Heard a guy at Half Price Books say old cookbooks are useless and I had to bite my tongue

Some dude was literally telling his friend to toss any cookbook from before 2000 because "ingredients and ovens have changed." Dude I found a 1972 Betty Crocker at a library sale last spring that has the best banana bread recipe I've ever made. Sure the gelatin molds are gross but the basics are still solid. Maybe he just can't figure out a gas oven? Has anyone else run into people trashing old cookbooks for no real reason?

2 comments

2 Comments

robinson.quinn13d ago

Try scoring the old recipes extra high if they seem dry, that usually fixes it.

betty14413d ago

oh absolutely, I've been doing that for years and it works like a charm every time. I had this old banana bread recipe my grandma gave me (she wrote it on a napkin, no joke) and it came out so dry the first time I thought I messed up. Next batch I scored it deep and high, and the inside stayed all moist and tender. Same thing with a vintage gingerbread recipe I found online - scored it before baking and it soaked up the molasses way better. It's one of those little tricks that makes old recipes actually work in modern ovens.