Best books by the experts 2024

Who knows cookbooks better than the owners of specialist cookbook stores? They stock and sell thousands of cookbooks and because their stores are focused on food and drink books, they are true experts. They read the books, cook from them and then share their knowledge with their customers. When shopping for cookbook gifts this holiday season, please think about supporting… read more

The Food Lab celebrates a huge milestone

I missed this news when Kenji López-Alt announced it a couple of weeks ago but it is worth mentioning - his first solo cookbook, The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, recently ticked past 1 million copies sold. In addition to selling a lot of copies, The Food Lab has earned a James Beard Award, was a NYT bestseller,… read more

Dorie Greenspan’s cookbook recommendations for 2024

collage of six cookbooks: The Cake Bible 35th Anniversary Edition by Rose Levy Beranbaum, Africali by Kiano Moju, Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen by Nok Suntaranon, Pass the Plate by Carolina Gelen, Julia Child's Kitchen by Paula Johnson, and Sweet Tooth by Sarah Fennel
The inimitable Dorie Greenspan just published her favorite cookbooks of 2024 and I'm passing along the recommendations to our Members. I feel like no one will believe me when I state (for the nth year in a row) that the releases this year are even better than before, but Dorie agrees, saying "This year’s crop is more exciting than ever.… read more

Jenny’s Best Books of 2024

My list of best books will be more concise than those before. At Eat Your Books we feature books from around the world, so my typical list is always far longer than others. With time being at a shortage this year, I wanted to share some of the books that I personally thought were particularly outstanding this year. There are… read more

A new way to test cookbooks

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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”?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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

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

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

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

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
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