Chocolate: A Global History (Reaktion Books - Edible)

Chocolate layer cake. Fudge brownies. Chocolate chip cookies. Boxes of chocolate truffles. Cups of cocoa. Hot fudge sundaes. Chocolate is synonymous with our cultural sweet tooth, our restaurant dessert menus, and our idea of indulgence. Chocolate is adored around the world and has been since the Spanish first encountered cocoa beans in South America in the sixteenth century. It is seen as magical, addictive, and powerful beyond anything that can be explained by its ingredients, and in Chocolate Sarah Moss and Alec Badenoch explore the origins and growth of this almost universal obsession.           

 

Moss and Badenoch recount the history of chocolate, which from ancient times has been associated with sexuality, sin, blood, and sacrifice. The first Spanish accounts claim that the Aztecs and Mayans used chocolate as a substitute for blood in sacrificial rituals and as a currency to replace gold. In the eighteenth century chocolate became regarded as an aphrodisiac—the first step on the road to today’s boxes of Valentine delights. Chocolate also looks at today’s mass-production of chocolate, with brands such as Hershey’s, Lindt, and Cadbury dominating our supermarket shelves.

 

Packed with tempting images and decadent descriptions of chocolate throughout

the ages, Chocolate will be as irresistible as the tasty treats it describes.

 

The Golden Book of Chocolate: Over 300 Great Recipes

This book might easily be the most lavish, the most complete, and most beautiful book ever published on the subject of that most sensuous of all foods--chocolate. Filled with history, anecdotes, and recipes, and featuring hundreds of lavish full-color photos, The Golden Book of Chocolate is literally a chocolate lover's dream come true. A fascinating detailed account chronicles chocolate's origins among the Aztecs of ancient Mexico, its importation to Europe, and the development of the modern chocolate industry as we know it today. But recipes are at the heart of this book. Separate chapters are devoted to chocolate's central role in easy-to-follow recipes for:

• Cookies • Bars and Brownies • Muffins and Cupcakes • Pastries • Elegant Desserts • Pies and Tarts • Puddings and Creams • Tea and Coffee Cakes • Layer Cakes • Candy • Savory Dishes • Drinks • Basic Recipes

Each recipe includes a list of ingredients, step-by-step instructions, and a large, full-color photo of the finished item. The book's final "Basic Recipes" chapter shows how to prepare chocolate ingredients that go into the making of other chocolate-based delicacies. They include chocolate pastry cream, chocolate custard, chocolate sauce, and several other sumptuous ingredients. This beautiful book is embellished with a ribbon place marker bound into the spine and features golden-tipped page edges.
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A Capsule History of Chocolate
Among the Aztecs the drinking of chocolate was confined to the royal house, the lords, and the nobility. A report by Spanish conquistador Bernial Diaz del Castillo noted that Montezuma drank chocolate several times a day from beakers made of pure gold. The Spanish brought chocolate to Europe in the late 1500s, and by the 1660s it was a favorite drink of Renaissance Italian noblemen. In the 1800s it became a popular drink among the literary figures who gathered in London's coffee houses, and in the nineteenth century the world's first chocolate candy was produced in the city of Bristol, England .

Cooking with Chocolate: Essential Recipes and Techniques (Book & DVD)

This comprehensive, illustrated reference offers the essential building blocks and recipes for working with chocolate in the home kitchen. This cooking school in book form opens with 100 step-by-step techniques: chocolate basics (tempering, ganaches, pralines), candy fillings, decorations, doughs, creams and mousses, ice cream and sorbet, sauces, and baker’s secrets. Each method is explained in text and photographs; fourteen are further clarified on the ninety-minute DVD.
Organized into nine sections, 100 recipes are simplified for the home cook: classics (Sachertorte, pro fiteroles, molten chocolate cake), tarts (chocolate-pear, nut-caramel), snacks (macaroons, waffles, brownies, choco-ginger churros), frozen desserts, special occasions (dark chocolate fondue, hazelnut-praline Yule log), and candy (truffles, lollipops, coconut bars).
Each recipe is graded with a three-star rating so the home chef can gauge its complexity. Cross references to techniques, DVD footage, glossary terms, and complementary recipes make navigation easy. The volume includes practical resources: visual dictionaries of kitchen equipment and common ingredients; tips for conserving chocolate; a guide to dark, milk, and white chocolate and the importance of cocoa content; and a detailed index.