Chocolates and Confections: Formula, Theory, and Technique for the Artisan Confectioner

I recently took several chocolate making classes from Chef Marco Ropke, head pastry chef at the Beijing Ritz Carlton during the 2008 Olympics, and in class, he basically suggested that if we were to buy any one chocolate book, THIS book was it. Why? It's a comprehensive 4 in 1 book: 1) The science behind chocolate, sugarwork and the various components. Why might you want to include glucose in your chocolate and not just any sugar syrup? What is the difference between using agar-agar, gelatin, pectin and cornstarch in making gummies and jellies? This type of information helped me better understand why some of the steps to chocolate making mattered, and also gave me more comfort in knowing where I could deviate from recipes (e.g. I can add whatever liquid flavourings I want so long as I add them at the right time and keep my fats to liquid ratio consistent). 2) Techniques - how do you temper chocolate? how do you make aero-bar style chocolates? what's the proper way to handle ganaches or molded chocolates? how do you make a praline or marzipan? what's the secret to those meltaway type chocolates? what about the honeycomb material inside crunchie bars? 3) Troubleshooting - invariably a chocolate recipe will go wrong. how do you save a ganache that's been separated? why did your pates de fruit sweat and what can you do about it? 4) LOADS of really delicious recipes from chai tigers to a thai lemongrass truffle or toucan passionfruit chocolate to marshmallows, nougats, chocolate bars, candy crisps, caramels, fudges and more. I made several recipes (scaled down since the recipes are for ~180 truffles each!) from the book and they have all been hits. I have ordered more chocolate and I can't wait to try more. The book also included suggested equipment and a brief explanation of some of the tools and why they were important. The one thing missing from the book that I wish they spent time on was decorating in general -- the different techniques for finishing chocolates such as adding chocolate swirls, etc. To be fair each recipe has a description for how to finish the chocolate such as adding bits of salt or adding candied fruit bits and they did show you how to make spiked chocolates, but I wanted to know more about selecting colours and other types of chocolate flourishes. In all it's a pricey, but valuable book that I anticipate I will be referencing a lot as I continue to learn and make chocolates.

This is the second time I've purchased this book. I used it and others to build my business and have won many awards based on technique I learned from this book. It is a great book to learn the basics and build from there. My first book is full of chocolate and sugar and in pretty poor shape.... so yes, to put it simply, it is a great book. Hopefully, the second book will see the same love! I've included a small sample of my work.

Amazing. The first 100+ pages are pretty heavy in chemistry, but if you can make your way through it then you’re practical understanding and confidence in chocolate making will be through the roof. Note: I’m an avid home cook and have never been able to successfully temper chocolate prior to reading this. I’ve only tried two recipes (but used all three methods of tempering successfully), one I followed exactly and it was SO PERFECTLY balanced (chocolate, caramel, pumpkin and spices). The second one I adapted and while I’m actually just partially through it it’s been very easy to follow and even troubleshoot stress free because of all the additional knowledge you get pre-recipes. I’ve done truffles (setting now) and molded chocolates. After my first recipe my confidence in my understanding and ability to work with chocolate is super high. Though I was super nervous prior to completing it also because of all the chemistry, but don’t worry, it’s totally attainable!

This was an amazing cookbook. I don't say that lightly. I was genuinely and delightfully surprised that I really want to & will make ALL the recipes in this book in the coming months/years. Usually in cookbooks there are a great many recipes you pass over and don't want to make - you buy the book for the few that you do like. This book is the exception. It exceeded my expectations in recipes and instruction. This is a intermediate or advanced cookbook, but easy to follow. The pictures are beautiful. The photos help you see what the end product will look like. This cookbook is also a great reference with charts, photos, trouble shooting, and step by step technique. This is easily in the top 5 cookbooks I own. I would recommend to anyone wanting to know how to make confections like: homemade marshmallows (not as easy as you would think but DEFINITELY worth the effort), gourmet lollipops in every flavor you can come up with, jellied childhood favorites, to every kind of chocolate delight you will find in a chocolaterie. Highly recommend. I will be looking for more books by this author.

This is a culinary textbook with background and how-to, written for intermediate to advanced skill level and professionals. Beautiful production value with photographs, illustrations, solid binding and heavy paper. Probably weighs >5#. Introduction section includes handy lists specify basic and advanced tools and equipment targeted to daily/hourly production volume; recommended shop layout, and process flow diagrams. Love the background and science on ingredients, their function/role in confection, and source information. If you’re really into the textbook approach, it’s a great book by an experienced professional who teaches other professionals how to do this (for a living!). A challenge for some may be needing an assistant (teacher) to assist in the practice of some recipes and techniques. Mise!...gotta keep mise en place! Oh, the marshmallows, oh my. And the relatively easy meltaways (mint, peanut butter). Mmm! I’m an advanced hobbyist, love cooking and reading cookbooks, and this is almost too much for me. (Almost.) This is way (way, way!) more than a hobbyist or dabbler needs. If you don’t have much experience in confection-making, I highly recommend Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook - Gutman/King) But if you like to learn and appreciate pushing yourself and your skills, this is fantastic!

This book is a must-have for an aspiring chocolatier. This is way more than just a recipe book; it's a technical textbook for making chocolates and other candies. It clearly breaks down the science of candy-making in a laymen terms. It has beautiful pictures and is easy to understand. There are some technical terms or jargon, but they are clearly explained. The one caveat of this book is that it assumes most home cooks or chefs have expensive confectionary equipment. I wish they would list more affordable equipment alternatives for the average home cook. Overall, I am happy I purchased this book. I am confident once I master then techniques in this book, I would be an excellent self-taught chocolatier.

I kept trying to find the definition of aerator in the book. Not there and when I google or bing the word it brought up sceptic tanks. Not really what this book is for. SO, its interesting and a challenge to understand and read. You can not just go to the back and read the recipes and think you can do them as they are all written with the words you and I do not use on a daily basis. Sugar has five or ten different names. Again, its a challenge to understand some of it and you have to read it from the start. Even then, you will find yourself questioning different methods and or ways of making candy and chocolate. I think it was intended to be used in class rather than just as a stand alone.

This is a science book with information and experiments that produce candy. You find: New words to learn. New methods to master. Ingredients your can only find online or in a restaurant supply store. If you love to learn and find candy interesting this is the book for you. There's beautiful photos and detailed recipes (metic) I included a photo of a page to show the science, a photo to show the beautiful photos and a photo of part of a recipe (I didn't want to violate copyright laws)

Purchased for a (whoopee) college class in chocolate and confections and a very thorough thick heavy colorful text. Book must weigh 3 lbs and is not easy to transport or study from. But if you don't have a teacher this could probably see you into a good career in chocolate making. Great text.

The information in the book is fanatic but the print is grey and very light: Even in good light it is hard to read. I am going to get 350 reading glasses in the morning. The Sibley bird book was printed the same way. The publisher reprinted the book and send out the new ones for free. My vision is 20 -20.

I recently took several chocolate making classes from Chef Marco Ropke, head pastry chef at the Beijing Ritz Carlton during the 2008 Olympics, and in class, he basically suggested that if we were to buy any one chocolate book, THIS book was it. Why? It's a comprehensive 4 in 1 book: 1) The science behind chocolate, sugarwork and the various components. Why might you want to include glucose in your chocolate and not just any sugar syrup? What is the difference between using agar-agar, gelatin, pectin and cornstarch in making gummies and jellies? This type of information helped me better understand why some of the steps to chocolate making mattered, and also gave me more comfort in knowing where I could deviate from recipes (e.g. I can add whatever liquid flavourings I want so long as I add them at the right time and keep my fats to liquid ratio consistent). 2) Techniques - how do you temper chocolate? how do you make aero-bar style chocolates? what's the proper way to handle ganaches or molded chocolates? how do you make a praline or marzipan? what's the secret to those meltaway type chocolates? what about the honeycomb material inside crunchie bars? 3) Troubleshooting - invariably a chocolate recipe will go wrong. how do you save a ganache that's been separated? why did your pates de fruit sweat and what can you do about it? 4) LOADS of really delicious recipes from chai tigers to a thai lemongrass truffle or toucan passionfruit chocolate to marshmallows, nougats, chocolate bars, candy crisps, caramels, fudges and more. I made several recipes (scaled down since the recipes are for ~180 truffles each!) from the book and they have all been hits. I have ordered more chocolate and I can't wait to try more. The book also included suggested equipment and a brief explanation of some of the tools and why they were important. The one thing missing from the book that I wish they spent time on was decorating in general -- the different techniques for finishing chocolates such as adding chocolate swirls, etc. To be fair each recipe has a description for how to finish the chocolate such as adding bits of salt or adding candied fruit bits and they did show you how to make spiked chocolates, but I wanted to know more about selecting colours and other types of chocolate flourishes. In all it's a pricey, but valuable book that I anticipate I will be referencing a lot as I continue to learn and make chocolates.

This is the second time I've purchased this book. I used it and others to build my business and have won many awards based on technique I learned from this book. It is a great book to learn the basics and build from there. My first book is full of chocolate and sugar and in pretty poor shape.... so yes, to put it simply, it is a great book. Hopefully, the second book will see the same love! I've included a small sample of my work.

Amazing. The first 100+ pages are pretty heavy in chemistry, but if you can make your way through it then you’re practical understanding and confidence in chocolate making will be through the roof. Note: I’m an avid home cook and have never been able to successfully temper chocolate prior to reading this. I’ve only tried two recipes (but used all three methods of tempering successfully), one I followed exactly and it was SO PERFECTLY balanced (chocolate, caramel, pumpkin and spices). The second one I adapted and while I’m actually just partially through it it’s been very easy to follow and even troubleshoot stress free because of all the additional knowledge you get pre-recipes. I’ve done truffles (setting now) and molded chocolates. After my first recipe my confidence in my understanding and ability to work with chocolate is super high. Though I was super nervous prior to completing it also because of all the chemistry, but don’t worry, it’s totally attainable!

This was an amazing cookbook. I don't say that lightly. I was genuinely and delightfully surprised that I really want to & will make ALL the recipes in this book in the coming months/years. Usually in cookbooks there are a great many recipes you pass over and don't want to make - you buy the book for the few that you do like. This book is the exception. It exceeded my expectations in recipes and instruction. This is a intermediate or advanced cookbook, but easy to follow. The pictures are beautiful. The photos help you see what the end product will look like. This cookbook is also a great reference with charts, photos, trouble shooting, and step by step technique. This is easily in the top 5 cookbooks I own. I would recommend to anyone wanting to know how to make confections like: homemade marshmallows (not as easy as you would think but DEFINITELY worth the effort), gourmet lollipops in every flavor you can come up with, jellied childhood favorites, to every kind of chocolate delight you will find in a chocolaterie. Highly recommend. I will be looking for more books by this author.

This is a culinary textbook with background and how-to, written for intermediate to advanced skill level and professionals. Beautiful production value with photographs, illustrations, solid binding and heavy paper. Probably weighs >5#. Introduction section includes handy lists specify basic and advanced tools and equipment targeted to daily/hourly production volume; recommended shop layout, and process flow diagrams. Love the background and science on ingredients, their function/role in confection, and source information. If you’re really into the textbook approach, it’s a great book by an experienced professional who teaches other professionals how to do this (for a living!). A challenge for some may be needing an assistant (teacher) to assist in the practice of some recipes and techniques. Mise!...gotta keep mise en place! Oh, the marshmallows, oh my. And the relatively easy meltaways (mint, peanut butter). Mmm! I’m an advanced hobbyist, love cooking and reading cookbooks, and this is almost too much for me. (Almost.) This is way (way, way!) more than a hobbyist or dabbler needs. If you don’t have much experience in confection-making, I highly recommend Liddabit Sweets Candy Cookbook - Gutman/King) But if you like to learn and appreciate pushing yourself and your skills, this is fantastic!

This book is a must-have for an aspiring chocolatier. This is way more than just a recipe book; it's a technical textbook for making chocolates and other candies. It clearly breaks down the science of candy-making in a laymen terms. It has beautiful pictures and is easy to understand. There are some technical terms or jargon, but they are clearly explained. The one caveat of this book is that it assumes most home cooks or chefs have expensive confectionary equipment. I wish they would list more affordable equipment alternatives for the average home cook. Overall, I am happy I purchased this book. I am confident once I master then techniques in this book, I would be an excellent self-taught chocolatier.

I kept trying to find the definition of aerator in the book. Not there and when I google or bing the word it brought up sceptic tanks. Not really what this book is for. SO, its interesting and a challenge to understand and read. You can not just go to the back and read the recipes and think you can do them as they are all written with the words you and I do not use on a daily basis. Sugar has five or ten different names. Again, its a challenge to understand some of it and you have to read it from the start. Even then, you will find yourself questioning different methods and or ways of making candy and chocolate. I think it was intended to be used in class rather than just as a stand alone.

This is a science book with information and experiments that produce candy. You find: New words to learn. New methods to master. Ingredients your can only find online or in a restaurant supply store. If you love to learn and find candy interesting this is the book for you. There's beautiful photos and detailed recipes (metic) I included a photo of a page to show the science, a photo to show the beautiful photos and a photo of part of a recipe (I didn't want to violate copyright laws)

Purchased for a (whoopee) college class in chocolate and confections and a very thorough thick heavy colorful text. Book must weigh 3 lbs and is not easy to transport or study from. But if you don't have a teacher this could probably see you into a good career in chocolate making. Great text.

The information in the book is fanatic but the print is grey and very light: Even in good light it is hard to read. I am going to get 350 reading glasses in the morning. The Sibley bird book was printed the same way. The publisher reprinted the book and send out the new ones for free. My vision is 20 -20.

This is the perfect book for those of us who make chocolates at home for friends and family as well as professional artisan chocolatiers. The book is well organized and very detailed. It discusses the basics of working with chocolate as well as the science behind the techniques that are used.It contains sections about the equipment that is used, the ingredients that can be used, basic molding tips and has several chapters about fillings. There is even a chapter about making hard sugar candies. And of course, there are recipes! I'm looking forward to making some of chocolates in the book and using their excellent explanations to develop my own unique fillings.

The reviews left from other truly helped me decide on getting this book and its one of the truly best decisions I’ve made in a purchase. This is a fantastic book and a top book I’d recommended for any pastry chef to have in their arsenal.

The absolute best book I've read for the artisan chocolatier. Provides the science behind temper and tempering abnormalities, as well as troubleshooting, great recipes, and a well organized, accessible format. Just wish the pages were laminated, because mine are covered in caramel and chocolate!

I love the book itself though only just opened it. I really look forward to diving in. However...Chapter 12 Candy Bars has been folded through diagonally and torn, both missing corners of paper and rips in it. My rating is for the content of the book.

I purchased Chef Greweling's book based on some recommendations. It is unique inits broad range of confections, and also discusses using certain techniques and the food science behind making a recipe work. The photographs mouth watering. I had a rare opportunity to talk with Chef Greweling. He is compassionate in what he does. This book cannot be compared with printing a random recipe from the Internet. There is a big difference using his professioanl recipes and most important, understanding why a simple technique such as incorporating one liquid into another has a right way to make that recipe spot on!

I love this book! If you think in terms of formulation, this is your book! This is a fantastic book for anyone: learn to work in grams you will be able to increase and decrease your batches with perfection every time. It's easier to divide 100 grams than 1/3 cup with precision. Always use a scale.

The book shipped fast. The book is thick and has a lot of recipes!!!! The thing which I did not like is the words are small and being printed with light dark ink... I am gonna update if I tried a recipe.

This book is as great as the cover looks. It is an arsenol of information if you want to get started making more than dipped pretzels or chocolate dipped cookies. My daughter and I have a shop where we are licensed to do our own chocolates....this is such a helpful and thought provoking book, with many new ideas and recipes. The public are loving the results as much as we are. Thank you/c

Wonderful book to learn about chocolate and confection making and GREAT recipes. Definitely worth the buy and definitely recommended.

Oh, my gosh! The techniques in this book will help you make such splendid creations.

The book is great. However, for the price of the Kindle edition, you would expect this book to be formatted. What you will get is a book of pictures that you need to resize each page to be able to read any text. Very disappointing!

The most exquisite chocolatier book I've read. Great yourself to this comprehensive book on chocolates.

Exquisite book. Interesting, beautiful pictures, great diagrams. Everything you need to get started.

Amazing book very thorough and detailed awesome recipes and instruction.

If you are a beginner in the chocolate industry and you need to improve your technique or get some inspiration with the recipes.

Good

Best confections book out there. Full of information and good recipes. Highly recommend

I love this book since im a culinary arts student. This is my life saver.

Great book for a novice and good enough for a professional. There are things in this book that appealed to me, ideas to incorporate more chocolate into my business. It offers variety and chocolate tempering a bit easier than how I was thought. Very well written , easy to read. Certain instructions could've been layer out better, but it more than makes up for the quality.

Very thorough and concise book. I especially like how they have a chart of what can go wrong paired with the solution.

I am in culinary school and my chocolate professor highly recommended this textbook. We have cooked some of the recipes out of this book (the Spiked Eggnog is divine) and have had high levels of success with just about all of them. I have taken most of them into work and my co-workers rave that they are better than store bought.

Love the book it is such a great tool to have.

This is a great book. Goes into amazing details and the recipes are fantastic

This book is extremely detailed. Would highly recommend.

The book gives you all the information you need to make your own confections. I love it!

A Confectionary Text Book...need time to read it before attempting any type of recipes; also quite a bit of special equipment is required which is expensive. If one has limited space one needs pare down one's aspirations in executing some of the profferings. A good bible to have though.

Very good basic information written for normal people in an easy to understand format.

I now have both versions of this book and find them to be excellent reference books.I did my apprenticeship as a chocolatier over 30 years ago before I became a food technologist.This book has bought it all flooding back to me and has made me want to make chocolates again. It is well written and crystal clear. What I love about it is, that it is in imperial,metric and also gives a recipe percentage so everybody everywhere can use it. It is well illustrated and perfectly bound. The first section on ingredients and equipment beats any other book hands down and believe me I have many books on the subject. After that it just gets better and better as you progress through the book. There is only one very small downside and that is it is written for the American market and because I live in Australia there are some products that I can't source or have to work around ie: "Coco Lopez" to achieve. Like I said it is a small downside. If you like Chocolate and want to work or play with this medium do yourself a favour Buy this book or better still Buy both versions you won't be disappointed believe me.

Wonderful book for professionals it's a complex book but great

Very detailed and specific. A great help

educational

Seems to cover everything to learn how to make your own chocolates

If you're serious about exploring the chocolate and confectionery arts, this is the book to get. It's a big textbook packed full of information and recipes. It explains the "why" of the process and thus gives you a foundation to build on. I own a couple other chocolate books but this one is my "go to" manual.

If you would like to learn about chocolate, this is the book to get. This book has so much information including recipes.

Excellent book - very thorough and clear instructions

LOVE this book. I made several of the chocolates for Christmas and my mother in law said "I am not a chocolate fan, but after eating these I could be".

In the process of reading so I can't give it 5 stars yet. This is a massive book of knowledge the size of an encyclopedia, remember how big those books are? Well pretty much anything and everything you want to know about confections is in this book. Wow do I have a lot to learn! I also wanted some theory behind all the reactions that take place in making confections. I haven't tried any of the recipes yet, they are a little more complex then I'm used to. Some of the ingredients I'm unfamiliar with, (yes Amazon you are great at finding them for me.) So far I've been pleased with the little nuggets of wisdom this book has produced. To be continued.

I actually had to buy this book for a class I am taking and they only offered it as an e-book, but I thought this book was really good so I bought it in Hardback. This book has excellent information and the steps are easy to follow. The recipes that came out of this book are great and very popular with my friends. I would recommend this book to anyone that loves chocolate and baking.

After reading the reviews from people who purchased it I decided to give it a try, its a fantastic book!

This book is very informative with countless of pictures. Used previous book for culinary class and was very impressed with it. Gave new version a try and do not regret it.

Excellent and technical book! I bought this for my wife studying to be a pastry chef with LCB. you will not regret buying this awesome book we highly recommend it to everyone

I liked the book but it was too technical for me. I just wanted something more approachable.

I have Peter's first book which is great, but this one is even better with more recipes and pictures. I can't wait to us it!

Perfect for the home baker interested in the underlying chemistry of chocolate making.

LOVED THE BOOK, CONDITION WAS EXCELLENT.

My sister-in-law seemed very pleased with this book! It was on her Wish List so we picked it up for her for Christmas. It's very heavy and full of great info.

My Grandma loves this book, and makes me all kinds of great desserts after I gave it to her for Christmas.

Great informative and beautiful book from a top notch chocolatier.

... in various candies, this is the one book you need! Amazing recipies, photos and clear concise explanations why some chocolate centers melt instantly and others have more staying power.

This heavy volume not only provides in depth scientific discussion about all the aspects of chocolate and candy making, but it provides a huge collection of creative recipe formulas as well. All of the recipes are large batch, but can be easily sized and even include instructions for optional changes so you can understand how to alter them to fit your own flavor combination ideas.

Awesome book is you want to start making chocolates

Textbook for a class, beautiful photos and great directions

very informative, and so far the recipes I have tried have all worked to a "T"

product as described

Wonderful book.

This book is nice I needed it for my college class. This book dose not use cup measures so keep in mind you will need a scale. Also the batches for the candy are very large like for a pro kitchen.

A very well done book for Pastry chef that love or want to learn how to make chocolate and confections Many great pictures!

Very good text. Described science behind chocolate very well. Good recipes included.

Fantastic book with all the details needed to understand the technique of confections.

Excellent scientific study of chocolate

Great book, a must buy for those who love to make your own ;)

Great all I can say!

Great recipes and wonderful instructions.

Chef Greweling has expanded on his classic "black book" of chocolate. Great new recipes as well as his usual thorough explanations on how stuff works.

Excellent!.

This is a big fat text book! Science and all!

This is a must have book for all chocolate lovers, for beginners to advanced. You will never get tired of this book. Explains everything you need to know in a great way. One of my three chocolate 'Bibles'.

this book is an inspiration to me, I liked it very much. so comprehensive, easy, and full of pictures clarifying the steps. anyone wants to start a chocolate business . this is a must have reference.

amazing book. amazing exact pro recipes, must have for the pastry shop

Just what I was looking for

Amazing

The shizzle!

filled with great information

Excellent as always!

This should be in very confectioner and chocolatier's library.

Give me sommore

Amazing!

I am making chocolate in small scale,and I love this book! It gives me many tricks and knowhow to make better products as well as making new products as well. My customer like the product that I made and it increase the selling of our products. In which every week I make new products! My suggestion is that every chocolate shop should have this book and considered as the bible.pf making chocolate products and candies. As well!

Great

Book is great but it came in less than perfect condition. I had to do a little repair work on it myself. This cook book is more of a culinary textbook that will help you refine your techniques. Learn to make delicious confections like a real chef with this little darling. I often curl up with this book and "study".

very Good

Excellent book

it have recipes that you can make it home but it's also a great book for professionals to going their recipes a level beyond.

I had to buy this as a text for a chocolate class, but I'm glad I bought instead of rented. It's got a lot of great recipes that are easy to follow, and I've had no problem making truffles and candy bars even at home.

WE use this book for reference at our Chocolate store facility. I recommended and contemplating in buying my entire staff a copy!

Excellent. If you are pastry chef, buy it!

This book is an industry standard. It should be contained in every chocolatier's library. A broad range of information regarding making and storing chocolate confections. A much used reference text. I'm happy to have purchased this new updated edition.

Reading Greweling's first edition was just like the written version of his class (yes, I would know). While missing the videos, smells, and being able to taste and feel and experience the demos, it was about as close as you could get to the real thing. But why buy the second edition? It's just a couple edits, right? Wrong. Greweling has expanded on several topics and this is a welcome addition to my food/hospitality library. Don't hesitate to buy this, even if you already have the first edition. It's well worth it.

excelent

Totally loving it as a professional

Everything about this confectionary book screams wonderful! Of course you need certain tools to produce most of these confections which means this book really isnt for the "at home" cook wanting to make candies. This book is more for the pastry chefs in the food industry. I've tried several of these candies at work and they've all come out beautifully!

This is a confectionary BIBLE. Excellent book!

Only four stars as several of the recipes are geared for pros only and do not make it clear, more importantly no appreciable mention/analysis of the need to adjust candy recipes for elevation--how could this be overlooked?--crucial for candy makers! Other than that, the book is virtually a text-book worthy edition for those who love to make sweets. I've learned a huge amount from Mr. Greweling's research and thank him for it. The photography and styling are beautiful as is the finish and overall quality of the book. I'd recommend this text only for those who are experienced AND serious about making candy.

Had all the information I needed.

It is SO informative and well done and it is full of pictures to be able to view your product.

Excellent book. I'm not disappointed and would highly recommend this book. I did find that % in almost every recipe was off, some by as much as 15 grams.

great book for chocolate candy making

It is a very Good book. Whit many Information and indsperasion to make The chocolate

love the creations in this book!

A masterpiece!

If you are serious about chocolate & confection making & you want to do it with 100% knowledge - buy this book. Very happy :-)

This is a great book. As a professional, I can say that I really appreciate the science and techniques. Would be 5 stars, but there are a few minor issues, such as the need for a specific mold, and the sugar he shows us clearly crystallized. However, I still highly recommend.

I have read this book but have not made candies yet. Can't wait to try them out. I love the pictures as I am very visual and I love the fact that there is so much to learn. Peter Greweling is a true master and I wish I was half as good as he is with formulas and theories and he is a true artisan.

Very helpful for school, awesome pictures- very graphic and very thorough. Definitely a book to keep for a very long time.

I am in love with this book!

Excellent book. Really great Information about chocolate and recipes. It helped us a lot developing a recipe for our protein rich chocolate bar "CHOCOTEIN"

Love this item!!

Helpful!

The price for this book full price is insane. I purchased it for half the cost of the book store price. Really cool text book though. great pictures and recipes.

Great recipes. Lots of candy making in there. Only thing is that many ingredients are not the type you can just walk into the supermarket to buy.

This is for the person that wants ALL the fine details and science etc. Great recipes but a bit more then I wanted/needed

I chose this book because of the variety of recipes and the detailed explanation about chocolate. Very thorough book. I definitely recommend it.

Which is....: a good description of the theory behind a technique, followed by a (base) recipe in both metric and american measures and percentages, in professional quantities. Base recipes are mostly extended or followed up by some (flavor) varieties. There are troubleshooting "defects" charts which give you clues on where you went wrong. I like this book so much that I've bought this second edition (which is extended with some extras) even though I already own the first print. That one now sits on a shelve in between lots of different sugars it has forced me to buy, at work. I use these sort of books to teach myself (a reasonably technically accomplished savory chef), some of the more in depth pastry techniques. It saves me lots of money on courses and gives me a feeling of achievement doing it this way, but the delicate nature of the main ingredients, chocolate and sugar in this case, do take quite a bit of practice to handle properly I find. This book holds its place on my main shelve at home next to Migoya's "frozen desserts", wich has a very similar approach and layout to its own subject (also CIA). I do own some other descent pastry books by Valrhona (ecole du chocolat) and Ducasse for instance. But, in my bookcase, the way and clarity in which the recipes are initiated and presented (a table chart) can only be topped by Modernist Cuisine and they don't do the sweet stuff I'm afraid. I'd like a similar book on dough's and batters in this format, so tips are welcome.

What can I say? If you love chocolate than this book is for you. Very easy to use and to follow. The recipes are not complicated. Very recommended.

It is the only book you must have if you're interested in chocolate. It is comprehensive, detailed and well-organized. The bible of chocolate ... definitely.

Good book

great book, full of usful information, wonderful pictures, something i will use throughout my career a must buy for anyone

everything you would want to know about chocolates different kinds, tempering not to mention endless recipes very informative and educational -- thank you

If you're looking for a book to help understand the chocolate/confection industry, this is the book. I'm new to the candy industry and this book was a huge help for me in understanding the science behind candy making.

such a wonderful book, very informative, love all the pictures that is shown in the book, perfect step by step instructions for everything!

So far I like all items i had order, most is for my culinary school some for my personal use

This hefty book is simply stunning and I can't recommend it highly enough for anyone remotely interested in chocolate and confectionery. Incredibly thorough and brilliantly conceived. Peter Greweling's mastery is inspirational and his attention to detail articulate. The sensational photography; explorations in cutting edge techniques and perfect recipes will enthrall!

It was a present for my son. He liked it.

I really love this book.

Good information but more advanced that what most people are looking for I believe. Use would require a lot of specialized equipment that for most is beyond what they will want to do. For the very serious chocolatier who wants to invest a good deal in what they do it would be a very good resource.

I wanted this to learn more about science for chocolate sauces but doesn't have the information that I needed. Mostly just for candies, not sauces.

lots of info

Great book if you are starting a chocolates and confectionery business, or a budding intermediate home cook who would like to make chocolates. You must have the adequate equipment, in order to make this and also the space to handle other chocolate making applications. The recipes are divine. This is more time consuming but tips, ideas and suggestions from Peter Grewelling are worth it when making these treats for the food business.

I love this book! While not intended for the home chef, I am a home chocolatier and chemist. It blends my need for understanding the chemistry of chocolate and the beauty of his techniques. I am slowly amassing a huge collection of chocolate making equipment (I need an enrober by the way, Christmas gift??) and making lovely confections. Great book. I also like The Art of the Chocolatiere

It's in depth. It's chocolate school without having to go to school. I highly recommend this book.

This is THE goto reference for chocolate and confection. If you are looking for a comprehensive analysis of chemical structure, classic technique, and industry procedures this is the book for you.

This is book 2 and it has some repeat recipes from book 1. It is not really for the home chocolatier, but if you are ambitious then get it! Love, love, love this author!

As someone who took Chef Greweling's class while attending the CIA I learned just how diverse the confectionary industry could be and this book is an amazing addition to the already solid foundation he gave me!

I'd like to echo everything everyone here has said in regards to the information in the book, but my one complaint is that it's full of typos. Silly things, like spelling errors and repeated words and page numbers that don't seem to have been changed for the updated edition. This isn't a huge problem by any means, but maybe something to be changed for future editions? That being said, it's an incredible book about the subject matter and a must read for anyone looking to learn more about chocolate. It still earns 5 stars.

I recently purchased this book and it's everything you could want and more when it comes to the art of chocolate/confectionary making. Whether you're a novice or professional chef everyone can get something out of this book!

This is my second copy. If you are interested in precise recipes, good tecnique and loads of knowledge about confectionary, this book is definately worth the price.

This book is a must for any one looking to understand the technicalities of confectionary and to understand the origins and scientific makeup of the ingredients themselves.

very detailed a lot of these CIA books are a little mainstream but this one has a lot of good technique's that I as a 20 year veteran in the chocolate business would agree with. [...]

Where is the kindle edition? I can’t seem to make the purchase.

Exactly what I needed!

I love this book from the first to the last page! at the first pages you learn all about the chocolate, how to it's made, what to expect from each kind of chocolate, how it's made and with what, how to handle it, and a lot more. And then you get a wide choice of recipes all with chocolate. Best chocolate book that i have, and i have quite a few.

Being a chef, I love baking and trying new recipes and I have wowed guests by making homemade "candy bars". So far all the recipes have worked out really well and I have tried about 30% of the recipes already! Great if you have a sweet tooth!

I have just purchased this edition of Greweling's brilliant book as my old copy has walked - it is the only book you will every need for confectionery whether you are a professional or an enthusiastic home cook. Everything is in there: all you would ever want to know about chocolate; aerated confections; jellies - you name it - and all written in the clear and logical style of a master craftsman. The recipes just lend themselves to your own innovations and I'm sure your copy will end up as battered, smeared and scribbled upon as my old copy was (still very upset about its loss...).

I am so glad I bought this book. It goes into the science about tempering in a way that is easy to understand. I haven't had an issue since. Lovely pictures and descriptions about many techniques. Definitely worth the outlay.

Great book, for beginners through to experienced... Would have saved money if I’d found this book earlier!

Excellent comprehensive book. Well worth the struggle I had getting hold of it!! It’s creative and technically detailed

For anyone thinking of taking up making bonbons as a hobby or a career. This book is a must, not only with recipes but step by step in how to do things as well as lists of what went wrong if something does. I was impressed with every page in this book.

Lots of great recipies and thought provoking ideas, they all work very well and the book feels hardy. definately reccomend!

great explicit book

perfect for every one I have been working 32 years in pastry, but this book still good for me. my mother who have never been in catering industry, believed the book for her too. clever!

Great book!

Great book. Detailed and colourful. Instructions given are clear and massive variety of recipe! There are cheaper alternatives for this book and those who complained certainly dont know how to search!

well pleased.