Customer Reviews

The Taste of Home Cookbook

5 star:		(51)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have long been a fan of the Taste of Home magazine & would collect their annual "Yearbooks" of recipes. Naturally I had to add this to my collection and was pleasantly surpised by the addition of a conversion and substitution chart on the inside cover. The lay out of the book itself is orderly and in each section includes a wealth of information on everything from different cheeses, meat preparation, utensils, what goes well with what etc.

Taste of Home recipes have always been a plus in that they were always good food made from readily availble ingredients, yet the addition of easy to read charts and photos provide crucial how-to information that makes this an excellent book for a novice cook while the variety in recipes will offer plenty of new options to try out for an advanced cook.

I also liked that the book is sturdy and very well made, it is designed for endurance and extensive use.

As usual Taste of Home does not disapoint & this book is Highly recomended!

I grew up with "Taste of Home" magazine, and some of the best recipes I've found came from one of the Country Cooking series, either in magazines or their spiral-bound cookbooks. I've had many a 4-H Food Show blue ribbons courtesy of the Country Cooking series. When I saw this cookbook at BJs, I bought 1 copy for me, 1 for my sister, and one for my mother, without even flipping through it first. I was confident that anything these guys had to offer was fantastic.

Well, it's been several months now, and this book exceeds my expectations on all counts. It has replaced my old, worn Betty Crocker "Red Bible" as the new "go to" cookbook, because everything that Betty delivers, this book delivers, and better.

This book is a Betty-style, hard cover, 5-ring binder book, with the thin, magazine-style pages, and divided up with 25 tabs. I love that, instead of the general, catch-all "meat" section that most cookbooks have, this one actually divides out "Beef and Veal," "Pork," "Lamb," and "Poultry" into it's own, very complete, sections. Instead of the ubiquitous "desserts" section, this has the "Cookies and Bars," "Cakes," "Pies and Tarts," "Candies," and the "Desserts" section (filled with ice cream, sorbet, and cobblers... The things that just don't fit anywhere else). Some might find this to be organized to the point of tediousness, but I think it's phenomenal to have that kind of hyper-categorization. Being somebody who cooks with a "I kind of know what I want, but not really" attitude, it's nice to be able to flip to the specific section that caters to my culinary whim.

Then there are the "bells and whistles" that this cookbook has that knocks it up that one notch further. The "food equivalents" measuring chart, the "ingredient substitutions" chart, the helpful hints, cooking tips, carving tips, temperature guidelines, and other little gems you find in each section are so complete, I don't need to do the "cookbook multi-task" with the recipe I want on one counter and the cooking/roasting tips in the Betty book on another. The index section is equally informative, with 3 indexes, one for the "food category," one for the "major ingredient," and the last for "references and tips." There's also a chart for recommended food storage times (freezer and fridge), the herbs and spices guide, and a cuts of meat guide (awesome). With all of this stuff, I am willing to forgive that this cookbook is pretty big and bulky... It requires lots of space, but lays flat, which is good enough for me.

The recipes are complete, easy-to-read and easy-to-use, and while all of the recipes tend to be "beginner" recipes, suited for people of all skills, there are quite a few that are more complicated, and required a little bit more skill. Pretty much all of them, though, are recipes that anybody can use, without fancy or expensive ingredients, making it the perfect dinnertime cookbook. As an added bonus, each recipe has nutrition information, so when I'm doing Weight Watchers, I can still stay in my diet and use this cookbook (for us who have love affairs with food that's gone straight to our thighs, the "Light and Tasty" section is a Godsend).

Really, I think this is the only cookbook you need. Perfect for newlyweds, people who like to or are learning to cook, or just anybody who wants a simple, down-home recipe book with recipes submitted by people who know what they're talking about. My only hope is, when this book expands into the newest additions (as I know it will), the folks at Taste of Home will be smart enough to sell the expansion packs (packages that only have the newly-included recipes/pages so people with the older editions can simply add the new pages and stay up-to-date) like Betty Used to, so I won't have to buy new cookbooks every other year.

If you're looking for a great gift for a first time cook, this is it. The recipes are reliable, making the chances for success much higher--thus, the cooking experience more satisfying for a novice. While accomplished cooks may find the illustrated, step-by-step basics a little tedious, for people just starting out in the kitchen these sections provide a fantastic approach to lessen fears and boost confidence. The photos help reinforce the plain language text descriptions, providing workable approaches for people who are visual or verbal learners.

Yes, the binder is cumbersome (one reason I was put off from purchasing a copy sooner) and the paper stock is thin, but this design facilitates easy access to recipes by allowing the book to lay open flat and the pages (in what would otherwise be a very thick and heavy bound book) to be removed for use and then be replaced without having to wrestle with the entire volume. Hint: To keep the pages clean, simply slip them into a clear poly photo page during use.

I particularly like the binder dividers which categorize recipes in typical groupings--poultry, pork, seafood--but also provide an index for each section so search time for a recipe is reduced. For purists, indeed, a good share of recipes in this binder appear in other Taste of Home publications but from my perspective, the editors have chosen well, selecting some of the most reliable recipes I've found across nearly a dozen of their annual and special issue cookbooks.

I like having the nutritional information included for each recipe. For experienced cooks, the nutritional information helps in figuring out ways to reduce fat and sodium content. For a new cook, the nutrition facts will help raise awareness of preparing balanced meals. Information detailing a variety of vegetables, safe cooking, serving, and storage methods is another great feature the book offers. This book also includes the basics on how to set a table and information about entertaining including, among other things, what variety of and how many appetizers to plan for each guest and how much food to plan on preparing per person for a dinner party.

The Taste of Home Cookbook is very well thought out and executed and the editors are to be congratulated. It certainly holds its own against the Betty Crocker and Better Homes and Gardens cookbooks and, as far as I'm concerned, deserves a place next to The Joy of Cooking as an approachable, user-friendly, instructional cookbook with a low learning curve.

Being a professional in the food industry I am always looking for new cookbooks, especially ones that are based on home cooking. The Taste of Home Cookbook, according to the New York Times was the best selling cookbook of 2006. After reading that I felt it a must have in my collection of over a 1000 tomes. I found the recipes to be well written and somewhat easy to prepare. I can ususally tell how a recipe taste just by the way it reads. Most of them are very good. Being a student of technique, however, I found most of the recipes very basic and could be a good starter cookbook for a newlywed or novice. The binder and tab format is useful to someone who might use it often. There are also lots of information other than recipes that if followed, will turn the frequent user into a very fine cook.

I love this compilation of tested and true recipes. Great photos...great instructions...and even 2 heavy plastic pages to protect whatever pages you are cooking from. My only complaint is that the tabs are a bit flimsy. But it's still a FANTASTIC book. I've bought numerous copies and will be giving it as gifts this Christmas.

As any Taste of Home fan will tell you, The recipes are always easy, simple, organized and for the most part utilize ingredients that you already have in the pantry. And this cookbook continues the tradition. Many of my customers from Taste of Home Entertaining tell me that they usually save all of the magazines from their subscription throughout the year, but now they are going to toss them and get this instead. Plus it looks great and lies flat on our best selling cookbook holder!

The Taste of Home cookbook had 652 jam-packed pages with more than 1,200 recipes and 1,300 photos in a ring binder style book. The cover and pages are all coated for those messy cooks in the house. It is tabbed and organized based on meal type eg. over 300 mian courses, desserts, appetizers, breads, side dishes, salads and the "little extras" like practicle tips and how to's to bring out the great chef in you. And because of the 5 ring binder style, you can always punch a hole in a printed recipe and add it to your book. (my favorite part) I hope you enjoy this book as much as my customers and I do.

This cookbook is great! I've already made several recipes from it and have enjoyed the way the recipes are displayed, especially the pictures of not only the recipes themselves, but also the "how-to" instructions. I have already ordered another book to be sent to my Mom. She receives the Taste of Home Magazine but can't wait to add this cookbook to her collection, since so many recipes are all in one place and she won't have to search through different magazines to find her favorite ones. The 3-ring binder is easy to use (and keep clean) because you can slip the recipe out from the book and keep it nearby when gathering your ingredients and making your dish. Also, the contents and tabs make it a cinch to find just what you're looking for. This is one great cookbook I know I will be using many, many times and I am thrilled to have purchased it.

I got this cookbook as a Christmas gift. It has TONS of recipes in it and a good balance of them....I think this would be a good gift for a newlywed interested in cooking. There is only one downside-the construction of the cookbook itself. The pages are kind of thin and they are held together by a three ring binder and turning the pages is not a smooth endeavor. However, this book contains a lot of great basic info and some mouthwatering recipes.

I must say that I really enjoy the Taste of Home magazines. They have quality recipes, that turn out well, which is something many cooking magazines can not manage. This book is well crafted with many terrific recipes inside. I have already received compliments with many of the recipes I have used in this book.

Usually when you buy these types of binder cookbooks you are left to essemble them yourself. Finally, comes one binder cookbook that I did not have to put together. I found that a nice treat. I like the way this book is organized into many different categories. I also like that there are many photos of most of the recipes.

I have found this book to be very handy as whenever I have wanted a particular recipe, it is in this book. What I like most about this book is that it is a collection of tried and true recipes, some cookbooks just put together recipes, without much care if the recipes even work or not. These recipes are easy to read, and easy to make. Another feature that I really like about this book is that it reminds me of community cookbook, but the community is really large.

I can honestly say I have received compliments, and been asked for the recipes that I have used from this book. This book recently got me through a holiday season. Maybe like you, I feel like I should bring something original and tasty to every holiday party. This book did not let me down. I would highly recommend adding this book to your collection.

I am absolutely thrilled with this cookbook. The recipe format and page layout is incredibly easy to read and they include very useful and practical information throughout the book. Tons of photographs and the recipes themselves are delicious. The information for starter cooks alone would be enough to buy this book (example: in the potato section, they provide photographs and explain the difference between waxy/non-waxy potatoes and the kinds of preparation each is good for...). There is a healthy variety of recipes (covering pretty much every course type) - which makes this a very good, general purpose cookbook.