HERE ALONG WITH MODERN SHORT-CUT RECIPES, YOU WILL FIND OLD-FASHIONED FAVORITES - APPLE DUMPLINGS, CRISP PICKLE SLICES, WONDERFUL DISHES THAT MOTHER AND GRANDMOTHER MADE FAMOUS... (FROM THE INTRODUCTION)

{HISTORY}

Better Homes and Gardens as a brand practically needs no introduction. It's been a part of our American kitchen conversations for almost a century. Since 1922, BH&G has been a trusted authority and source of inspiration on all things home related including cooking, health and wellness, interior design, gardening, and home maintenance. 

Considered the number one most popular cookbook in America, Better Homes and Gardens' iconic red and white checkered cookbook is a beloved staple representing  American history and the evolution of recipe collecting across a one-hundred-year time frame. First published during the Great Depression in 1930, the New Cook Book introduced a binder style layout, chapter tabs, and customizable organization thanks to its innovative design. All recipes were fully tested, scrutinized, and studied in the Better Homes test kitchen before deeming them fit for inclusion so that home cooks would be guaranteed success with each and every meal they prepared. That attention to detail continued across 11 updated and revised versions, eventually selling over 34 million copies since its original debut in 1930. 

This edition featured here in the shop was published in 1965 as an updated revision of their 1953 edition. It features the 1953 cover along with three new 1960s chapters - outdoor cooking, salads and salad dressings, and jiffy cooking - each representing midcentury cooking trends that emerged as the country nestled into the second half of the 1900s. Specifics aside, what made The New Cook Book so appealing was its precise approach to recipe writing,  giving all readers a solid foundation of cooking skills from which to grow and learn. Inside this cookbook are the familiar favorites that everybody grew up with no matter what age you are, this cookbook has informed each generation of kitchen workers in one way or another over the past 100 years. How delightful!

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

- 5 ring binder style

- 20 chapters including corresponding tabs

- 400 pages total

- Includes recipes for all meals of the day 

{CONDITION}

In lovely vintage condition. The binder itself is in great shape with working rings that open and close easily.  As happens with binder cookbooks sometimes, the back cover is fraying at the crease making it come apart ever so slightly from the spine. The cover is still completely intact it just has some seam separation. The front title page is missing and one interior page has separated from its binder holes but remains in its appropriate place as far as pages go. The interior of the cookbook is in great shape and very clean. As expected with age, there is some slight curling of the paper tabs. All pages are intact and bright in appearance. 

{SIZE}

Measures 8.5" inches (width) x 10" inches (length) x 2" inches (thickness) and weighs 2lbs. 13 oz

{FOR THE COLLECTOR}

It is super fun to collect vintage BH&G cookbooks just to marvel at their changes in cover design and their inclusion of different chapters as home cooking changed throughout the 20th century. Find more editions in the shop here.