National Cookbook Month: Why It’s Important

October is National Cookbook Month. History of this occasion is vague, but what a wonderful time to observe our love of cookbooks and cooking with the approaching holiday season. About 20 million cookbooks sell each year. Fascination with cookbooks makes them the fourth largest seller of nonfiction. Most have a specific theme. Whether a special food, type of recipe, specific culture, or other topics, there’s probably a cookbook to suit your needs.

How Cookbooks Help

Many of us enjoy curling up with a new (or old) cookbook and drooling as we read many recipes. We think how those luscious sounding dishes would taste. Even if we never try any dish, we may glean tips about combining certain ingredients, trying new foods, or using those leftover ingredients in the refrigerator. More specific reasons include the following:

• We have become a health driven society. More and more we learn the crucial relationship between the foods we eat and our total well being. Nutritious foods help us physically and emotionally. Home cooking provides opportunities to customize recipes for specific ages and dietary needs. Even when cooking from a cookbook, we can often alter ingredients slightly to lower added sugar, saturated fats, sodium intake, and total calories.
• Substituting home cooking from a cookbook (or otherwise) is less expensive than eating out. While the price of food has escalated, it doesn’t compare with the increased cost of eating out. From 2020 through 2023, food prices increased 3.9 percent, 6.3 percent, and 10.4 percent, respectively. It’s anticipated that grocery prices may go up 1 percent in 2024. Cost of eating out more than doubled during that time period.
• Cooking from cookbooks may result in choosing a greater variety of foods. Today’s society wants the quickest and fastest method. Thus, fast-food places have proliferated. A few now seek to provide healthy choices, but most fail to reduce sugar, fat, and salt. When we purchase fresh foods to prepare, we are more likely to choose a greater variety and healthier choices.
• Favorite family recipes encourage family togetherness. Eating alone can’t always be avoided, but studies emphasize the significance of eating with others. Homecooked meals from a cookbook can be altered for a more nutritious meal, while impacting both physical and mental health.

So, who needs another cookbook? Maybe we all do. As we segue into the festive holidays, I am pleased to announce my first cookbook, Grandmother’s Legacy: Folklore, Food Facts, and Favorite Recipes scheduled for release on Amazon shortly after the Halloween festivities. What a great way to start your holiday planning and easy shopping by considering a copy for your collection or gifting others. Below is a sneak preview.

In its fourteen chapters of more than 3000 words plus 250 recipes, learn the art and science of food and cooking. Find out about ingredient interactions, spices that add mouthwatering umami, food folklore, and much more.