Does anyone collect cookbooks?

**jinx** · 08-24-2007, 10:04 AM

If you do what kind do you collect? Where do you find them? Do you make recipes from them?
I love to read the ones from the 1930's through the 1950's. I think it is a great to to see how people lived and ate during those times. Since many of the old cookbooks not only had recipes but also housekeeping ,childrearing, and entertaining tips. I also have several etiquette books from the same time period.
I usually dont pay more than a few dollars each for them. I look in used book stores, antique shops and garage sales.
A couple of my favorites are
my first addition Boston Cooking School Cookbook- Fannie Farmer. I purchased that for 2.00 at a used book store.
A complete set of the Better homes and Gardens recipe cards, with dividers, all the booklets, and the large plastic card holder. From the 1970's That was given to me.
The Good housekeeping Cookbook 1943, with a Wartime supplement that gives instructions on how to make the most of ration coupons.
I also have a Etiquette, The Blue Book of Social Usage by Emily Post 1940.
Right now I am trying to complete my set of
Women's Day Encyclopedia of Cookery. I am short only 5. There were 27 in the set I think.
I have well over 100 actually closer to 150 cookbooks on shelves in my den and other places around my house.
I do make recipes from them. Some have been great others really clunkers.
I also like to pick up new cookbooks from the bargin shelves at bookstores. My 2 new purchases, was one for cassaroles, and the other for the slow cooker.
Just wondering if I was the only cookbook nut.

**baxjul** · 08-24-2007, 10:11 AM

I used to have too many of them, and got rid of alot of them 3 years ago when we moved. I do have my grandmother's original Good Housekeeping Cookbook, it's my favorite!

**nancycg56** · 08-24-2007, 10:13 AM

Nope, you're not the only one

My obsession started out innocently enough ~ DH would bring a community cookbook from wherever he was traveling at the moment and it GREW from there.

I now have well over 1,000 cookbooks ~ I have bookcases of cookbooks, cookbooks piled everywhere in our room over the garage, just about anywhere you can think of, I have cookbooks.

I get them as gifts, buy them on ebay, yard sales, amazon, etc.

My faves are junior league cookbooks ~ I can cook from any of them with good results. My second faves are my Southern Living cookbooks ~ I have all the annuals from 1979 upward and every cookbook they have come out with since 1979. Some of the community ones are real clunkers but many are excellent. I have a few older ones but as a rule they aren't my cup of tea.

I read them like novels so I have read every single one although I have not cooked from every singe one. I gave my DD a bunch when she moved out.

I do not buy as many anymore unless I really can't pass it up such as a new Southern Living or a local community cookbook.

My friends love coming over and just looking through my cookbooks all day, LOL!

**Judi Dial** · 08-24-2007, 10:23 AM

she was a bookseller, and so am I, so I have a LOT of cookbooks.

Also, I'm in the midst of writing a fantasy novel where my main character's job is securing the food supply for a keep, I call her a "Stillroomer." So, I have a lot of historical, old fashioned recipe, cook books.

But in general, my cookbooks are all about doing more with less: less calories, less fat, less cost, less ingredients, less time.

Make Your Own Groceries, Make Your Own Convenience Food, What Do We Eat Now?, Sturbridge Village Cookbook, Vegetarian Epicure vol 2, etc.

I'm not big on prefab food, except for Jiffy corn muffin mix, I can't remember the last time I bought a mix for something. We do buy VT made pizza about once a month, it's $10, but the local pizza places charges like $20, and they make my stomach go nutz, so the $10 pizza is a bargain by comparison.

Tonight's dinner is beef stew. I had a $10 gift card from Stop & Shop, so the $7 worth of meat was free. The stew makes 4 servings, or two full meals for us. I really should add a lot of veggies to this one, as I have an overage right now. I wonder if I can stretch it to three meals?

JD

**DAAC3DEC** · 08-24-2007, 10:29 AM

I love old cookbooks, I have a favorite that I cannot recall the name of from the 1940's that I use all the time!!!! I shop a really cool, very cheap bookstore here and goodwill and salvation army and garage sales...when I redo my kitchen I am going to have bookshelves for all of them!!! One day...

**Odilia** · 08-24-2007, 10:37 AM

While I wouldn't call myself a collector, I do love cookbooks! I request them as gifts if people ask me what I want; I pick them up whenever I can; and I buy far too many new ones.

My favorites are family cookbooks. I have large families on both my mom and dad's sides, so I've got some great family cookbooks. I love when the recipes are handwritten!

I love church and community cookbooks -- especially the older ones. I have great luck finding these at yard and estate sales.

I appreciate the older cookbooks that predate "cream of mushroom soup" recipes.

I love recipes that use real/whole ingredients. I've got a cookbook put out by a ladies' church group in S. Dakota from the 40's (war/ration recipes). It's GREAT!!!

The cookbooks I turn to all the time are my old Fannie Farmer, Whole Foods for the Whole Family, and The More-With-Less cookbook. (Those last 2 aren't very old, but they're filled with my kind of recipes.

)

I also love The Pioneer Lady's Country Kitchen (country recipes from pioneer through Great Depression and wonderful commentary) and Seems Like I Done It This A-Way. (This is a collection of recipes collected from past generations -- a sort of oral history written down. Not all of the recipes are old-fashioned, though. There are many recipes written down as they were spoken -- very cool.)

I also like Rachel Ray...LOL! (Our 3yr old daughter LOVES Rachel Ray.

)

**jinx** · 08-24-2007, 10:39 AM

Wow Nancy, I thought I had alot.
I too read them like novels, and have read all of them. I try at least a couple of recipes from each of them.

**nancycg56** · 08-24-2007, 10:53 AM

Originally Posted by jinx

Wow Nancy, I thought I had alot.
I too read them like novels, and have read all of them. I try at least a couple of recipes from each of them.

I used to cook at least one thing out of every book before it got so totally huge that I really couldn't anymore. I do use page markers when I read them so I can go back and quickly find recipes that look interesting to me.

It's a sickness

**3-boys-4-me** · 08-24-2007, 11:00 AM

I too LOVE cookbooks. Old cookbooks, new cookbooks, community cookbooks, church cookbooks...I don't care, I love them all. Unfortunatly I recently had to part with most of my collection as I was running out of space. It was difficult. I still have far more then I could ever use and kept only the ones I couldn't live without.

Most I have never used, but I still like having them. Even though I have read every single one of them from cover to cover, I still find myself pulling them out often and looking them over. Alot of the ones I got I recieved from Freecyle. When I couldn't keep them any longer, I relisted them there and people were more than happy to pick them up.

**Jayne** · 08-24-2007, 11:22 AM

I'm also a cookbook addict...I did give a bunch away to sil (trying to encourage them to cook)...My favorite is my 1950's Betty Crocker, the pictures are so beautiful!!!

**staceyy** · 08-24-2007, 11:29 AM

I have hundreds of cookbooks, some bought new others used and some given to me as gifts. I do not cook from all of them, though that was my intent when I purchased them. My favorite is the cookbook my mom used to cook from, The Modern Family Cookbook by Meta Given.

**kettel6** · 08-24-2007, 05:49 PM

Mine are not old but I have been buying a lot of new vegetarian ones lately.

**JerryG** · 08-24-2007, 08:08 PM

but not to the level that some of you do. I agree with the poster about the Jr League - LOVE THOSE! When I travel out of state, I'll contact the local Jr League and pick up their city's. I have about 50 cook books. I'd have more if I had the room . . .and the money. I never go to the library without bringing home a cookbook. And yes, I read them cover to cover . . .Too funny. I don't cook every day but other people tell me I'm a good cook.

**brainyblonde** · 08-24-2007, 08:28 PM

I have several community-type cookbooks, and love to collect the Gooseberry Patch series. I have the Make Your Own Groceries book, and lots of the Storey booklets. My favorite cookbook is the Rumford Baking Powder book from the 1940's.

**nancycg56** · 08-24-2007, 08:41 PM

Originally Posted by brainyblonde

I have several community-type cookbooks, and love to collect the Gooseberry Patch series. I have the Make Your Own Groceries book, and lots of the Storey booklets. My favorite cookbook is the Rumford Baking Powder book from the 1940's.

Tooting my own horn here but I am in a couple of the Gooseberry Patch cookbooks

It's easy to do if anyone wants to do it and you get a free cookbook out of the deal