FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Cookbook classic mixes old, new in 12th edition

By Wanda A. Adams
Advertiser Food Editor

If a general reference cookbook can serve as a snapshot of a society, the new 12th edition of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook paints us as a people who:

• Have broadened our culinary horizons, making staples of "ethnic" items.
• Want quick, easy and low-fat options but insist on old favorites, too.
• Would rather SEE an ingredient, technique or tool than READ about it.
• Need a lot of how-to information, logically organized.
• And want it all to taste good.

The 11th edition (1996) was criticized for focusing too much on fast, easy and low- or nonfat recipes, changing or eliminating some beloved classics in the book, which, with its 72-year history, trademark red-plaid cover and spiral binding is itself a classic. This time out, editor Jennifer Darling is touting the book's emphasis on "a resounding affirmation of good-tasting food."

The changes are subtle but interesting. A table of equivalents on the front end paper— but not the weights and measures, rather equivalents of specific foods (i.e., 1 medium leek equals ¡ cups sliced).

The indexes at the front of each chapter have been greatly improved; in the 11th edition, they were alphabetically by recipe name (i.e., seafood cocktail is listed under "C" for Citrus Seafood Cocktail). In this edition, listings are by category (i.e., fruit cakes) and then by name (Banana Nut Roll).

A long introduction and fussy "reading our recipes" guide have been eliminated. Twenty additional pages are devoted to "Basics," a valuable cooking primer. Classic recipes are marked by a "Best Loved" logo; fast and low-fat or nonfat recipes are also labeled.

Roughly the same amount of material is devoted to each subject in this book as in the last, though some material has been shifted around. A new Crockery Cooking chapter, for example, is made up largely of recipes previously scattered through the book. The Vegetables chapter is now Vegetables and Fruits, with a photo essay on "beyond the basic fruits."

There was much to like in the old, reliable Better Homes and Gardens Book (why aren't ALL cookbooks spiral bound?), and this edition sensibly blends the old and the new.