A new way to test cookbooks

November 12, 2024 by
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Cookbook clubs (along with our EYBD Previews) offer an opportunity to "test drive" cookbooks. Making recipes that you find online or in a library copy of the cookbook, along with hearing how others fared with specific recipes, allows you to get to know the book without committing to a purchase right away. There's another way to vet a cookbook, and… read more

Gift Guide for Bakers – 2024 and Giveaway

November 8, 2024 by
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The holiday season is fast approaching. I wanted to share a gift guide for the bakers in your life of some of the best baking books published this year as well as a few products. In addition, we have a nice giveaway featuring the following items: a Marcato Made in Italy Holiday Cookie Gift Set, an Emile Henry cookie jar,… read more

Revising a ‘bible’ – heresy or heavenly?

October 23, 2024 by
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Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Cake Bible, 35th Anniversary Edition arrived on my doorstep a few days ago. My well worn original edition frequently gets pulled off the shelf for reference, so I was excited to see the updated version. I was a little nervous, however, because often the sequel to a hit is disappointing, and I worried that an attempt… read more

Holiday Gift Guide – Favorite Books of 2023 & Giveaway

December 4, 2023 by
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The holiday season is in full swing and if you are like me you may be looking for just the right gift for the cook/baker in your life. I want to share a few of my favorite subscription services, cooking kits and favorite books from 2023. Please also see my Holiday Baking post which shares some of my favorite items.… read more

To become a better cook, start scribbling

May 31, 2023 by
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We've discussed the practice of writing notes in your cookbooks before, and most EYB Members agreed that it was a good practice. There were some naysayers, however, who argued that messing up a gorgeous book with notes (or splotches and splashes) was a bad idea. Today in The Washington Post, Becky Krystal set out to change the latter group's mind.… read more

2023 Art of Eating Prize winner announced

May 16, 2023 by
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The Art of Eating Prize is awarded annually to the author of the year’s best book about food (or food and drink together). Where other food book awards involve nominations in diverse categories, The Art of Eating Prize focuses on a single best book. The founders of the prize, by rewarding the highest quality work, hope to encourage the excellence… read more

Fortnum & Mason winners

May 12, 2023 by
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On May 11, food and drink celebrities gathered at The Royal Exchange in London to fete winners of the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards. These prestigious annual awards celebrate the achievements of the UK’s current and emerging food writers, publishers, photographers, broadcasters, and personalities. The ceremony was presented by Andi Oliver, alongside celebrated chef and Awards judging panel… read more

All things cookbook care, management and organizational roundup

May 8, 2023 by
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Recently, a member asked for help in finding any posts or tips on cookbook organization. We feel that this was a great topic to do a "roundup" type post that shares links to all articles, forum posts and the like so that our members may use these as a resource. We have gathered posts on organization, care of cookbooks, management… read more

Vintage cookbooks can fetch big prices

March 8, 2023 by
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Do you have a pristine first edition Joy of Cooking or Mastering the Art of French Cooking in your collection? Or perhaps some older or more rare volumes? If so, you could be sitting on a gold mine, according to a recent article about vintage cookbooks. Says Nicole Sawyer, the co-founder of Chattic.com, an online community and marketplace for collectibles,… read more

The enduring appeal of cookbooks

February 3, 2023 by
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This will come as no surprise to our Members, but the popularity of cookbooks shows no signs of slowing down. It's one bright spot in the struggling print publishing industry, with consistent sales of several million volumes annually (about 20 million cookbooks are sold in the US each year). Why do cookbooks buck the trend to digital? Because they are… read more

What would be in your cookbook “go bag”?

December 10, 2022 by
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Last week, a friend and I were talking when the subject of "go bags" came up. Go bags contain those carefully chosen items that one would need in an emergency during an evacuation/disaster such as medications, ID cards, insurance cards, and an extra change of clothing. While, of course, there would be far more important things to worry about than… read more

Jenny’s Best Books of 2022 and Cookbook Gift Guide with Giveaway

December 3, 2022 by
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This was yet another fantastic year for cookbooks and I will try to keep my list fairly reasonable in length but I assure you this year has outshone those before and may outshine years in the future. Once you take a look at this list, be sure to enter our worldwide giveaway for a set of cookbooks provided to us… read more

IACP Cookbook Awards 2022 winners

November 18, 2022 by
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On Friday November 18, 2022, the International Association of Culinary Professionals announced the winners of the prestigious IACP awards from the Middleby Showroom in Dallas and New York. The announcement was made via video and can be viewed online on Vimeo. It was a good 'day' for Member favorite baking books: Cheryl Day's Treasury of Southern Baking topped the American… read more

Revisiting an online vintage cookbook archive

October 18, 2022 by
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Over six years ago, I wrote about the Cookbook and Home Economics Collection at the Internet Archive and its impressive section of cookery books. Previously the catalog drew from works housed by the Young Research Library Department of Special Collections at UCLA, the Bancroft Library at The University of California, Berkeley, and the Prelinger Library. Today the archive has additional sources including libraries around… read more

An ode to baking books

October 12, 2022 by
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Cookbook covers for Gateau by Aleksandra Crapanzano and The Italian Baker by Carol Field
Ever since I was a young girl, baking has been an important part of my life - I inherited the baking gene from my mother, who abhors cooking but will gladly whip up a batch of cookies, cream puffs, or bars at the drop of a hat. So it's no surprise that in my modest (compared to many of our… read more

Andrea Nguyen discusses the cookbook business

August 24, 2022 by
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Adam Roberts, one of the first breakout food bloggers, launched a new podcast earlier this year called The Amateur Gourmet Podcast (named after his blog and taking a bit of a turn from his previous podcast called Lunch Therapy). Several episodes feature the topic Eat Your Books Members love best: cookbooks, including the most recent episode, in which Roberts interviews… read more

What’s the best cookbook holder?

July 29, 2022 by
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An open cookbook rests in a bamboo holder on a butcher block countertop. A red KitchenAid stand mixer is in the background.
For those of us who use our cookbooks day in and day out, protecting them from ruin while still being able to easily reference them is an ongoing challenge. While a splatter or two can add character to a beloved book, a major spill can be disastrous, so many cooks turn to cookbook holders and protectors instead of just plopping… read more

Dive into vintage Neighbor Lady cookbooks

June 2, 2022 by
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If you love regional cookbooks from the post-war era, it's your lucky day. I recently stumbled across a trove of vintage pamphlet-style cookbooks that a dedicated fan has recently scanned for free viewing and downloading. The cookbooks are part of a series published by WNAX Radio, based in the small town of Yankton, South Dakota. The AM-radio station broadcast over… read more

Ronni Lundy opens Plott Hound Books

May 2, 2022 by
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Journalist and James Beard award winning cookbook author Ronni Lundy opened Plott Hound Books in Burnsville, North Carolina on April 30th (which happened to be national Independent Bookstore Day). The store carries hundreds of new titles from the latest best sellers to classic reads, cookbooks, mysteries, historicals and a full section devoted to Appalachia. Located at 102 W. Main Street… read more

Tips on cleaning, storing, and organizing your cookbook collection

April 21, 2022 by
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Many of our members have outsized cookbook collections. Mine is modest compared to some but I do have hundreds of books which means I have a lot of storage needs. While I aspire to an impeccably organized, highly logical, and beautiful system for housing my cookbooks, instead I have a mismatched bookshelves lining the walls of a spare bedroom, stacks… read more

Mother’s and Father’s Day Gift Guide for the Cookbook Lover and Giveaway

April 19, 2022 by
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The two special days to celebrate mom and dad are right around the corner. I've prepared a guide to a few gifts that are sure to please the cook, baker and cookbook lover in your family. In addition to this guide, we are offering a worldwide giveaway for a chance to win a set of cookbooks: Lioroooosh: Baking from my… read more

Philadelphia bookstore features a growing culinary section

December 13, 2021 by
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We love hearing about cookbook stores, and today we learned about a bookstore, Molly's Books & Records, that features a large and growing selection of used cookbooks, making it the best source for cookbooks in the Philadelphia area according to Abigail Weil of Eater. Third-generation bookseller Molly Russakoff, inspired by the store's location in the Italian Market, decided to expand… read more

IACP Cookbook Awards 2021 winners

October 24, 2021 by
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We are foregoing our usual antipasto post to bring you cookbook awards! In a ceremony last evening, the IACP announced the winners of its 2021 Cookbook Awards. America's Test Kitchen had a very good evening, with three of their books claiming top honors: Meat Illustrated: A Foolproof Guide to Understanding and Cooking with Cuts of All Kinds in the General category,… read more

Jialin Tian – Ph.D. Pastry Chef – Cookbook Giveaway

October 6, 2021 by
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Back in July (how is it already October?), I wrote about a diamond of a recommendation from Amazon. Lightning does strike twice and thanks to another recommendation I discovered Jialin Tian a few weeks ago. The cover below tempted me to take a deep dive into Jialin's work. I reached out and requested review copies of her books, ordered an… read more

You don’t want to miss these showdowns

September 20, 2021 by
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Most of us love a good competition - which is why we'll be glued to our screens as soon as the Great British Bake Off returns tomorrow (we have to wait longer here in the US so no spoilers, please). There is another friendly competition that ticks the boxes for us cookbook lovers can be found at Book Riot, which… read more
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