This is more than a great retro cookbook. The 1950 edition is a treasure chest of recipes that even those of us who grew up in the 1970s will recognize from our mothers' kitchens. The desserts and breads are especially tasty. Some main dishes may need an extra bit of seasoning for today's tastes--but an equal number are classic comfort foods that will remind most of us of Mom.

Best cook book of all time.

For simple, post-war cooking, this book can't be beat. There really isn't anything fancy in here but if you want to know how to make pineapple upside down cake or a pork roast, Betty's your man.

I remember my mom's mom cooking from this cookbook. Her copy was well loved, tattered pages, dog-eared, and notes in the margins. This version is one of the first cookbooks that I was gifted when I moved in to my own apartment and started cooking for myself.

I'm having a '50s moment, and I guess that is an excuse to read a cookbook all the way through! The fact butter (or fortified margarine) is one of the 7 main food groups should speak for itself. This was a classic spread of bread & butter, meat & potatoes goodness (right outta General Mills in Minneapolis!).
Some of the recipes are outdated, but adjustable. I still cook out of this book frequently (especially the breads) and reading the side notes was insightful into another generation:
"Good eating brings happiness in two ways. First, there is the joy and satisfaction of eating delicious, well-prepared food. Then there's the buoyant health, vitality, and joy of living that comes from a wise choice of foods. Both are important to good nutrition" (pg 31).
If you want some egg puns and are curious how to cut veggies to look like flowers, this is the cookbook for you!

A classic cookbook. It is chock-full of retro recipes but also tried and true recipes to use time and time again!

I grew up with this cookbook in my mother's kitchen and always poured over the illustrations and tidbits on creating a lovely home. I was lucky enough to stumble upon an old edition years ago and snatched it up. The recipes are still good ( most of them.) I don't think I will ever make Kix chicken, but you never know.

I mean, don't get this book because you want a bunch of useful recipes, get it to laugh at the Fifties and to feel relief that you no longer have to make a man a ham in order to assure your financial future. (I have used a bunch of pie recipes from here, actually, and they've all turned out great.) Just get it. Get it!

Awesomeness and I have to be cooking now.

I owned a copy of this book in the '60s and gave it away when we moved across the country. When I came across a pristine copy at the Library sale, it was like contacting an old friend. Naturally, I had to buy it. It's now taken up residence with my other treasured cookbooks.

These are easy to make recipes for real families, with stunning pictures. though it is supposedly "dated" with all the food trends lately, I still found it relevevant

My copy is a first edition (ninth printing), copyright 1950 with a color photograph of fruit and miniature pies on the cover.