Rating: 
Summary: A classic worth owning!
Review: Please, don't let the fact that this cookbook pre-dates such modern conviences as the microwave oven and food processors drive you away from this book! There are short cuts, methods and recipes that you simply will not find anywhere else. Unlike a lot of modern cookbooks, this volume accepts the fact that not everyone is a kitchen whiz--so it explains EVERYTHING; from how to bake a chicken (time, temperature, preparation of the bird, type of pan, seasonings) to how to cook fresh vegetables (quite an education if all your mom used was canned or frozen!)This cookbook promotes healthy eating without the guilt trip that a lot of modern cookbooks put you through. It even has suggestions of how to stock a kitchen if you are just starting out (originally for new brides, but hey, you can adapt!) I really like this cook book. Even more important--I USE this cookbook! And no, I'm not a a stay at home wife; I'm a career woman! So if it doesn't work or takes too long, I don't do it! It's a great working cookbook and a great reference cookbook--one you can pull off the shelf and use when you wonder how Mom did it! Bon appetite!
Rating:
Summary: Not just for nostalgic purposes
Review: Every reviewer mentions the nostalgia - using it with their mother or grandmother while learning to cook in the 50s and 60s. I agree, but feel they've missed the point. The reason this cookbook is the greatest is the "key" recipes on every page. One main recipe is listed and then 5 or 10 variations on the theme are provided. Some are a little obvious ("all you have to do to make blueberry pancakes is add blueberries to the fluffy pancake recipe above"), but the end result is to get you thinking about different ways to cook the same dish. After learning to cook from this book, I now make the variations almost without thinking. Recipes are meant to be modified and the question is not "did you follow a recipe", but "how closely did you follow a recipe?" There's no doubt that its a little dated - no pictures of men in the kitchen, a picture of a woman in heels, skirt and apron vacuuming, but that's part of the nostalgia. For just plain learning to cook, this book is unsurpassed in clarity of instructions and quality of recipes.
Rating:
Summary: the difinitive american cookbook
Review: I love this cookbook. I first discovered my grandmothers original addition which was yellowed and almost falling apart. When they came out with a revival I bought it immediately. This cookbook is especially ideal for cooking things like cakes pies and cookies. Their pie crust recipe has gotten rave reviews every time I make it. It also has wonderful nostalgic information about preparing the table and how to feed teenagers. However, it has really useful information such as definitions of cooking terms and what various types of service entail. This is a wonderful basic cookbook that gives you the technique to make anything.
Rating:
Summary: This is the first cookbook I recommend
Review: I am thrilled that Betty Crocker has re-issued this cookbook. My mother received a copy back in 1956 as a wedding present and it is the one I learned to cook from. I still use it more than any of my other cookbooks. The recipes are just "plain home cooking": no fancy ingredients, no complicated cooking techiques. However, I have never made a dish from this book that has failed to get compliments. It is a good book for beginners as well as the rest of us whose skills fall somewhere between "burns water" and cordon bleu.
Rating: 
Summary: Nostalgically precious
Review: Another of my favorite browsing books.
FOR BROWSING: A must-have. The 1950s text and pictures will make you laugh out loud. My favorite part is the Tips section at the back: "Try to notice things all day so you'll have something to talk about at dinner." Also interesting from a gastronomically historic viewpoint - raw eggs and sticks of butter galore.
FOR COOKING: Sometimes, I prefer this to the more health conscious Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today book simply because of the sheer volume of recipes. I agree that sometimes Betty only offers basic meals that lack in imagination, and this book is no exception. However, it manages to fit a dozen or so cake recipes and variations on one page. I like the "Key Recipe" structure and I always like Betty's step-by-step process.
I am a very restless chef who often doesn't like to make a dish twice, but this is one of my favorite books to own. Any experienced chef who likes to have a book around to keep him or her grounded and to pique his or her curiosity of the history of American cuisine, consider this book.
Beginners, get it, but get the modern version too. You don't want to rely solely on the extremely dated health and menu-planning ideas in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Wow!
Review: I have the original copy of this book, but have been hesitant to use it on a regular basis since the paper is so old and getting fragile. I recieved a hardbound copy of this for Christmas and wow! A huge number of things I remember making with my grandparents are in this book, in nice easy to read and easy to make recipes. This is just a great book to have around.
Rating: 
Summary: All too basic
Review: I'm old enough to remember when Betty Crocker's cookbook was a standard gift for new brides who had no experience at all with boiling an egg. Then and now, it could be useful for those whose main concern is getting something, anything, on the table with minimum fuss. But it is strictly limited and utilitarian - the recipes are very bland, without mention of even simple additions (herbs, perhaps, or a cup of wine) that could improve the quality of the most frugal cook's table without requiring extensive time or gourmet expertise. As one example from my own book of 'sad cooking outcomes,' I well remember when I intended to prepare a beautiful veal roast, and a relative asked if she could do so instead to have it ready a bit earlier. The result was hardly to be relished - unseasoned, no gravy, rather dry - basically a product of 'just put it in and let it cook.' Need I mention which cookbook she had used? The standard "do not baste, do not add water", bland Betty Crocker. If one is totally inexperienced, and just wishes to gain confidence in the very action of cooking, this book might have some value as a beginning - but not for long.
Rating:
Summary: shoddy cover
Review: The pages in this book are suberb but the cover is so cheaply made the rings do not close all the way.
Rating:
Summary: Just Like Mom's
Review: I'm buying this book because it is the cookbook my mother used for years and then passed along to me when I married in 1972. I have been afraid to use it for a while (but I have anyway) because my copy has gotten very old and tattered. But the recipes are great. I recently made the blueberry pie and people were licking the plates and raving that it was the best blueberry pie they'd ever eaten. Some things are too good to loose and this cookbook is one of them. Food "from scratch" always tastes better. I can now retire mom's copy. It deserves a rest, and use my new copy. With luck, I'll be able to pass it along to a lucky daughter-in-law in the not too distant future. Thanks to the people at Betty Crocker who had the good sense to reissue it.
Rating:
Summary: a classic
Review: My grandmother taught home economics for 40 years. She used this cookbook all of my childhood and swore by it as the best basic cookbook you could use. When she passed away I cleaned out her house this was one of the most prized and cherished items I took home. She had used the book for 40 and I have now used it an additional 13. Everytime I cook Thanksgiving dinner or any other big family meal I turn to the pages of this book. It may not be the fancy digital age cooking some of the new books offer but it is the best of the basics. My book is 53 years old and is falling to pieces. I know I should buy a new one for my self but I just can't give up this one. I purchased this cookbook for my nephew and his fiance for a wedding gift. they love it and have told me they use it often I am planning on purchasing one for each of the new brides in the family for many years to come. They may have many good cookbooks in their life but this one will be the best.
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