A compact connoisseur's guide, with recipes, to today's cutting-edge array of chocolates and chocolate makers from former Chez Panisse pastry chef David Lebovitz. In this compact volume, David Lebovitz gives a succinct cacao botany lesson, explains the process of chocolate making, runs through chocolate terminology and types, presents information on health benefits, offers an evaluating and buying primer, profiles the world's top chocolate makers and chocolatiers (with a whole chapter dedicated to Paris alone!), and shares dozens of little-known factoids in sidebars throughout the book. The Great Book of Chocolate includes more than 50 location and food photographs, and features more than 30 of Lebovitz's favorite chocolate recipes‚ from Black-Bottom Cupcakes to Homemade Rocky Road Candy, Orange and Rum Chocolate Mousse Cake to Double Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies. His extensive resource section (with websites for international ordering) can bring the world's best chocolate to every door. A self-avowed chocoholic, Lebovitz nibbles chocolate every day‚ and with The Great Book of Chocolate in hand, he figures the rest of us will too.

"From its origin as the sacred, bitter drink of South American rulers to the familiar candy bars sold by today's multimillion dollar businesses, people everywhere have fallen in love with chocolate, the world's favorite flavor...Join science author HP Newquist as he explores chocolate's fascinating history."--

Based on the original Flammarion title, The Book of Chocolate, this lavishly illustrated book, now edited and brought up to date, takes readers on a journey through the history and production of the world's most seductive confection: chocolate. Learn how the cocoa bean, first enjoyed by the Aztecs, has traveled around the globe to produce endless variations of chocolate. Through the eyes of food critics, chefs, journalists, and historians, this book explores the rich history of chocolate, along with a modern-day investigation of its many flavors and forms. A list of tantalizing recipes and a guide to the finest purveyors of chocolate worldwide make this volume indispensable to chocolate lovers everywhere. If the list of recipes is not enough to bring out the chocoholic in you, just look at the delicious illustrations, specially commissioned photographs, rare vintage posters, and fine paintings all in honor of this favorite confection.

This down-to-earth, heartfelt business success story is designed to appeal to the ever-growing number of people who are drawn to home-based entrepreneurship and who are searching for successful role models. A dozen key lessons are illustrated with events from the author's personal and professional life in the field of luxury chocolate-dipped fruits.

Any of the 160 mouth-watering recipes presented here will provide the high point of any meal - whether you are looking for a dazzling finale to a dinner, a stunning treat for a special day, or simply something to please yourself, your family or friends - you need look no further. This is the culinary guide to all things chocolate.

Instructions are easy to follow and no professional equipment is needed for these mouth-watering morsels. Full-color illustrations.

Updated with new chapters on the environmental and geopolitical impact of cacao production and the latest health findings, a visual reference incorporates new photography and 30 original or revised recipes for chocolate foods ranging from the sweet to the savory.

DIV Maida Heatter is a genius--and an absolute delight! . . . Her style is friendly and funny, thorough and exacting. Maida tells you what size egg to use and she does so to guarantee success." --Foodies.com, which named Maida its "First Culinary Patriot" Chocoholics unite! Maida's back and bringing the world's best chocolate recipes with her. Maida, of course, is Maida Heatter, sorceress supreme of all things chocolate. Now cocoa aficionados, food fiends, and master chefs everywhere can breathe a sigh of relief as Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts, the classic New York Times best-seller, returns after ten years out of print. Maida is justifiably famous for her respected series of cookbooks, ranging from Maida Heatter's Book of Great Desserts to Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies. But it was always her Book of Great Chocolate Desserts that inspired the highest praise, admiration, and following from home and restaurant dessert cooks around the world. Chocolate creators know they can turn to Maida for tantalizing confections, cookies, cakes, pies, puddings, and sauces that transcend the ordinary and make for memorable dining experiences. /div

A fascinating guide to the history and medical uses of cacao. The Secret Life of Chocolate is a book about chocolate. Not the sweet, mass-produced fatty confection most of us are familiar with, though. This book is about old-school chocolate; pre-Colombian, Central American, bitter-spicy-foamy-intense blow-your-socks-off chocolate; chocolate beverages made with toasted cocoa beans, water, and indigenous plants. Today there are many different forms of drinking chocolate in Latin America, most of which reflect European (Spanish) influence, incorporating sugar, cinnamon, and milk. The aim of this work is to peel back the years of cultural cross-pollination and anatomize the original Cacao-based beverages, which were richer, more complex, more potent, and darker (in every sense) than modern forms of chocolate. This book delves into the ancient history of the human relationship with the cocoa tree, Theobroma cacao; it dissects the pharmacological properties of chocolate to the fullest possible extent; and it divulges the mythical and magical associations of human interactions with this incredible plant.

In The Ultimate Book of Chocolate trained pastry chef Melanie Dupuis will teach you how to make your chocolate dreams become a reality. Learn how to temper, mould and decorate like a pro with the complete guide to everything chocolate. Starting with the basics, Melanie will take you through all the different varieties of chocolate you will be working as all the other basic ingredients required. She then explains in detail, accompanied with step-by-step pictures, all the various techniques in the book, from tempering to making ganache, chocolate mousse, creme anglaise, biscuit bases, meringue and more. The main recipes include every chocolate dessert you could ever imagine, plus more, from caramel bonbons and millionaire's shortbread to Easter eggs, truffles, macarons, cakes, Swiss rolls, eclairs and more: this truly is a chocoaholic's dream book! With step-by-step photographs and beautiful illustrations, this is a masterclass in making chocolate desserts, from an expert pastry chef. This stunning, large volume with delight anyone with a sweet tooth, or any home cook who wants to take their dessert skills to the next level.