Calories Increase in Joy of Cooking Recipes

Posted on February 16, 2009

A new Cornell study has found that the 18 recipes published continuously in the classic cookbook, The Joy of Cooking, have increased in average calories per serving by 63% since the book debuted in 1936. The recipes are getting larger with each version of the cookbook.

The researchers found that the average number of calories per recipe in 1936 was 2,124, about 268 calories per serving. In 2006, the average number of calories per recipe was 3,052 calories, about 436 calories a serving.

According to the L.A. Times the study also found similar increases in other cookbooks including the Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. It's not a surprise that recipes call for more calories than they did during the great depression era but it is a suprise the recipes continue to trend upward in calories. It would be interesting to see a comparison of recipes in cookbooks from the 2000s to more recent decades.

Brian Wansink helped conduct the recent Cornell University study that found portion sizes and calories in the Joy of Cooking have greatly increased since the first edition of the cookbook was published in 1936. He showed some of the differences in portion sizes between the 1936 recipes in the Joy of Cooking and the 2006 edition to Julie Chen.

Part of what's going on is the 1936 recipes were depression era recipes. People were also smaller in 1936 and family sizes were much bigger. However, there is a general trend toward bigger portion sizes and people may very well be eating more than they need to. Some of the 1936 portion sizes, such as the macaroni and cheese, look very small.

HEALTH
OBESITY
FOOD