I always recommend the Boston Cooking School cookbook.....and I like a late 1950's edition....tells everything basic, including how to cook a terrapin.
Another is Julia Child's The Way to Cook.
Linda C

Hi Khandi,

I'd hands down recommend "1,000 Lowfat Recipes" by Terry Blonder Golson. I have about twenty cookbooks and this is my most cherished. She covers wok cooking, baking, deserts, stews, sauces, etc. This book has it all and oddly, isn't overwhelming. My favorite part about it is (though there aren't any photos) is that every recipe has a description regarding flavoring, cooking, etc. The recipes use pretty accessible and affordable ingredients, too.

AND - it's SUPER cheap on Amazon ($1.24 plus shipping)! Hope this helps! Perhaps you can score a copy at a used bookstore or find it at your library.

Happy cooking adventures!

Sarah

I think it would depend in part on the goals of the future cook, and to some degree the personality. If the person is a techie/geeky sort (and I mean that in the best sense, being one myself) you might consider the Cooks Illustrated book, 'The New Best Recipe' (see the link)--it covers a lot of the 'why' instead of just directions to do this or that.

As Linda noted, Julia's 'The Way to Cook' is excellent, more approachable than her 'Mastering the art of French Cooking'. Lots of photos, etc. It's still a serious book, though.

One other thought: I'll often buy a cookbook used rather than new. New cookbooks can be really pricey, and after you use it a bit it'll have splatters on it anyway. I'll shop in thrift shops and antique malls and used book stores; I found a barely used hardcover copy of Julia's book for $12 (it lists for $65 new). Another good source is addall.com--it's a meta-search engine which checks the inventory of dozens of bookstores for new and used books.

Here is a link that might be useful: best recipe

When I first got married at age 18 I got a Betty Crocker cookbook as a wedding gift. I didn't know much about cooking, Mom never made me cook. I knew basics and the Betty Crocker cookbook told me everything I needed to know to start cooking. I still use it all the time. Remember back in the day there was NO INTERNET. With internet you can find how to do/cook anything with a quick google search.

Khandi, I would recommend for any new cook The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook. I received one as a wedding shower gift back in the early 80's. I still use it frequently all these many years past. It is easy to read and follow. It has the basic info a new cook may not know yet like how to measure flour accurately and what type of container to use to measure. What size a chop, dice, or mince is. Pan selection, food and measurement equivalents and the pictures are great. It has easy basic recipes and as the cook gets more at ease with their cooking skills more challenging recipes too. NancyLouise

The book I have given to my kids, and which was most valuable to me as a beginner, is The James beard Cookbook. It has instructions for most of the familiar dishes, giving a basic, uncomplicated recipe for each followed by suggested variations.

Books such as The Betty Crocker Cookbook or The Good Housekeeping Cookbook are very suitable for beginners too. I just find James Beard's more interesting.

Books I would not recommend for beginners are ones with a special slant, such as diet cookbooks, books based on short-cut methods or books based on the author's idiosyncratic style. A comprehensive book isn't needed at this stage either. It's better to have one that is engaging and accessible than one which tells how to cook terrapin or divinity. That sort of book is for reference, not for learning the basics.

Jim

I'm surprised no one has mentioned "The Joy of Cooking". It was my first cookbook and I still use today. It has great basic instructions for anything you want to know how to cook and has good recipes too.

It has been indispensible for me.

The Pillsbury Cookbook and for less total novices, Joy of Cooking.

The cookbook I bought for both Amanda and Ashley was the Betty Crocker cookbook, circa 1969. I got one as a wedding gift and still use it for things like how to make biscuits or how to boil rice.

It was the one bookcook that both girls said they wanted to take with them, so I bought one for each of them.

That said, the Joy of Cooking is very good, as is James Beard and many others. I agree that a good basic cookbook that covers basic techniques and recipes will be far more useful than one with a particular focus or specific foods or ethnicities, etc.

Annie

Mollie Katzen, who is famous for the "Moosewood Cookbook" has a relatively new one out targeted for beginning cooks. I'm pretty sure it's called "Get Cooking." I borrowed it from the library last fall & test drove quite a few recipes. All were wonderful, and the directions were great for an entry-level cook. The recipes call for ingredients that are easily available, and it covers all the basics from appetizers to desserts.
This was the book I chose for my nephew who was setting up a kitchen in his first apartment. I'd still like to have one to add to my own collection - it was that good.

Thank you very much! Very appreciated!

I'm also suggesting "The Joy of Cooking." It has very simple recipes on up to the more complex so it is a lifetime cookbook.

I'd say any Julia Child cookbook. You get a double whammy with Julia: testing and good recipe writing. They've been tested so many times and are so well-written that they are easily followed and come out prefectly every time.

Has anyone used Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything? Even though it is a comprehensive cookbook, which ordinarily is the type I feel can swamp the beginner with unneeded information, Bittman has the reputation of writing in an interesting, easy to follow manner.

One reviewer says the book is organized by course, each chapter begins with "essential" recipes, the "building blocks," That sounds like an approach a beginner would find user-friendly.

The book is currently ranked an incredible #379 in Amazon books and #5 in Amazon cooking, food and wine books.

Jim

Joy of Cooking has been my favorite as a basic cookbook/reference, and it covers pretty much all of what is standard in the American kitchen and includes information about utensils, etc. Another favorite is Jeff Smith's Frugal Gourmet, which is his first book. It has a lot of information about utensils and also (for me) has the best recipes for basic dishes and is extremely simple and easy. I've had to adjust a few of the JOC recipes - they tend to overdo it on the salt.

Lars

I have Bittman's "How to Cook Everything Vegetarian" and I would NOT recommend it to a beginning cook who doesn't know how to cook. It is overwhelming even to me, and I LIKE to cook and know how, sort of. It would be good for a beginning cook who knows how to cook and wants to become really proficient and expand their repertoire past the basics.

There's two schools of thought I think on beginning cookbooks. One is the encyclopedic approach like "Joy" Good Housekeeping, Betty Crocker, etc. That's a cookbook for life and pretty much covers everything you'll want to know to cook for yourself, family and guests, in a general way. But I don't know how well they do to inspire someone to cook. For that, you need something with lots of pictures and written in a chatty style, IMHO.

My mom has both Betty Crocker and the Good Housekeeping books and I like her older, Betty Crocker better since it has LOTS of photos and explanation pages. That's the one that taught me.

Oddly though, the book that really got me cooking and inspired me to be a good cook was "The Alice's Restaurant Cookbook" by Alice May Brock. It was written in a very cheerleader style (albeit a hippy earth mother cheerleader) that really gave me confidence to cook the yummy basics and then improvise. Lots of photos, jokes, and cool things like a guide to spices, cuts of meat, how to doll up a box cake mix, etc., etc. Nothing in there is fancy but it is all downhome good and you really can find anything you want in there, at least she touches on it and gives you the courage to go out and do more. Not sure who is writing a book like that now. Frankly I think some bloggers do that kind of thing best nowdays.

In the summer of 2009, both of my daughters married within 3 weeks of each other. The oldest was already cooking quite well - she loves puttering around the kitchen. The younger, however, was still learning the basics.

I had so hoped that someone would give them each a cookbook for a wedding gift. As no one did, for Christmas we bought each a cookbook.

The beginner got a basic Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. So far, she says it's been a BIG help, as she learns a lot by reading the instructions.

The other one got the big Taste of Home cookbook. I gather that her grandma saw it and had to look at it too.

Donna

Jim, I love the way James Beard wrote about food. For a beginner I like his basic book, Better Crocker old school, Better Homes and Garden, Joy of Cooking and a few of my much older books. Still, my all time favorite cookbook and one that is also good for beginners is James Beards American Cookery. There are enough basics to get anyone started and his writing is both amusing and informative. Love that guy.

I ordered two cookbooks. Julia Child's The Way To Cook and Better Homes and Garden Beginner something cookbook.
Can't wait to check them out!