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I bought most of my cookbooks with scratch recipes from second hand stores, flea markets and garage sales.  I also have a lot of recipes I have gotten from family that are made from scratch.

nana1062, I agree with Eemma, I have bought most of my 50+ hard back cook books at yard sales. I have bought a few new, and most of the time very disappointed, because you can't look at them first, if ordered by mail. church/club cook books are usually from scratch recipes, tried and true, although you might not like them. Lots of luck, Granna2

nanna, in addition to Eemma and  granna2, I have one other suggestion.  Check out the local library.  Though you can't keep the book, you can make copies of any reicpes that sound interesting.  Then make your own reicpe book. 

I was lucky in getting over 25 old cook books dating back to the 1930's cause my 88 yr old aunt was putting them out with the trash when I came over for a visit so I took them home with me .Some are falling apart so I make copies of the pages and put them in a binder

Speaking of cookies from scratch...I just replaced my mom's betty crocker cookie book (1963 edition, she bought in '72 when she was in high school for $2.25).

He old one was stained beyond reading, and the cover and several pages had fallen out.  What a difference and she was so happy to receive it!  Very glad to see them reprint this edition! 

burlapisnotsoft:

Speaking of cookies from scratch...I just replaced my mom's betty crocker cookie book (1963 edition, she bought in '72 when she was in high school for $2.25).

 

He old one was stained beyond reading, and the cover and several pages had fallen out.  What a difference and she was so happy to receive it!  Very glad to see them reprint this edition! 

 

 

 

Whoa! Thank you for sharing!

Sincerely, Cate

The Michigan State University Libraries has an online collection of old digital cookbooks. Some of them go back to the 1800's. You can read them online or download them in PDF format for free. 

Here is a link to the list of online cookbooks. They call this collection Feeding America:

http://digital.lib.msu.edu/projects/cookbooks/html/browse.html

Ahh- I love reading these posts!

My DH went to MSU! Go Sparties! -CC

Thanks so much for this website...amazing stuff!  I love cookbooks and the old ones are just fascinating!  :) Kathy

I am passionate about cooking from scratch, maybe I go a little to far with it sometimes. An amazing book that was a wedding gift 30 years ago is still a classic. It's called "More-with-Less Cookbook" by Doris Janzen Longacre. 

I also do a lot to make mixes from scratch that simplify getting food on the table. This is my fav-

Make-A-Mix by Eliason, Harward and Westover.

And of course, Joy of Cooking provides some good basics from scratch. 

I do warehouse shopping where I buy large quantity of supplies. However they are catering increasingly to the non-cook. Some websites are fun to peruse, such as www.urbanhomemaker.

I hope that gives you a starting point. You can probably pay off your mortgage with all the money you save. We did!  

I get so frustrated reading recipies now days and it says open the package... I want to know how to make it with the ingredients I have at the house not the pre-mixed stuff you buy in a store... Isnt that the whole point?? Grandma would be disappointed...Its hard to find books today that explain from scratch..

A friend of mine finds some interesting ones at auctions, then sells them on ebay.  So, that's a couple places to check.  Good luck!

hi nana!

just wanted to mention that only this week a blogger sent me two ancient gold medal cookbooks--one is dated 1904! he said he picked them up at a garage sale for 10 cents each. i've also seen old booklets or books in antique stores. they're usually not very expensive and usually very fragile but fascinating.

Well, quite a few of mine I bought when they first came out, and now they are considered collector's items. And since I have a thing of not owning a cookbook after 1980...I get mine at thrift stores, rummage sales, library book sales, estate sales, yard sales and flea markets. And then there is eBay, if you have the money. But also, don't forget your local library...most of my recipe cards have come from many hours of writing the recipes down. Hope this helps and Happy Hunting!

hi nana!

one of my bloggers just sent me two old recipes books, one dating back to the 1930's! he picked them up for about 50 cents i think at a garage sale and thought i would appreciate them because of my association with gold medal flour. yes! they are old gold medal flour recipes and though falling apart are fascinating to read. maybe i'll try baking a few of them to see if things have changed in the past 70+ years!