Meta Given's Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking

by Meta Given

A modern cook book, complete in every detail, brings the latest developments in home economics into your kitchen for a simpler, better and richer life

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Reference, Food

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Thomasin Propson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I only have Volume 1 (picked it up for a few bucks at St. Vinny's) but I read it cover to cover. Talks about canning, what to do if you don't have a freezer (as if! Life in the 40's was different than now...!) and praises "scientists" an the wonderful discoveries they've made in the newish field of nutrition. Cracks me up. But the recipes are interesting, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE that she's written and entire YEAR's worth of menus. Seriously, breakfast, lunch & dinner for an entire year, all at your fingertips (if you have Volume 2, that is). Wish I could get the second volume so I could attempt to cook like she recommends for an entire year. That would actually be really fun...

[Foxthyme · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this one up at an antique store. Copyright 1948. It's got coloured pictures of old-time apples--ever hear of Stark King David, Black Ben, Banana or Red Cheek, Summer Champion, or Sweet Bough? Oh to find these apples again.

There's a section on how to use the old style pressure cookers, which is good timing as I just picked one up at a yard sale in the summer.

There are also interesting recipes that people 'used' to make, such as citron preserves, flavoured milk and buttermilk (peppermint, pineapple, prune, sage, and tomato), and real macaroni and cheese.

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love these cookbooks - it actually comes in two volumes. My mother has a set and she decided it was time for me to have them. I wouldn't take hers, but she scoured the internet and got me the exact same set as hers. They are great for simple, yet delicious recipes. There are recipes for anything you can think of - even game such as muskrat and possum. They are my go to's when I want something classic or just looking for something different to make. Where else can you find peanut butter and bacon spread? :)

[Olivia_B · Rating 5 out of 5]

My parents had a 1955, 2 volume set of Meta Givens Modern Encyclopedia of Cooking, and my whole family learned how to cook by using them. More than sixty years of constant use has left them a more or less loose pile of browned, brittle, torn, and stained pages, held together with scotch tape and duct tape, still in use, still cherished, and still coveted by those of us who do not possess them; a true testament to the value of this encyclopedia of cooking. To rectify this for myself, I turned to Amazon and (.....angels singing.....) I found a set of my own. The set that I bought is in remarkably good shape; good for me, but sad for the family who seemed not to know what they were missing by not using them. Now that I am looking through them, I realize that these are more than cook books. They are an album preserving decades of family life. A short film on every page... my dad experimenting with the recipes, making everything from Pancakes, and Apple Streusel, to Ketchup (spelled Catchup in the index), and learning how to ferment his own Sauerkraut. My mother making Pineapple Upside-Down Wheel Cake in an iron skillet,and Stewed Chicken and Dumplings to repeated requests, and putting up all kinds of fruit and garden vegetables, teaching me how to bake bread, then the two us taking turns at it every week, my friends and I sitting on the basement stairs, opening a jar of my mom's dill pickles, and feasting. Me reading voraciously and learning all I could about baking, and candy making, trying new recipes every week. So full of information, they are truly the only cook books you'll ever need. Copyright 1955, 1502 pages.

[Lynda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good basic bookbook. Covers all types of cooking that are easily done at home. This was written before all the trends that are popular now. Want to know how to make a white sauce, this is the book for you.
Want to make a pot roast like your grandma, this is the book for you.
Want to make fried wontons dipped in white chocolate, go somewhere else.

[Jean MacLeod · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this two-volume set for over 60 years, and they are like old friends. With lovely legible print, a vast storehouse of recipes, a useful glossary, and cooking tables, it's everything a cookbook should be. There are no colored photographs, but the black and white ones are more than adequate. It's a joy reading and referring to a cookbook of this caliber.

[Ginnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is also a cookbook both my grandmothers used. Favorite recipes from it:
-Venison Pot pie
-Bread Pudding
-Cream of Potato and Mushroom soup

[Matriarchy]

I have the 1949 4th Printing of this two-volume hardback set. Green cloth covers - the jackets are long lost.

[Sylvia]

A basic cookbook with good, solid recipes. A little dated because some of the recipes call for a "No. 2 can" etc., but for the most part easy to follow recipes and measurements.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember reading the set while I was growing up. I still love reading the books, and trying out different recipes. Now only if I can get my hands on some fresh opossum.