My favorite cookbook

My favorite cookbook is the Joy of Cooking. Both my husband and I turn to this book whenever we need instructions for anything from meat cooking times to canning fruit. lt covers everything one could want to prepare.Sharron Deny, Pasadena, Calif.

My favorite cookbook is the Healthy College Cookbook: Quick. Cheap. Easy by Amanda Nimetz, Jason Stanley, and Emeline Starr (1999). It's the perfect cookbook for college students and young people who typically don't have time to eat the healthiest food. I use it every day! Jake Seamans, St. Peter, Minn.

My cookbook collection runs to about 250 titles, many of them regional or from other countries and cultures. I also have a small collection of books about the joys of cooking and eating. There are four cookbooks that I refer to frequently these days as I cook for myself and my sister. They are: From Tapas to Meze by Joanne Weir (1994); The Fannie Farmer Baking Book by Marion Cunningham (1984); The Dean and Deluca Cookbook by David Rosengarten, Joel Dean, and Giorgio DeLuca (1996); Joy of Cooking by Irma S. Rombauer and Marion Rombauer Becker (1973). Now retired, I cook more simply but get just as much pleasure from fine cuisine as ever. Elizabeth T. Massey, New Canaan, Conn.

My favorite cookbook by far is the Betty Crocker 1950s edition picture cookbook. This book can help anyone master the basics of cooking and get back to the "making it from scratch" roots of the convenience society that we now live in. Renee Brown, Catawissa, Penn.

I enjoy The Romagnolis' Table by Margaret and G. Franco Romagnoli. I bought this book in the 1970s after watching the Romagnolis' show on PBS. It became my "go to" cookbook and I still refer to it occasionally. The recipes are now what my children and I deem comfort food. Peter Buckley, Burlington, Ontario

Tell us about your favorite cookbook. E-mail food@csmonitor.com.