Customer Reviews

Culinary Arts Institute Encyclopedic Cookbook

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Or squirrel even...this is the cookbook that you need. Originally from the 1930's, this was the basic cookbook for every housewife. It covers every possible type of food, including game meats like moose and squirrel, as well as some lost cooking arts, like knowing how to use a pressure cooker.

My grandmother and mother each owned one of these books, and it was one of the earliest cookbooks that I learned to use. It is thoroughly entertaining, and a great addition to any cookbook library. However, its biggest drawback is that it was written at a time when there were no shortcuts to cooking, and most people learned how to cook at an early age. The book assumes that the reader already has the basics down, so sometimes the directions are vague. And the recipes are not meant for our harried lifestyles. There are no shortcuts, such as using frozen foods or the microwave. They were written for at a time when women worked in the home, and cooking was a big part of their job.

For a novice cook, there are other books that are better able to give the direction that is needed; either The Better Homes and Gardens (ring-bound, black and red plaid cover!) and the big red Betty Crocker cookbooks start off with the basics and are easy to use. But if you are comfortable with cooking, and are familiar with the basics, this is really a fun book to have. You will find the recipes for all of your favorite "comfort foods"; a good macaroni and cheese, great mashed potatoes, even several different ways to serve hamburger. There are some really great cookie recipes, and when I am looking for something that I remember from childhood, I can always find it here. There is even a section on using leftovers, leftover from the lean years of the Depression. (I never knew there were so many ways to use weenies.)

And if the occasion ever presents itself when you need a recipe for reindeer and elk, you will know just where to find it.

This book was originally penned in the 1930's, while it has been recently updated, it is not a book if you are looking for trendy foods. This book is extremely thick and packed with over 2000 recipes, yes that 2000. Many of the recipes are for things we don't normally cook everyday; sweetmeats, game, and a variety of desserts that haven't been made in years. The recipes are clear and concise. You will get tons of information on all sorts of vegtables, meats, breads, and baked goods.
In addition to all of the recipes there are sections on nutrition, meal planning, cooking ideas, and much more. Once again this book is packed with all sorts of recipes. More than you can possibly go through in a short amount of time. The recipes aren't trendy, but this book is filled with many classics you may have grown up with.

This is an EXCELLENT reference book, and was first published in 1940 - later editions come out in the 50's and again now.

It is really an easy to use and enormously useful book for everything from basic cooking to fancy stuff. The most wonderful part of it is that it has some great explanations for various things, over 2,000 items in the start are explained including what various processes are (including little used terms now such as devil or lard)

there are a sections for menus including what pages the recipes turn up on - but what I like most about this book, and others of this era is that you find a lot of recipes which we just don't use now - who has heard of Calf-liver dumplings, or Prune-nut bread?

But if you really want variety, well just check out the waffles, there is a basic waffle recipe with a dozen or so variations, but then there are another 10 or so different waffle recipes including corn meal, rice and southern Griddle cakes.

If you are struggling with leftovers, then turn to your pages here - what to do with leftover veges, or eggs - all have separate sections with stacks of great ideas

Under meat there is a simple and easy to reference section on how long to cook various items - and as with most good books of this time includes a chart with meant cuts - or what theyare and what they look like alogn with ideas on how to use them

at 1,000 or so pages there are recipes and ideas which will keep you inspired for years to come

When I was a little girl, my mother had this book. When I had a little girl, I found a place to buy this book. When my little girl grows up, I will send her off with her own copy of this cookbook. The information in the book is the most extensive I have ever seen. I feel it works for the simple lifestyled people, as well as the elite ones. It also gives the simple people the ability to creat elegant meals without killing themselves. When a person picks up a cookbook, quite often the terminology looses them, but not with this one. The definitions, glossaries & charts make cooking a breeze.

[Note: Originally credited to Ruth Berolzheimer, but has since been republished with no author credit.]

This isn't the sort of book you buy to learn how to cook - you buy it keep on your shelf as a sort of culinary safety net, for those times when you need a recipe for something in a hurry, and you cant find it anywhere else in your home library. Hollendaise sauce ? It's in there. Creamed spinach ? Yes, and don't forget the obligatory sliver of garlic and tiny grating of nutmeg. Buerre Blanc Sauce ? Check. Cream of Asparagus Soup ? No problem. Bisque ? Several, and remember to stop shy of a boil after adding the yolks (or they'll break). It's ALL in there, sans fancy photos. You open the book to find a basic no-frills starting point for any given recipe, and then you explore/experiment/personalize it from there.

Weighing in at a hefty 974 pages, all of it in tiny print too, this encyclopedic tome of basic core-American cuisine is the sort of fall-back omni reference that all serious cooks had on their shelf in the days before on-line databases like 'epicurious' became easily available.

I've given it a thumbs up - not because it's enjoyable or entertaining (hardly), but because it's so useful. It's a bit dated, the instructions are minimalistic, and the few photos that are present are all B&W and not especially helpful, but it's still a good book to have on hand if your cooking styles tend to roam loose and free, and where improvized 'door knock dinners' or 'cupboard special dujour' are a frequent and welcome diversion into culinary improv.

A handy, well dog-eared, fixture atop my fridge.

[Added clarification]:

This is NOT the sort of book one turns to for inspiration. Rather, it's the place you turn when you've forgotten the specifics of how to make something specific, and you need to refresh your memory by briefly consulting an easy-to-search encyclopedia of uber-minimalistic no-frills examples. The kind of stripped down recipes that are analagous to a rusty old VW beetle left up on chocks in a back alleyway.

Case in point: "cream of (insert vegetable here) soup" ... it gives one basic stripped-down ultra-short recipe, and gives 1 sentence variations on adapting it for broccoli, brocciflower, spinach, mushroom, etc. And it does it all in under half a page too. We're taking TERSE ... barely 1 step above microfilm, if you know what I mean.

Incidentally, when I first bought this book, I kept thinking that the title "Culinary Arts Institute ..." (CAI) meant that the book published by the "Culinary Institute of America" (CIA). There is no such connection.

Buying this book was a great idea for my culinary career. Sometimes you come across difficult phrases or even a French word that you need to look up. Also it has some good recipes, but way too many to try them all. I am also recommending The Study Guide for the National Servsafe Exam: Key Review Questions and Answers with Explanations. This is an excellent study guide to help you through those state exams. I highly recommend the baking and advanced baking study books also by Dr. Patrick Leonardi.

Everything from how to set a table to how to dress out and butcher a beef or build a root cellar. A most wonderful book, much more than just a cook book- a design for living really.

Slightly out of date but by far the best cookbook ever. Great for first-time cooks.

If I could have only one cookbook, it would be this one. I purchased my first copy in the 1970s, it is a wonderful recipe collection for cooking. A modern cook will notice is there are no slow cooker or microwave recipes. Other wise, it is a very complete collection and filled with very helpful information. If you want to stop using prepackaged foods and do it your self, this is the cookbook. Many of the recipes are not commonly made today. You can choice from many tasty dishs and surprise your guests with a new (old) taste. I like to mix the recipes from this book with those of current cookbooks/cooking magazines/cooking websites. However, this cookbook is always the foundation for my cooking.


If you a fan of the Bewitched TV show, the hardback cookbook being held by Samantha as she cooks during the first season.


What is amazing is this collection is just part of the recipes that Culinary Arts Institute printed. The most of the rest were in a series of 24 booklet, which fit two binders and called Cooking Magic vol 1 and 2. The booklets were reprint over the years by different names. Many of the recipes were mixed and issued at a new collection. So if like this cookbook, I recommend finding the Cooking Magic cookbooks or later reprints.

A friend owns the original hardback version from the mid 1900's. It has just about everything dealing with the prospect of cooking/ entertaining. I have used this book and find that all of my loved ones should have it for themselves. It truly goes full circle on this field. Now I want to get copies for myself. Unfortunately, the hard bound (a possible heirloom; longer lasting) seems to be impossible to find. Therefore I will pick up the soft covers and have the covers laminated for durability.I can't promise the new edition is as complete as the original.