This week, we're thrilled to welcome John Becker & Megan Scott to Salt + Spine, the podcast on cookbooks.

While it might seem weird to say a book — not an author — needs perhaps no introduction, that feels like a fitting statement for Joy of Cooking. With 20 million copies in print, it’s the most-published cookbook in the us and often considered the most popular. And for many, the most beloved.

And it all dates back to 1931 — nearly 90 years ago — when John Becker’s great-grandmother, Irma Rombauer, self-published 3,000 copies of a cookbook she titled Joy of Cooking, using half her life savings. And after several updates and revisions over the years — some of them more divisive than others — the fourth generation of the Rombauer/Becker family has taken oven the helm.

John and Megan spent nearly a decade working on this edition — and while it keeps the spirit of Joy alive with 4,000 favorite recipes “revised and updated” — it also includes 600 new recipes. It continues to be a door-stopping 1,200 pages. There are numerous new and improved elements in this edition: new American classics like Chicago-style deep dish pizza and buckeyes now complement classics like brownies, roast turkey, and apple pie. Modern recipes — from a kimchi mac and cheese and a roasted cauliflower with green olives and lemon — share the pages with new globally inspired dishes like Thai-style wings, mapo dofu, and lamb shawarma.

In today’s show, we’re talking with John and Megan about:

• how they tested and developed these thousands and thousands of recipes -- all without a dishwasher;
• how it was Joy of Cooking that brought them together in the first place;
• and how they’re continuing on the traditions and significance of the Joy of Cooking brand.

Plus, we play a Joy of Cooking-themed game with John and Megan.

Also, in today’s show:

• Cookbook critic Paula Forbes of Stained Page News joins us to preview new cookbooks being published in April.
• Recipes from Joy of Cooking for Black Bean Soup, Banana Bread Cockaigne, and Miso-Glazed Eggplant – all available on www.saltandspine.com.

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