Bittersweet: The Five Tastes of Dessert and Beyond

by Thalia Ho

From Thalia Ho, creator of the award-winning blog Butter and Brioche and author of Wild Sweetness, a lyrical and visually stunning cookbook of more than 100 enthralling dessert recipes, exploring the five tastes and how they transform on the plate and beyond.

In her follow-up and foil to Wild Sweetness, Thalia Ho explores the five tastes and distills their ability to transform desserts into something memorable. Bitter brings deep complexity, sweet tempers and comforts, sour surprises and brings things to life with citrus or tang, salt can offset or enhance, umami is strong and satisfies.

With gripping prose, deep reflection, and hauntingly beautiful photographs, Thalia shares more than 100 inspired and inventive recipes to elevate what your last bite can be—adventurous, otherworldly, and

Sugar BunsSinged Sherbet MeringuesPreserved Lemon PieThe Dark Side RouladeCrème Brûlée Ice CreamSalted Yolk Custard TartSoy Ganache BrowniesDeep Miso Caramel Apple PieIvoire and CaviarCrunchy Chili Oil TartFor beginner and ambitious home cooks and bakers alike, this striking and meditative book is one you’ll want to show off, on your coffee table, on your shelf, and in the kitchen.

Genres: Cookbooks

256 pages, Hardcover

Published February 10, 2026

Reviews

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks so much to NetGalley for the free Kindle book. My review is voluntarily given, and my opinions are my own.

Every single one of these recipes looks absolutely amazing, and just once again reminds me how sad it is that I don't have a personal chef. Then I could hand them this cookbook and have any of these amazing desserts any time I want. Sure, I could make them and probably have enough skill to make them, but I would rather spend my time reading a million books a year than baking.

The dessert recipes in this book are ones that you would find at high-end restaurants for crazy prices. Although you don't need to be the world's greatest baker in the world, you will need to be on a bit of a higher level to make these. If you have enough skill to make a cheesecake (even if you haven't), I think you should be fine.

Also, would like to say that the photographs in this book are absolutely gorgeous! Almost like the cake was right next to me (although, it sadly was not).

Definitely would recommend this cookbook to anyone. Especially to any and all bakeries near me. Then I can eat these desserts without having to make them. Sure, I would have to pay extra for it, but it would definitely be worth it. 😀

[Anastey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you Netgalley, William Morrow, and Thalia Ho for sending me this advance review copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

The photography was beautiful, and done in an artsy style that you don't normally see in a cookbook.

I loved that we got sections for the different styles of tastes. There was bitter, sweet, sour, salt, and umami. I've never seen a cookbook separated out this way, and it was really interesting. This book is very chocolate heavy, and I don't think that's a bad thing at all.

I was happy to see that the measurements were both US and Metric. The recipes assume that you already have a decent amount of cooking knowledge. I think this would be hard for a beginner to follow. The instructions were sparse, and not as easy to follow as I would prefer. I think this would be a good book for an intermediate cook with some of the more common baking techniques under their belt.

Some of the ingredients can be hard to source, and also there also could be equipment you don't already own. Some examples would be an ice cream maker, crepe pan, candy thermometer, etc.

The food sounded amazing, and I really enjoyed the wide variety of flavors, textures, and techniques. This would be a really fun book to cook you way through all the recipes to gain more skills. There are several recipes that I have on my list to try once the weather gets cool enough to bake again.

Overall this is an interesting book, and I enjoyed flipping through it. However, I would not recommend it for a very beginner to tackle.

[Barbara Boyd · Rating 2 out of 5]

In "Bittersweet" self-taught baker Thalia Ho uses the five tastes—bitter, sweet, sour, salt, umami—to create unusual desserts. She considers tastes a sensation, an emotion, as giving meaning to the transformational experience of dessert. These are not desserts that you whip up at the last minute or have on hand if someone stops by; these desserts are a considered ending to a meal, even the star of the show.

On the surface the recipes seem sophisticated and interesting, but by the end of my reading, I would define them as experimental and contrived. For the most part, Ho has taken a traditional recipe and swapped out a few ingredients for something unexpected. In theory, I like the creativity, but in practice, I would try very few of the recipes. The photos are dark and haunting, and many of the desserts are black, which I find unappealing, reminding me of a burnt disaster rather than something pleasurable.

The enigmatic, mysterious opening essay and recipe introductions left me feeling I had walked in on a conversation that had already begun, references to people and secrets I don’t know. The writing often reads more like a dare or challenge rather than an invitation to make the dessert. This book has received other enthusiastic reviews but I can't recommend it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harvest/William Morrow for an ARC in exchange for an honest review; all opinions are my own.

#netgalley #bittersweet

[Elaine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Bittersweet.

The dark, brooding cover drew me in as well as the dessert recipes mentioned.

The author has an unique approach in her cookbook by focusing on the five fundamental tastes : bitter, sweet, sour, salt, and umami.

She devotes her time and culinary skills to transform traditional desserts into memorable culinary experiences.

While haunting and moody, the photographs may feel overdone and distracts from the clear presentation of the desserts.

Angled shots and close-ups can be artsy in an art book but does not show the desserts in all its glory.

The intro to each taste section of recipes reads a bit steam of consciousness-like, as if we've entered the author's mind in mid-thought, which can be confusing and distracting to some readers. It was to e.

Some recipes are complex and interesting, relying on the author's mixed Russian and Asian heritage as inspiration, which is intriguing and may spark a baker to try a recipe outside of their comfort zone.

At the same time, some recipes aren't practical for everyday baking and may deter those looking for quick and easy dessert recipes.

I like the aesthetics of the cookbook, though it may come off as showy and some of the dishes may not appeal to everyone.

I did enjoy discovering a new author and their unique culinary philosophy is always a valuable learning experience.

[Annabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bittersweet is a highly stylized coffee table style cookbook. The photos show a dramatic flare from accent to plating and it is clear that presentation, shock and awe are the top motivation for many of these desserts. This is not a book to find that homey comfort-food dessert but the one to impress that pretentious food-snob. After an introduction, the chapters (and recipes) are broken down to the five tastes, Bitter, Sweet, Sour, Salt, and Umami. The recipes themselves vary in range of skill level required, some are simple and anyone with some novice-level skill would be able to execute and some require significant experience. Matching the dramatic presentation of the photos in this book might take a bit of finesse too. I can definitely see this book appealing to readers as a decorative item and maybe even to try a recipe or two. There were even a couple of recipes that tempted me, but the book itself is a tad too avant-garde for my coffee table where Thomas Keller's books reign. (3.5/5)
I received access to this eARC thru NetGalley (for which I want to thank NetGalley and the publisher, William Morrow - Harvest) for an honest review. The opinion expressed here is my own.

[Nic · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not much of a dessert fan, if I’m going to eat a dessert, I prefer it to be less sweet. The idea behind this cookbook is very much up my alley, I love savory, smoky, bitter, citrus flavors.

Starting with the food photography: beautiful. The photography is intentionally sensual - as were the slightly odd self portraits interspersed throughout the chapters. I must say, I do always appreciate a cookbook where each recipe includes a photo of the finished product.

Some of the descriptions of the recipes were strange. I think the intention was to create a highly stylized, aesthetic cookbook but sometimes the descriptions got lost in untranslatable concepts.

All in all, it’s a cookbook for the adventurous cook, especially if you’re a fan of chocolate. It’s probably a good coffee table book too, with the photography it's very nice to peruse.

Thank you Thalia Ho, Harvest, and NetGalley

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Netgalley ARC- This book reminded me of the movie, The Menu (2022). An overcomplicated chef who loses the very basic concept of food, enjoyment. I read the introduction and just about tossed it aside. My feelings didn't change much after reading the headnotes replete with run-on sentences. An additional detractor was the use of words that made no sense: molassic does not mean full of molasses and a cake can't be stormed. The recipes themselves are a chaotic mix of skill level and ingredient availability. While there are a few that look interesting, overall this seems less like a cookbook and more art project especially with the photos. There are quite a few that look like stills from Dexter. Overall, the author seems like she's trying to hide a lack of skills (both writing and baking) in what she thinks is flowy poetry.

[Jo · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I normally enjoy reading the short essays in cookbooks, I can't say the same for BITTERSWEET. The writing verged on pretentious, which I guess matches the photographs. The whole cookbook has a very artbook/coffee table vibe to it, so while it looks nice, it doesn't quite work as a book you actually want to bake from. Some of the photographs aren't even of the finished baked good in question, just a fancy shot of an ingredient or an artsy shot of the author.

I have visited Thalia Ho's blog before, and the visuals in this are definitely just her style. However, it wasn't my cup of tea, and I ended up with only a handful of recipes that caught my interest.

[Brittney E’Lise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to review this cookbook. This is probably the most cerebral cookbook I have read. This is for the serious foodies and chefs in your life. Beautiful and haunting pictures of the recipes litter the pages. Each chapter focuses on a sense of taste(ie. bitter,sweet,sour and etc). The author incorporates her childhood and cultural background into the recipes. And while most of the ingredients will be hard to find or source for the average person, I have my eye on a few of the cookie recipes for a future night snack

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

More an art project than a cookbook, full of moody photographs in tones of black, white and sepia (which doesn't make the food look appetizing at all) and breathless prose, this one is a real miss for me.

I'm willing to experiment, and love learning about new flavor combinations, but white chocolate mousse paired with caviar? Duck fat ice cream?

Most of the recipes rely on French techniques and are quite involved, so this is definitely not for novice bakers.