This year marks the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Joy of Cooking, and a new commemorative edition was released. Today, new cookbooks are dime-a-dozen, but the classics are still with us, and still worth getting. Whether your giftee is a kitchen novice or knife ninja, there’s bound to be room on her bookshelf for one of these all-time great cookbooks.

What could be more classic than Betty Crocker? Lest you think Ms. Crocker stands for nothing more than cake mix and canned frosting, crack open a copy of the Betty Crocker Cookbook. This mighty edition tops most chefs’ and cookbook authors’ list of essential works.

Another giant name in American cookery is Fanny Farmer, and The Fanny Farmer Cookbook is the gold standard of the old guard. The newer editions, however, have modernized, taking on informative bits on microwave and vegetarian cooking.

Speaking of vegetarian, every meat eschewer simply must have a copy of Mollie Katzen’s essential Moosewood Cookbook. Sure, the recipes harken back to an earthy-crunchier day, but there are still dishes in here that will still satisfy even the staunchest carnivore.

No collection of classics is complete without the inaugural work of the kitchen goddess herself, Julia Child. Mastering the Art of French Cooking awakened a generation of housewives to the simplicity and satisfaction of French cooking in an era when most were heating shrink-wrapped food in convection ovens. To this day, it is the be-all-end-all of basic French technique.

But Julia didn’t invent French cooking, or even perfect it. A half century before her, Auguste Escoffier distilled centuries of technique into one essential work. The English edition, Escoffier: The Complete Guide to the Art of Modern Cookery, is as valuable today as it was more than 100 years ago, and is foundational for most chefs. 

If Italian is more your thing, then The Silver Spoon is the ultimate reference. Newly available to Americans, this book has graced the shelves of Italian kitchens for more than 50 years. Typically Italian, it’s short on technique and detail — it’s more of a take-these-ingredients-and-cook-them kind of thing — but with literally thousands of recipes, there’s plenty to experiment with.

Still hungry? See more of my Cookbooks: What’s Old Is New list at ThisNext.