Review: holds up extremely well
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 07 22, 2012
Most cookbooks published in 1919 have not aged well. The recipes are either indecipherable (today's recipes have much more precise measurements) or unpalatable according to today's taste (Suet pudding? Fried calf's brains? No thanks!) Maria Gentile's The Italian Cook Book: The Art of Eating Well wears much better. Sure, some of the recipes -- homemade tomato sauce -- won't appeal to busy cooks who value time over pennies; other recipes -- liver and other organ meats -- won't appeal because of changing tastes; lastly, some of the recipes rely on ingredients (e.g., hare, squab, quince) that aren't readily available in most cities. However, most of the recipes are as delicious as they would have been a century ago when The Italian Cook Book: The Art of Eating Well was quite popular.The Italian Cook Book: The Art of Eating Well is not for a novice cook. Many of the ingredients are given differently than they would be in a modern cookbook (e.g., 7 ounces of flour rather than giving the measurement by cups or "add a piece of butter"), but a seasoned cook will be able to adapt the recipe.As has been pointed out, The Italian Cook Book: The Art of Eating Well is pretty much plagiarized from legendary cookbook author Pellegrino Artusi'sThe Art of Eating Well: An Italian Cookbook-- right down to the title! However, Artusi's book retails for nearly $200, and Gentile's book is free in the Kindle format. For most Americans, their sole access to Artusi's genius will be through Gentile's cookbook. I hope that Artusi, who died in 1911, will be forgiving.