• robm on April 17, 2021

  Updated versions of The Settlement Cook Book from at least 1965 up to the radical 1990s Charles Pierce Version modernize the format and layout, but keep virtually all the original/classic recipes, with some subtle additions (like a recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake) and nods to new techniques/appliances. Generally they hew closely to Mrs. Simon Kander's versions, though.

• robm on April 17, 2021

  Along with "The Joy of Cooking," and "Fannie Farmer," this is one of the great standard American cookbooks. It originated in a 1901 cookbook prepared for an immigrant settlement house in Milwaukee, to teach American food ways to new arrivals. However, the cookbook also includes many ethnic dishes, especially German and Jewish specialties, which reflects the immigrant community in Milwaukee at the time the book was originally published. Full of excellent, well-tested, tried-and-true recipes. My mother and grandmother both cooked extensively from this book, which is how they earned their reputations as great cooks and bakers! The baking chapters of the Settlement Cook Book are legendary, with every classic Mittel-European cake, torte, kuchen, and confection you could hope for! Subsequent editions are in a larger format and reorganized more logically but keep virtually all the original recipes. The 1990s Charles Pierce revision DOES NOT. It does make an excellent partner for the original.

• robm on April 17, 2021

  Along with "The Joy of Cooking," and "Fannie Farmer," this is one of the great standard American cookbooks. It originated in a 1901 cookbook prepared for an immigrant settlement house in Milwaukee, to teach American food ways to new arrivals. However, the cookbook also includes many ethnic dishes, especially German and Jewish specialties, which reflects the immigrant community in Milwaukee at the time the book was originally published. Full of excellent, well-tested, tried-and-true recipes. My mother and grandmother both cooked extensively from this book, which is how they earned their reputations as great cooks and bakers! The baking chapters of the Settlement Cook Book are legendary, with every classic Mittel-European cake, torte, kuchen, and confection you could hope for! Subsequent editions are in a larger format and reorganized more logically but keep virtually all the original recipes. The 1990s Charles Pierce revision DOES NOT. It does make an excellent partner for the original.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Baking powder biscuits

  • goatgremlin on March 30, 2024

    p. 82 of 1965 edition. Makes for classic, quick to the table drop biscuits; works very well with white whole wheat flour and chilled butter and it's very accommodating of add-ins. Liked this much better than the equivalent in Joy.