OP: The New York Times International Cook Book
Harper & Row, 1971. Hardcover. Very Good in Very Good Minus jacket. Book club edition.
The third of the Times cookbooks (popularly known as The New York Times “purple”) strides into territory that would’ve been unlikely ten years earlier when the first book in the series made its appearance: close to 1000 recipes, ranging from the predictable France and Italy to such unexpectables as Barbados and Fiji.
Smartly organized by nation rather than main ingredient, the book offers a brief insight into the culture, flavor profiles, and notable dishes of 45 countries. This is the first of the Times books to introduce color plates, which lends to the “modern” feel and the heralding of a new era of home cooking. This hugely successful book, in print for more than 30 years, was a harbinger of the changing and expanding culinary dialect of the American household.
Our copy is a book club edition, with a smaller trim size than the original and printed on flimsier stock. The interior is largely clean with an occasional food stain. The top and fore edge show light food splatters. The jacket is intact though scuffed and chipping or fraying about the edges. Still useful!