Chocolate

by Dom Ramsey

Indulge your inner chocoholic with Chocolate, the decadent and in-depth exploration of the world's favourite sweet treat.

Unwrap the secrets of chocolate and learn everything from cacao's origins to how to make chocolate at home. Trace the journey of chocolate across the globe, from cacao plants in Cameroon and Costa Rica, to how to make, buy, taste, and cook with this delicious treat.

Step-by-step masterclasses in using chocolate are supplemented by mouth-watering photography to tickle your tastebuds. Once you're a chocolate expert, get creating with 15 indulgent recipes worthy of a chocolatier including hot chocolate, truffles, and chocolate brownies.

Try something delicious with Chocolate, the perfect gift for all foodies and chocoholics.

Genres: Nonfiction, Food

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2016

Reviews

[Blake Fraina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Artisanal bean-to-bar chocolate has become all the rage in recent years, following hot on the heels of the booms in craft beer brewing and organic coffee roasting. Nationwide, companies like Chicago's Vosges Haut-Chocolat, Portland's Lillie Belle Farms and Brooklyn's Mast Brothers have sparked a craze for carefully crafted, small batch chocolate. Like wine and tea, chocolate is purported to have a terroir (or particular characteristic) as a result of the conditions in the region where it was grown so fine chocolate purveyors carefully source their product for the best marriage of flavors.

This gorgeous book (a companion to the previously published volumes Coffee Obsession and The Tea Book) provides the readers with a brief history of chocolate, onto the various regions where cacao beans are farmed and harvested, through the [extremely involved] process from bean to bar. Finally, they offer a collection of 23 classic chocolate recipes (including profiteroles, a Sachertorte and various iterations of truffles and fondue).

This is a perfectly lovely book that would make a great gift for your favorite chocoholic. The cover is a rich marbled pattern in gold and brown, the endpaper is decorated with a repeat pattern of line-drawn cacao beans and every one of the heavy clay pages is illustrated with mouth watering full color photos. However as far as its value as a cookbook, I'm less enthused. First off, while it's interesting to know how a bar of chocolate is made, I'll personally never actually make chocolate from a batch of cacao beans when I can just buy a quality bar at Whole Foods. Plus most of the recipes offered are complicated, old-school classics that don't really fit into my already super-busy lifestyle.

My verdict? An ultra-cool gift or neat coffee table volume but not a particularly useful recipe collection.

[Giorgiana · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://awesomebookstoday.wordpress.com/

I received this book two days ago as a Christmas present and I was the happiest person alive. I am a chocolate lover or a chocoholic as the book will name it, so you can imagine why I was so happy. I am also a Crime Book Lover but that is not something I want to talk about now.
In this book you will find everything that you need or you don’t need to know about Chocolate. From the beginning of it in tree form to the very loved chocolate bar. You’ll find all the process in this book.

To be honest, before reading this book, I used to go to the shop, buy a chocolate and eat it. I never ever thought about the process of making that chocolate I just eat. But now I know it and I wish to try to do it myself one day. I am not much of a ‘chef girl’, but I love food quite much, maybe as much as I love books, and I love to cook things that I like the most; for example, pastas. So definitely I have to try to make that chocolate bar I now crave for.
Well you will find lots of interesting things and facts in this book and it is an awesome gift for someone who can’t check a day to this life without eating some chocolate.

I was, I am and I will always be excited about this awesome gift. I learned so many things about something that I love.

[Serge Perrin Merinos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This DK book, "Chocolate," is a quite comprehensive, visually rich guide for aficionados, covering the world's favorite indulgence from origins to recipes. It serves as a master class, detailing how to identify quality, taste like a pro, and make your own chocolate at home.
The book traces the transformation from cocoa bean to bar, highlights chocolate-producing countries, and explains why it's so addictive. It includes over 20 step-by-step recipes for truffles, cakes, and ice cream, along with eight techniques for tempering, flavoring, and bean-to-bar chocolate making. The text notes the rise of artisanal bean-to-bar chocolate, driven by a focus on terroir (regional characteristics), similar to craft beer and coffee.
The book is an ultra-cool gift and a visually indulgent coffee table volume with over 300 photographs, detailed diagrams, and a rich presentation. Its information is accessible to nearly any age and skill level, making it an essential source for a chocolate unit study. It is highly valued for the knowledge it imparts on the chocolate-making process. I’ll pass it to my team members.
However, its value as a cookbook is sometimes seen as limited, as the recipes are considered complicated, old-school classics that don't fit a "super-busy lifestyle." The inclusion of bean-to-bar instruction may also be viewed as unnecessary for those who prefer to simply purchase quality chocolate. Overall, I would say that the book is a good record of chocolate knowledge, but perhaps less practical as an everyday recipe collection.

[MK · Rating 3 out of 5]

This DK book is an encyclopedia about chocolate, including its production areas and types.

On Valentine's Day in February, there is a custom around the world for men to give gifts to their female lovers.

In Japan, campaigns by confectionery manufacturers have established a culture in which women give chocolates to men at their workplaces to express their daily gratitude.

Nowadays, the culture of handing over chocolates at work tends to be abolished because women get tired of buying so many chocolates in February.

In recent years, it has become common for female friends to exchange chocolates and have fun together.

[Ash Thorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Chocolate Indulge your Inner Chocoholic is a necessary source of information on a chocolate unit study. It contains information about the origins of chocolate, the introduction of chocolate around the world, the production from pod to bar, the varieties of cacao,and especially where the book outdoes itself is when it discusses each country where chocolate is grown.
Contains, great pictures and diagrams throughout.

[Karla · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thing I really like about this book is its accessibility, to practically any age and any skill level. The beautiful illustrations and writing is easy to read but works for both kids and adults. But that accessibility does not mean it is not useful, it is FULL to the brim with great and up to date information. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in chocolate.

[Indah Threez Lestari · Rating 4 out of 5]

702 - 2019

[Amy Lucey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is your book. If you ever were curious on how to work with chocolate, or needed to replicate a chocolate technique, you have found the book to get you there. I dare you not to dive right in and make a chocolate delight upon getting hold of a copy.