kitchen. The coverboards contain some spots and stains, about 1/16th of the interior pages contain some sort of light cooking smudge or spot, but none that interfere with the actual reading of a recipe. The titles of the page tabs have faded over time so that they are only just barely visible. The color photographs are very bright and vibrant. All pages are intact and the spine is tight. Please see photos.  

{WHY IT IS ESPECIALLY MARVELOUS}

A veritable treasure trove of recipes, this book is fascinating to read like a novel, page by page. Not only does it contain thousands of heirloom recipes but it also offers a glimpse into a world of rare and unusual dishes that have not traveled quite so effortlessly into our 21st-century food scene (Roast Squirrel, Mushroom Catchup, Pigeon Stew, Frozen Pudding with Rum, Peanut Scrapple, Potted Pigeon, etc).