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Learn to COOK - Making Artisan Chocolates
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List Price: $24.99
Our Price: $16.49
Your Save: $ 8.50 ( 34% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Quarry Books
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Average Customer Rating:  
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Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 641.853
EAN: 9781592533107
ISBN: 1592533108
Label: Quarry Books
Manufacturer: Quarry Books
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 176
Publication Date: 2007-01-01
Publisher: Quarry Books
Studio: Quarry Books
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Editorial Reviews:
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Forget milk chocolate molded into childish candy bars. Today's chocolate candies use chocolates with high cocoa content and less sugar then previously available and are molded into highly decorated pieces of art. Once only accessible to pastry chefs and candy makers, home cooks can now purchase high-end domestic and imported chocolates in their local specialty stores. The recent availability of bittersweet chocolates coupled with our access to a global food market and unique ingredients has created an increased interest in artisanal chocolates. Drew Shotts has been at the forefront of this renaissance because of his daring use of unique flavor combinations not typically associated with chocolates, such as chili peppers, maple syrup, and spiced chai tea. Making Artisan Chocolates shows readers how to recreate Drew's unexpected flavors at home through the use of herbs, flowers, chilies, spices, vegetables, fruits, dairies and liquors.
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Spotlight customer reviews:
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Customer Rating:
Summary: Excellent book for tips and recipes
Comment: I have dabbled in chocolate making before, focusing my efforts predominantly on rolled truffles. I got this book because I wanted to learn more advanced techniques, especially related to making molded rather than rolled truffles, and because I wanted more interesting recipes. I'd been getting a lot of my previous recipes from the internet, but they seemed more basic and straightforward and I was looking for more fusion and unusual recipes. I was pleased when I received this book because it delivered in both areas.
On the technique side, there is a very throughout body of content here. What's great about it is that it really dives into everything from melting points of different types and brands of chocolate to tools and equipment to basic construction techniques. As a home cook I appreciate that he was able to give such detailed information without coming across as pretentious. He makes it very user friendly to chocolate makers of all levels. One complaint could be that some of the items these recipes require are more specialty items, but they are not necessary and can be easily purchased online. I have found that after some google searching it is easy to find professional chocolate making tools that can easily be purchased by a home cook.
The recipes he provides are also fantastic. They range from more classical recipes like a salted caramel-filled truffle that was absolutely fantastic, to more creative combinations like peanut butter and jelly and lemongrass-coconut. With such a wide range of flavor combinations you are sure to find recipes that speak to different flavor palettes. The instructions are also very thorough and clear. He assumes nothing about your abilities making them easy and straightforward to follow regardless of your level of experience.
I also enjoyed the charts on what flavor combinations work well together and his suggestions of how to experiment with different flavor combinations. (He talks about how he puts a piece of chocolate in his mouth along with other items such as fruits or spices to see if the combo might work.) As someone who loves to not just follow recipes but experiment on my own this section made me very excited to try things on my own and branch beyond the recipes.
Overall, I am thrilled with this cookbook and cannot wait to try more recipes. I am already planning to give chocolate themed gift baskets for the holidays and you can bet that a few truffles from this book will be featured.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Perfect!
Comment: This is a great book for the beginning chocolatier and maybe for those with more experience, too. The author clearly and concisely describes each step of the process, taking the mystery out, including identifying his own preferences for certain products and methods and explaining why. Recipes are straightforward and contemporary, things you'd be proud and excited to present as gifts to others, or just to try for yourself. I used the library to look at almost every "Chocolate" book available, but this one and Chocolates & Confections by Peter Greweling weren't available, so I bit the bullet and ordered them. I'm very glad I did! They are both so much better than the rest of what's out there. I will be using everything in this book, from cover to cover.
Customer Rating: 
Summary: A must-have for chocolate lovers
Comment: The only area for improvement in this excellent book is a few more photographs of the finished recipes. Of course, with so many great recipes, that would double the size of the book, but it's definitely worth getting.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Very useful book
Comment: This is a good and very useful book. Several recipes are included that can be made by the beginner, and several that require more experience. Even so, the statement by another reviewer that a reader should be prepared to spend some money on practice ingredients is a good one. Tempering the chocolate is absolutely key to making good artisan chocolates, and reading a book cannot substitute for practice and experience. Many of the flavors included in this volume are unusual and not ones you'll find in your local chocolate store.
Customer Rating:
Summary: My quip is with the editorial review...
Comment: "Drew Shotts has been at the forefront of this renaissance because of his daring use of unique flavor combinations not typically associated with chocolates, such as chili peppers, maple syrup, and spiced chai tea."
Humbug, pure and simple.
Chiles are basically THE traditional compliment to chocolate, back to ancient Americans. AND, chocolatiers have knonw this since they began.
Maple has been a common North American accompanyment to chocolate throught history: from maple creme centers (ala Joy of Cooking) to maple syrup on chocolate chip pancakes.
Chai tea? Come on: Maybe a new thing to American audiences, but hardly to England or the the Near East. Teas and other herbs, flowers and spices are traditional flavorings for confections, all the way back to Turkish Delight! Rose water anyone?
Yes, it may be a good book with specific chocolate making instructions, and it may have some wonderful gourmet recipes, but nothing is truly revolutionary.
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