Sure, we could interpret The Joy of Cooking's new website (!) as yet another sign of the cookbook publishing industry's demise, a near-certain Armageddon of the printed recipe word. If a book that has been in print continuously since the 1930s (and sold nearly 20 million copies) has jumped ship to go online, then maybe we really should all consider using our iPads as cutting boards in protest.

Not to worry, the website is more about The Joy of Cooking brand than about the book. And it's a pretty great place for novice home cooks to learn a thing or two.

The site is managed by Maggie Green, a cookbook author and consultant who updated the 75th-anniversary edition of “Joy” as the book is casually referred to on the website. [Correction: Green helped launch the site but it is currently managed by Megan Scott and John Becker].The recipes here fall more in the modern dinner table realm (raw kale salad with pepitas and parmesan, gluten-free almond brownies), and the “Ingredients & Techniques” section covers exactly that — everyday ingredients and basic techniques for preparing them (harvesting, storing and preserving basil; “Mastering the Pomegranate”).

Sure, some of the recipes might be things you've long since mastered, but keep in mind there are plenty of classic chocolate chip cookie or brand new Food Network sorts out there who have yet to venture into the molasses ginger cookie recipe realm. And yes, there are plenty of gorgeous photographs here that would merit Food Blogging for Dummies editorial approval.

On that note, we hope those raspberry-lime pancake glam shots stay online where they look best. Because for us, one of the joys of The Joy of Cooking all these years has been flipping through the thousands of simple, unadorned recipes Irma S. Rombauer or one of her editorial descendents compiled in the original 1931 original and subsequent editions. No photographs (or iPads, for that matter) required.

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