Amazon.com
There's the old saying that sugar is poison. After reading Lick the Sugar Habit, you'll be convinced of that. Americans each consume more than 150 pounds of sugar and related sweeteners each year. It's pretty easy for it to add up when you consider that there are 17 teaspoons of sugar in a single can of Coke. Author Nancy Appleton delineates how this sugar overconsumption wreaks havoc with our immune and endocrine systems, leading to chronic conditions including arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes, asthma, and hypoglycemia, along with the usual suspects such as cavities and periodontal disease. Appleton admits that she herself used to be a sugar addict, preferring to take her sweets in the form of chocolate, and consequently suffered from numerous allergies, plus bronchitis, pneumonia, and even a chest tumor that turned out to be a huge calcium deposit that resulted from her body's inability to process the pounds of sugar she consumed.
The book starts with thorough quizzes to determine if you really are a "sugarholic" and to test for sugar-related food allergies. Appleton then offers three distinct plans for weaning yourself from the sweet stuff and starting your new "low-sugar life." The best part is the dozens of easy, low-sugar, high-flavor recipes such as Hot Asparagus Soup and Pumpkin Pie.
While Appleton has a Ph.D. and has been studying nutrition for years, she doesn't go into unnecessary scientific details when she explains what those little sugar cubes do to your body. This is a thoroughly readable, eye-opening guide to changing your diet--and your health--for the better.
Customer Reviews:
Motivational but that's about it. .......2007-07-18
Well, I am not a real new age type of person but I have to say that I believe a great deal of what is said about the harmful effects of sugar. It is my general impression that the substance simply is not good for us and is the cause of numerous health problems. That being said, I will admit that Nancy Appleton is no great writer or scientific authority but I think that much of what she argues here is correct. Yes, her long list of sugar's deleterious effects is probably overstated and overblown, but there is clearly an element of truth in her positions. I found that reading these pages helped to motivate me on my quest to get all the silly and pointless carbs out of my diet so, for that reason, I found the book useful and have to recommend it. The recipes at the end were not real helpful to me but they may be for you. I got it from a z shop on the cheap and you certainly can too if you want to give it a chance. It will add to your will power if nothing else.
Refined Sugar Feeds Cancer.......2006-12-20
Nancy Appleton does an excellent job exposing what the sugar industry would rather you not know! Refined sugar wreaks havoc on the immune system and allows physical degeneration to take hold in the human body. This is a known scientific fact in the majority of the world. The reason it is not recognized here in the US is because of the private interest groups that disseminate junk-science on a daily basis. Anyone who has studied biochemistry in-depth can verify the destructive nature of sugar. This book is a great reference guide and will educate and empower you!
In my book, I outline the fact that sugar feeds cancer and therefore allows the cancer to spread like wildfire! The 1931 Nobel laureate in medicine, Otto Warburg, PhD, first discovered that cancer cells frequently exhibit an increase in anaerobic glycolysis. This is the process whereby glucose is used as a fuel by cancer cells with lactic acid as an anaerobic byproduct. The large amount of lactic acid produced by this fermentation of glucose from cancer cells is transported to the liver. This conversion of glucose to lactate generates a lower, more acidic pH in cancerous tissues as well as overall physical fatigue from lactic acid build-up. Thus larger tumors tend to exhibit a more acidic pH.
Dr. Matthew Loop
-Author of "Cracking the Cancer Code"
Get a real book.......2006-09-23
This book was awful. I read "The Sugar Addict's Total Recovery Program" (DesMaisons) first, and I was spoiled by more rational, documented approach to the subject. To be fair, I only got through the first part of this book before I put it down in disgust. This book is the rantings of someone who feels passionately about something. Great. Now back it up. You can't just say, "This is bad and you have to do this!" Well... I suppose you can. But in my opinion that makes for a lousy book for someone who is trying to learn and separate fact from hysteria.
ENLIGHTENING!!!.......2004-01-17
This is a WONDERFUL and ENLIGHTENING work! Thank you for compiling this information and for sharing your own personal experience with Sugar Addiction Nancy Appleton . I have an interest in sugar addiciton and it's affects on the human body and found your book to be a great learning source.
Unconvincing personal vendetta.......2003-12-31
Nancy Appleton has clearly declared her personal agenda against sugar, but her lack of objectivity, organization, credibility, or substance leave much to be desired in this book. I was frustrated by the constant repetition throughout the text, and I found myself skipping paragraphs at a time to find any new information. In addition, I was hoping to find concrete, applicable suggestions on HOW to kick the sugar habit. While Dr. Appleton does attempt to include "food plans," they are simply lists of the good, the bad, and the ugly. I do NOT recommend this book to others.
Book Description
The average American consumes nearly 150 pounds of sugar and other sweeteners a year. Many people are dangerously addicted to sugar, putting them at risk for a host of diseases and conditions including hypoglycemia, diabetes, osteoporosis, arthritis, allergies, obesity, tooth decay, and more. While many sources of sugar are quite obvious (cookies, candy, soft drinks), hundreds of processed foods have hidden sugars that are often the real cause of trouble for people trying to improve diet and nutrition.
Lick the Sugar Habit Sugar Counter exposes the sugar content of thousands of brand-name and generic food items, including fast foods. The counter lists sugar content in both grams and teaspoons, plus caloric values, as well as breakdowns of simple and complex carbohydrate components.
This handy book is the perfect pocket-sized companion for grocery- store shopping and restaurant outings. Learn where the sugar is and lick the sugar habit.
Customer Reviews:
Disapointed.......2005-10-11
I thought this book was a how to book. It is a book that tells the amount of suggar in foods that you eat. This book did not tell me anything about how to stear kids away from sugary foods. I was looking for good sugar subsitutes and natural foods. If you want to know exactly how much sugar you are eating then this book is for you.
I BOUGHT YOURS, SIS, NOW BUY MINE. ;-).......2003-11-27
A WONDERFUL BOOK BY A GREAT WRITER! NANCY HAS PROVEN TIME AND AGAIN THAT SHE KNOWS HER SUBJECTS. I APPRECIATE ALL THAT YOU DO FOR ME. NOW, DO YOURSELF, AND ME, A FAVOR,BUY "Running Out Of Road", IT WILL SCARE THE SWEETS OUT OF YOU! Love ya, Robert Appleton, Jr.
Revealing Why Americans Are Getting Fatter!.......2002-06-04
This counter is just what is needed to track the sugar in our foods-especially in the fast food department. Excess sugar was the culprit in my pre-osteoporosis, teeth problems & acidity of the stomach. I feel so much better since I have cut down on sugar. This book is the only one I have found that counts sugar in grams & teaspoons.
Very Useful Book.......2001-10-16
On the contrary to the last review of Lick the Sugar Habit Sugar Counter, I found the book very well organized. All I needed to do was look in the index and find fruit. I turned to page 133 and looked under fruit and ther was 1/2 a grapefruit. The book is called Sugar Counter, not fat and protein. Dr. Appleton gives the protein size, calories, carbohydrates, sugars (in grams and teaspoons). I find many whole foods under dairy, fruit and vegetables and others. What I like best about this book is that it lists the products sold by most fast food restaurants. Candy bars have their have ingredients on their packages unlike Big Macs who do not. Dr. Appleton has exposed the incredible amounts of sugar in our fast foods and this I believe, is a blessing. I give this book 4 stars.
NOT WHAT WE NEED!.......2001-08-20
This book, like so many others does NOT provide a single, complete, alphabetized list / directory of all foods that list the sugar content.( I would also like to have fat, calories and protein too....) I spent MORE time determining HOW they "organized" the foods they do have into categories than actually getting any good information! Why can't they just make one single list of ALL foods? Additionally,MOST ALL OF THE FOOD LISTED are prepackaged, brand names or fast foods etc. and I could NOT find anything simple like: the sugar content of 1/2 a graefruit! SAVE YOUR money on this one. This one is NOT a solution in the quest for good, well-organized information! .... Hope that this assists somone and saves them from buying this poorly designed, non-informative "Lick the Sugar Habit Sugar Counter book!"
Average customer rating:
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Lick the sugar habit, not the candy bar
Nancy Appleton
Manufacturer: Choice Pub. Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Unknown Binding
 Internal Medicine
| Medicine
| Subjects
| Books
| Cardiology
| Critical Care
| Endocrinology & Metabolism
| Gastroenterology
| General
| Hematology
| Hepatology
| Infectious Disease
| Nephrology
| Neurology
| Oncology
| Pulmonary
| Rheumatology
| Urology
ASIN: B0006EK618 |
Book Description
Anybody who loves ice cream knows there's nothing better than a scoopful of homemade. Nothing, that is, except star pastry chef Emily Luchetti's fabulous recipes for making your own. This gorgeous cookbook doesn't just have all the crowd-pleasers, it's bursting with flavors you'll never find in the store. Even better, because sometimes a spoon just isn't accompaniment enough, there's a host of beautiful dessert recipes featuring ice cream in all its lusciousness. There's chocolate, strawberry, and butter pecan; there's orange-cardamom, root beer granita, and pomegranate sorbet. There's popsicles, floats, and parfaits. And then there's Coffee Meringues with Coconut Ice Cream; Blackberry Sorbet Filled Peaches; and Chocolate Crepes with Peppermint Ice Cream. But wait...There's Shortcake and Rum Raisin Ice Cream Sandwiches; Sauternes Ice Cream and Apricot Sherbet Cake; and Chocolate Cupcakes Stuffed with Pistachio Ice Cream. Aficionados needn't worry if their tastebuds are more deluxe than their ice cream maker because all of these treats can be made with a modest handcrank model or the fanciest machine. And to top it all off, there's a chapter on making sauces from scratch and a handy chart that lists the ice cream flavors alphabetically for easy reference. The reason homemade ice cream tastes so much better than store-bought is because you use fresher ingedients and less air. That means it's richer, creamier, and tongue-tingling with flavor. The reason Emily's recipes taste so good is because she's a genius when it comes to desserts. If proof were needed, ice-cream fans need look no further than these mmm, mmm, mmm, melt-in-your-mouth recipes.
Customer Reviews:
Very O.K........2007-05-13
The photos are beautiful and the ideas are great, but a lot of the recipes couldn't possibly have been tested. The coconut ice cream recipe makes a completely bland (only 2 tablespoons of sugar are called for and all the coconut products in the recipe are unsweetened), rock hard ice cream, even when made with a professional machine.
Delicious frozen desserts.......2007-01-09
"A Passion for Ice Cream" is not simply a book of recipes for ice cream itself, although it might be easy to mistake it for that from the title alone. Instead it's book of ice cream desserts (and other frozen desserts). For instance, you'll find caramelized apple and butter pecan ice cream sundaes, chocolate-covered-pretzel ice cream ball fondue, chocolate-coated cocoa nib florentines and orange ice-cream sandwiches, black mission fig and raspberry parfaits, chocolate banana baked Alaskas, mango soup with coconut sherbet and strawberry sorbet, and warm blueberry filo stacks with Grand Marnier ice cream. As you can see, these aren't simple "mix, put it in the ice cream maker, and forget it" recipes. This is not a negative--sometimes it's a ton of fun to make such elaborate and beautiful desserts--but you should know what you're getting yourself into before you decide to buy this book.
When it comes to actual performance, the recipes exhibited the quality of testing I'm accustomed to from Chronicle Books. I never found a confusing set of directions or obvious error. Two of the recipes from this book found immediate places in our stable of favorites--the brown sugar ice cream in its chocolate cake roulade (with warm coffee caramel sauce!) is a bit messy, but so incredibly delicious that no one will care. The white chocolate ice cream (destined to float in espresso according to the recipe, but I enjoy it plain, or in coffee or hot chocolate...) is one of the best white chocolate ice creams I've ever had. The only sour note was a Cafe Viennese frozen yogurt shake; it was so tart we had to add sweetened cocoa powder in noticeable quantities to make it enjoyable. And while it's good enough that we finished it, I don't think we'd make it again.
Ultimately, while you'll want to make sure you're up to the kind of in-depth recipes in this book before buying it, it's a high-quality cookbook that produces delicious results. I look forward to making yet more recipes out of it!
A Step Close to Heaven.......2006-11-11
I confess. The first thing that I did after I picked up this book was head for an ice cream shop just to get a fix so that I could get through it. Just sitting there spooning in a bit of ice cream while reading about ice cream is about as close to nirvana that I can imagine. Except that it would be even better if the ice cream were home made.
I don't know why, but home made ice cream is almost always better than what you get at even the best ice cream shops. I've been making ice cream as long as I can remember, and that's a pretty long time. This is the first cook book that I've seen that is ice cream, ice cream and only ice cream. Well, let me expand that a little, there are indeed other things here, but they are ice cream related, i.e. ice cream sandwitches, ice cream floats, shakes, sundaes -- things like that. And after all, you can't expect to live by ice cream alone.
What I really liked: All the different flavors, all the different dishes.
Complaint: the type is too small for my old eyes. BUT getting a kid to read it and feel part of the process is too much fun to be missed.
Wonderfully creative but overcomplicated and not easily indexed.......2006-11-03
The book had so much promise, but I find it to be disappointing in several ways, alas. The recipes I've tried have been delicious, and the instructions accompanying those recipes are fairly clear and authoritative, although the discussions and instructions don't rise to the level of a cooking teaching tool, as would, for example, anything by Julia Child, Marcella Hazan, Jacques Pepin, or any of the King Arthur Flour baking cookbooks, all of which really teach one new skills while providing wonderful recipes. In this case, I was already pretty experienced at making ice cream before I bought the book. Were I a tyro, I don't think this book would be the best introduction, although of course there is nothing like plunging in and trying.
My biggest disappointment, though, is the organization of the book: ice cream recipes are "bundled" with their accompanying cookies, garnishes, and the like; instead of a group of recipes for chocolate ice cream, for example, we have a group of recipes for ice cream sandwiches, with ice cream of any of several different flavor families. One has to dig around in the index at the back of the book to find, say, recipes for chocolate ice cream. I would much prefer to have an index or table of ice cream recipes, by flavor and page number, right up front -- I don't want to spend so much time looking for the flavor I want.
My next disappointment is that the text is printed in a graphically attractive and most stylish but virtually illegible size and color. My middle-aged eyes struggle desperately to read the book, even with my reading glasses on, and I surely can't prop the book 18-20" back from my utensils, to read as I work without changing position, as I like to do with my cookbooks. This is a case in which the author and editorial team seemed to have chosen (admittedly very attractive) style over function. The book IS very attractive, and the photographs are lovely -- but I would gladly sacrifice some beauty in favor of being able to read the recipes and discussions more easily.
My final disappointment is in the complexity and elaborateness of most of the "dessert packages," for lack of a better word. Making the ice cream or sorbet and its accoutrements is, in most cases, a tremendously labor-intensive exercise. I have opted for using some of the creative and delicious ice cream recipes and figuring out my own much simpler and easier garnishes and accompaniments. I work a demanding job and have a house to run. I love to cook, but can't devote as much time to making an ice cream sandwich, for example, as these recipes require. So I use less of the book than I'd wish.
Over all, Ms. Luchetti's sense of style and taste are impressive, and she seems superbly knowledgeable about frozen desserts. And many of the ice cream recipes are lovely. But I had hoped that this would be a book I would pull from the shelf much more often than I will, in fact, because the book is so difficult to use.
The world of gourmet ice cream desserts.......2006-07-07
Author Emily Luchetti combines her passion for ice cream with the vivid photos of Sheri Giblin to create a masterful book that explores the world of gourmet ice cream desserts. Each dessert is intended to be made using a hand-crank ice cream maker and comes out tasting like Rum Raisin Ice Cream Sandwiches, Apricot Sherbet Cake or Pistachio.
Even the casual coffee table book reader will enjoy spending a few hours diving into the pages of Passion for Ice Cream. And, if you're an adventurous cook, by all means, try a recipe or two.
Chocolate Zoom Magazine
[...]
Book Description
Beloved pastry chef and best-selling author Emily Luchetti lives by the simplest truth: There's always room for dessert. Why try to resist creamy chocolate cheesecake, fresh berries layered with honey cream, or homemade sorbet? Besides, with Emily's insider secrets, whipping up delicious treats for family and friends is fun! A longtime dessert lover, Luchetti shares an impressive - yet deceptively easy - array of recipes that regale the fruits and pure flavors of each season. From frequently used basics like melt-in-the-mouth tart shells, luxe cr me fra che, and chocolate sauce, to creative twists on old favorites such as Raspberry Ice Cream Sandwiches and Espresso Cupcakes, each of these pleasures will leave home cooks wanting to try the next. With just one bite of Lemon Raspberry Bread Pudding, one sip of a soothing Bourbon Milkshake, and one whiff of a Chocolate Mocha Truffle, anyone with a sweet tooth will understand why this book is an irresistible must-have.
Customer Reviews:
Great addition to your desert library.......2006-12-19
I love this cook book because it has simple instructions. It also lets you know when you can prepare certian tasks beforehand in case you are in a time crunch. It is, also, seasonal so that you know that the ingredients you are using are the very best. Most importantly everything I have ever made has been a great success when served to family and friends for the first time!
Disappointing.......2006-04-23
I am a CCA student in San Francisco. I needed a dessert for my Plated Desserts class so tried the citrus cake, recommended by another reviewer. It took the better part of a Saturday to make. The crumb of the cake was very coarse and the glaze was thick and would in no way pour, even after I added double the amounts of the liquids specified. It left a distinct powdery, almost dirty, taste in my mouth. I did not use this cake in class. Our class desserts are served in the Bistro restaurant on the 1st floor school's south campus. Additionally I was intrigued by the cookies pictured on the back of the dust jacket. It appears that the recipe for those cookies is not in this book. There were not enough pictures in this book either. At this point, I am reluctant to try another recipe and would not recommend this book to anyone.
Some great recipes, but some disappointments.......2005-12-18
Some wonderful, innovative and challenging recipes. Problems: who needs a recipe for a milkshake? And a real lack of pictures of the dishes. I don't need a picture of a whisk, but I sure could use one of the finished dessert!
Sugar Overload.......2005-08-06
This book was wonderful, loved the pictures of all the different recipes so I knew what I was trying to achieve... Great book overall.
An excellent choice.......2004-03-09
This is my favorite dessert cookbook. I've never been disappointed by a recipe (that's quite a feat), and her instructions are remarkably accurate and clear: it always turns out just like she says. I especially recommend the Citrus Cake (if you have three hours to make it!) or the Chocolate Mousse Cake.
Amazon.com
To the growing cadre of books about chocolate, add Tish Boyle and Tim Moriarty's Chocolate Passion. For it, the authors, both editors at Chocolatier and Pastry Arts and Design magazines, have collected more than 50 recipes celebrating chocolate--the world's favorite flavor, as they dub it. These include formulas for cakes, cookies, mousses, tarts, and candies. If most of the recipes involve multiple preparations, a sufficient number are simple enough to appeal to everyday cooks, and readers with any interest in the subject should enjoy the book's exploration of chocolate history and lore.
Beginning with this investigation, the book then presents information on chocolate making; ingredient, equipment, and technique definitions; tempering instructions; and other chocolate working material. The recipes, organized by chocolate type--white, milk, and dark--follow, most illustrated with color photos; included also are comprehensive notes on chocolate and other suppliers. If the recipe organization is puzzling (few would choose a chocolate recipe based on the type of chocolate it contains) and the writing often infelicitous ("Milk chocolate, America's favorite chocolate delivery system..." is an instance), the recipes are tempting and clearly presented. Among these, Chocolate Hazelnut Brownies with Milk Chocolate Frosting and Black Satin Chocolate Raspberry Cake, for example, have instant appeal. White-chocolate lovers will be happy to explore an extensive chapter devoted to the likes of White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake; ambitious cooks will want to try their hand at the Gianduja Marjolaine, a chewy meringue and chocolate mousse cake layered with mocha buttercream and topped with ganache, among other full-dress recipes. In the end, the power of chocolate is such that, once under its spell, nothing will do but to have some. The book provides numerous delightful ways to make that happen. --Arthur Boehm
Book Description
Chocolatier magazine editors share their passion for chocolate, with recipes and techniques for creating spectacular chocolate desserts.
Blending passion with expertise, this book will become a chocolate lover's instant favorite. Fifty-four luscious new recipes developed and tested by editors at Chocolatier magazine celebrate chocolate at its best, including the whimsical Tahitian Vanilla Swirls, the elegant Milk Chocolate Mousse Roulade, and the smooth, sophisticated Black Satin Chocolate Raspberry Cake. With separate sections on white, milk, and dark chocolate, and gorgeous full-color photographs of techniques and finished desserts, Chocolate Passion makes it easy to learn and master the secrets of working with every type of chocolate.
Tish Boyle (New York, NY) is Food Editor and Timothy Moriarty (New York, NY) is Features Editor of Chocolatier and Pastry Art and Design magazines. They are the authors of Grand Finales: The Art of the Plated Dessert and A Modernist View of Plated Desserts.
Customer Reviews:
VERY GOOD AND EXCELLENT BOOK.......2007-04-05
The book is good and the write up is very detail. I really like the book as the recipes are easy to follow even though some of it is very time consuming. This book suit both amateur and professional.
Spectacular!.......2006-11-09
I love this book.
That pretty much sums it up. I was looking for a book to unseat Desserts by Pierre Herme as my favourite high-end, spare no expense baking book, the kind you use for dinner parties and other events to just blow your guests away. And after being disappointed with Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme, I thought I would remain searching...
The search is over. The desserts in this book fall into the "enthusiast" category, so don't expect the recipes to be quick or easy. Some will be irritated by the lack of mass measurements too.
But if you're willing to put in the time and have at least a medium level of experience, these recipes are going to blow you away. The white chocolate strawberry cake, for example. Visually, it's just spectacular; every time I make the thing, people are just in awe. I've even stolen the great spiral design with the chocolate triangles for other cakes, and the results have never failed to disappoint. Oh yeah, and did I mention that these cakes taste great too? Well they do. Have you tried Pierre Herme's Meringue? This is one of the most complicated and difficult recipes I have ever done, but damn was it fun to make. Even the humble white chocolate cheesecake recipe tasted sublime, and was easy to make at that!
This is the kind of book that makes me want to get up at 6:00 a.m. and just bake for 10 or 12 hours working on the elaborate masterpieces contained within. It's the kind of book that stimulates the imagination, as well as the taste buds. I cannot recommend it enough.
Mixed Review.......2005-11-08
This book is visually stunning. However, as an avid homebaker, I encountered errors in some of their instructions. Some cakes, such as the "White Chocolate Strawberry Mousse Cake," had an assembly problem. I believe they never made the cake themselves or they would have realized that all the filling doesn't fit into the springform pan the way they have indicated. I instead used a 9 inch ring on a baking sheet lined with a 9-inch cardboard round, so I would have enough room for the cake layers and fillings. But the cake itself, when done was incredibly delicious and stunning to look at. I found the "Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate Pie," contrary to another reviewer to have been an awful recipe in instructions, assembly and taste. Yuk! The "Milk Chocolate and Golden Almond Cakes," were awesome. The cover cake, "Black Satin Chocolate Raspberry Cake," is prettier to look and was uninspring in taste. I was disappointed. Most of the recipes are timeconsuming and I agree with another reviewer that they lack insight in the instructions a homebaker would need. I haven't tried any of the candy recipes and will soon be trying out the "White Chocolate Opera Cake." I will say this book allows the homebaker to dream and succeed in many recipes to create stunning preparations. I find it is unique that it gives the homebaker a chance to try some challenging recipes that are on par with those one would find in pastry shops and five-star restaurants. Most baking books I find are uninspiring, insipid and about as challenging as opening a cake mix box. I think this book is a great one to add to your collection, because there are enough keeper recipes to make it worth your while.
A Mixed Bag.......2004-09-02
One of the authors is the head recipe tester for Chocolatier Magazine, and the recipes in this cookbook are similar to the ones you will find therein; it has the same advantages and drawbacks. Specifically, it is a productive resource for the professional or the veteran amateur pastry chef. The recipes are probably too ambitious and the instructions too vague for the average home cook.
The introductory chapter is a mixed bag. The essays on types of chocolate, tempering, and tools are exemplary. On the other hand, the sections on non-chocolate ingredients and various techniques and procedures (such as whipping egg whites or proper batter folding technique) are virtually absent. It also has the obligatory and disposable information on chocolate history and manufacturing.
Interestingly, the book has three main sections, one each for milk, dark, and white chocolates. Here, you will find recipes mainly for cakes, cookies, and confections. In a rare moment of honesty, the authors admit that milk chocolate has such a weak chocolate flavor that it is easily overwhelmed in a recipe. There are slightly more than 50 recipes, and they are all listed and cross referenced in the table of contents.
The recipes themselves are problematic. The main error here is the listing of ingredients in volume (e.g. cups) with no equivalents given in weight. This is a major problem for professionals who will try to multiply the recipes, and also for any recipe that has flour. They all list prep times, but never the cooling or baking times. Many of the recipes are complicated affairs that have several components. The result is a recipe that takes up several pages, but even so the instructions are quite scant; they are sufficient for professionals, but not detailed enough for the inexperienced. There is no advice on how to coordinate the execution of a complex recipe with several different sub-recipes. Each recipe has a picture, which is a good thing, but the presentation and decorating instructions in the recipes sometimes do not match the food styling in the photos. These problems will not be a hindrance for the experienced, but will be major trouble for the average home cook.
The most interesting feature of this book is the variety of truffle recipes. Each one has detailed instructions from A to Z for using the fancy, plastic truffle molds that can be bought on the internet in a bewildering array of different types and shapes. There is also a recipe for using chocolate transfer sheets.
Not for the Home Baker..........2004-03-12
I had this book on my wishlist for almost a year and received it for Christmas. I sat down on Christmas evening and eagerly paged through the book. What a disappointment. Most of the recipes did absolutely nothing for me. Most of the recipes were time consuming and tedious. Yes, it's nice to look at, but I want to taste, not look, and this book totally put me off to trying many of the recipes. I was very disappointed. If you want truly decadent chocolate desserts, I highly recommend Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme. These recipes were specifically written for the home kitchen and are truly inspiring and decadent. It doesn't get any better than Chocolate Desserts. Don't waste your time/money on this book unless you want showpieces rather than decadent desserts.
Customer Reviews:
Advanced Patissiere, Not for the Beginner.......2004-09-14
Bernachon and his kin own a legendary chocolate business in Lyon, France. Beranbaum is a thorough and careful cookbook author. The result is the most useful chocolate cook book that I own. It is a very productive resource for chocolate recipes. Whenever I need a recipe for, say, a chocolate version of Gateau St. Honore or L'Opera, this is book I go to first, and it is the chocolate book I bake from most frequently. A word of warning, however: the recipes are not necessarily easy to do, and the uninitiated might have some difficulty following the more involved recipes.
This book is a mostly traditional collection of classic, French patissierie. You will find things like buche de noel, caraque, mille-feuille, succes, madeleines, profiteroles, macarons, rochers, mousse, nougats, trois-freres, and truffles. The chapter on basics is probably the most valuable chapter: it has all the basics, such as genoise, pate feuilletee, croissant, pate a choux, pate sucree. pate brisee, succes, meringue, ganache, creme patissiere, and creme chantilly. Beranbaum has done an excellent job of adapting these recipes for the American kitchen. All the ingredients are listed in both volume and weight measures. The procedures are thorough, complete, and reliable.
I do have a few objections. There are some easy recipes, viz Brownies or Viennese Hot Chocolate, but most are rather advanced and not for the casual home cook. Some kind of difficulty rating system would have been a great help. The chocolate pound cake recipe is the wacky one that uses egg whites beaten to stiff peaks, not a real pound cake by my standards. Several recipes use a chocolate coating, but proper instructions for tempering chocolate is not supplied anywhere in the book; for these recipes, I suggest you ignore the author's statements about heating and cooling chocolate and resort to a chocolate cook book that has full instructions for tempering.
It has these chapters: cakes; little cakes and cookies; desserts; confections; beverages; kitchen basics; decorations.
Product Description
Fulfill your desire to experience the ultimate in sweets. A Passion For Chocolate seizes you senses with its rich chocolate confections. Romantic photographs and golden prose penned by lovers also entice. Surrender to these delights and savor the moment. Delicious recipes included are: - Champagne Truffles - Cream Cheese Brownies - Double Chocolate Chunk Biscotti - Candy Bar Terrine - Triple Chocolate Silk Pie - Chocolate Cinnamon Tart - And many, many more!
Customer Reviews:
Good Recipes, Ugly Book.......2004-02-29
This cookbook is a collection of chocolate recipes from Better Homes and Gardens. I like the recipes, but think the layout and book design are irritating. I am not sure whether to recommend this book or not.
The book cover is a garish affair with bright pink color and gold leaf. The interior pages are littered with romantic sayings and pictures. On the other hand, it is spiral bound, so it lays flat on the table when you are doing the recipes, which I appreciate very much.
There are a paltry 50 or so recipes. They all appear to be thoroughly tested, so the procedures are easy to follow and I had not problems with any of the ones I tried, although I was skeptical about some of them (for example, heating chocolate in a saucepan over low heat is a good way to burn it; the instructions for folding egg foam based batters are not really explained in detail, etc.). I got several very good recipes, especially the dense tortes that are baked in a tart pan. It has chapters on cookies, ice creams, pies and pastries, cakes and tortes, and sauces.
Customer Reviews:
My mom's amazing cookbook.......2003-06-02
My mom made this cookbook. All the recipes are really yummy.
Try it i swear you wont regret it!
Average customer rating:
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A Passion for Chocolate
Linda Collister
Manufacturer: Ryland Peters & Small
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Chocolate
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1841725242 |
Book Description
Indulge your passion for chocolate with these 40 heavenly recipes--from truffles to tars, mousses to milkshakes.
Average customer rating:
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A Passion for Puddings
Phil Vickery
Manufacturer: Simon & Schuster, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
Desserts
| Baking
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Cooking, Food & Wine
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0743275616 |
Books:
- Living Jewels: The Natural Design of Beetles (Minis)
- Lo Que Sabe La Gente Feliz / What Happy People Know: Tomar Las Riendas Del Propio Destino Y Vivir Una Plena Y Satisfactoria
- Lost in the Mirror, 2nd Edition: An Inside Look at Borderline Personality Disorder
- Malleus Maleficarum 2 Volume Set
- Marching Through Georgia
- My Body Is The Temple
- My Favorite Fantasy Story
- Oh What A Lovely War (Methuen Modern Play)
- One Nation Under Therapy: How the Helping Culture is Eroding Self-Reliance
- Our Solarian Legacy: Multidimensional Humans in a Self-Learning Universe
Books Index
Books Home
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