Show me what you eat and I will tell you who you are...

{HISTORY} 

In the early 1940's, Meta Given (1888-1981) set out to write a cookbook that not only focused on good recipes but also good family health administered from the inside out.  The result was The Modern Family Cookbook published in 1942. An ambitious endeavor, Meta taught Americans how to feed their families well, with an emphasis on present satisfaction and future long-term health via a plethora of recipes for all budgets and all taste levels.  Educating young women, new brides and busy moms on how to build a foundation of delicious meals that offered diversity, nutrition, and budget saving practices, she soon became a trusted adviser and her cookbook an instant bestseller.

Nineteen years and numerous editions later, Meta published this revision in January 1961. An updated version of all the other volumes that came before, this one included more modern cooking methods, equipment and some convenience foods newly brought to market. As with all her other cookbooks this one became a bestseller too - propelling her publishing stats to now boast over 1.2 million copies sold.

And just like all her other cookbooks starting from the very first one published in the 1940's, Meta's focus was always on care and quality when it came to cooking. Teaching women the foundations of good health through good food made, Meta, was a trusted authority for over three decades. She gave American home cooks the educational tools to enjoy balanced nutrition for optimal energy and explained why it was important to ignore trendy diets and food fads that would unbalance the system. Like Betty Crocker and Irma Rombauer, Meta's cookbooks are now considered classics - useful primers still for all cooks whether novice or experienced. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- Contains 632 pages of recipes and suggested menus

- Contains more than 1,100 recipes

- Includes menus for one week in every month of the year 

- Advice for all aspects of meal planning, processing and purchasing

- Includes recipes for all meals of the day and all types of food including game animals and exotic sweetmeats (brain, heart, liver etc)

 - Contains both black and white and color photographs as well as retro line drawings throughout

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition, this cookbook features just a couple of splatter stained pages, some pages with folded corners and a slightly distressed spine that is beginning to break away from its coverboards. None of these affect the use of the book in any way or the ability to read the recipes and the spine itself is tight with all pages intact. The pages are clean and bright - with the exception of a few stains around the pie chapter.

{SIZE}

Measures 5.5" inches (width) x 8.5" inches (length) x 1.75" inches (depth) 

{WHY IT IS ESPECIALLY MARVELOUS}

You can never go wrong with a classic cookbook! Not only will you learn the foundation for good cooking skills but you'll also be introduced to recipes that have been family favorites for close to 100 years.  Vintage cookbooks also offer the magical ability to tell two stories - the one written by the author and the one written by the cooks who have studied it. From owners past, the favorite chapter in this cookbook was Fruit Pies evidenced by the cooking stains that surround it! 

{EXTRA FUN!!!}

A copy of the Modern Family Cookbook was recently spotted on the set of the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel Season 3! Look for it in the last photo:)