The Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook has a lot of easy recipes, charts for how long to cook different kinds of vegetables, meat, etc,. They also include tips for ingredient substitutions, how to recognize different stages of cooking, and definitions of cooking terms.

When I left for college, my mom gave me The Four Ingredient Cookbook. Each recipe only has four ingredients. It really helped me develop my cooking skills. Here’s one I made often:

SALISBURY STEAK

1, 1 lb ground beef
2. 1 egg
3. 1 small onion, chopped
4. 1 can beef broth

Mix beef, egg, and onion. Shape into patties. Brown over medium heat. Drain the fat. Pour broth around the patties. Simmer around 40 minutes. Season to taste.

You need a book that teaches actual techniques, not simply gives you recipes. As several people have mentioned, “The Joy of Cooking” (Becker/Rombauer) is a classic, and the most recent edition looks excellent. As someone else also mentioned, Mark Bittman’s “How to Cook Everything” is also an excellent source. If you can find it (I think it’s out of print), James Beard’s “Theory and Practice of Good Cooking” is really a masterwork.

the joy of cooking is an awsome book, it covers everything

I agree that Rachel Ray’s 30 minute meals is a very good source.. specifically “Cooking Rocks! Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals for Kids.” It isn’t the typical kid’s cookbook and is a good place to start.

Other than books, tune into the Food Network! They have great cooking shows such as Rachel Ray’s 30 Minute Meals and Alton Brown as has been mentioned.. Alton Brown has taught me so much and I am an experienced cook! yet his tips are great for anyone. He chooses a topic and thoroughly discusses and teaches you various ways to cook it, etc.

Most of all… trial and error is the best way to learn!

This shows a bunch of great beginner cookbooks. I own most of them myself.

It’s not a cook book; its better! I LOVE that site. It’s an easy site to use, and there are tons, billions, of recipes, for the inexperienced or gourmet chef! There are ratings, recipes from people, brands, etc. Go there! Everything is user friendly, or chef friendly ( :

These are a little geeky, but I’m Just Here for the Food by Alton Brown is kind of cool because it explains the science behind the cooking, if you’re the kind of person who always asks “why”.

My mother says she learned to cook from children’s cookbooks. Her mindset was if a kid could do it, she could do it. Just find a kid’s cookbook from the library or something and pick a recipe you like and make it. Children’s cookbooks usually have less steps and are clearly labeled and such. By the way, my mom is an awesome cook now, so I guess it worked!

go to the library and get some cookbooks with photos. The joy of cooking has lots of explanation but no photos. A terrific book. Here’s one that might work.

How to Cook Everything: The Basics – by Mark Bittman
Simple Recipes Anyone Can Cook

Author Mark Bittman believes that, “Anyone can cook, and most everyone should.” In How to Cook Everything: The Basics he takes his winning formula from his award-winning guide How to Cook Everything, and scales it down to create the perfect cookbook for beginner cooks.

The Joy of Cooking has been teaching newbies to cook for decades. It’s the bible that can be found anywhere.