Hot Chocolate
by Michael Turback
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Book Reviews of Hot Chocolate
Book Review: very pleasant surprise
Summary: 5 Stars
A few weeks ago I stumbled upon this little book in a used bookstore (surprisingly, since it's brand new). I normally avoid these cutesy, tiny, single subject cookbooks but having just come from a chocolate cafe where I ordered a lovely european hot chocolate, i decided the fates were sending a sign. i'm glad i gave it a chance, since its a much more thorough and thoughtfully executed then the usual mini-book. the book is a fun, nicely styled and inexpensive guide to hot chocolate with extremely reliable and surprisingly diverse recipes ranging from the traditional american hot cocoa and various viscous european varieties (spanish, italian, viennese) to the familiar variations for any foodie (such as white hot chocolate and mexican spiced hot chocolate) as well as the novel (e.g. lavender pistachio, ginger caramel), kid friendly (e.g., nutella, malted milk), winter cocktail party (brown russian, chocolate hot toddy) and exotic (more-dessert-than-drink black bottom hot chocolate, a traditional columbian hot chocolate with chunks of fresh cheese floating like our marshmallows). There are a few recipes for accompaniments like churros and cacao nib cookies as well as more traditional accouturements like flavored whipped cream and marshmallows. Most of the 60 recipes come from pastry chefs, chocolate shops and cafes (including luminaries like scharffenberger's cafe cacao, katrina markoff, pat coston, joanne chang) which adds considerably to the diversity of styles and flavors-- you're not just getting a sample of one person's palate. Of course, the recipes are all relatively small variations on a set of very basic and easy to execute themes, but the decided ease of preparing hot chocolate means even the busiest person with the poorest culinary skills can make good use of the book while its variety and whimsy ensures that the most jaded choco-phile will also find new inspiration. There are also a number of good general tips and hints in the book for more general experimentation (e.g. hot chocolate becomes more velvety if prepared in advance and then reheated, a pinch of salt adds depth of flavor, adding some sucanat or brown sugar is an easy way to add a caramel flavor) though I do wish the book had a slightly longer general guide/discussion that synthesized the best tips buried in recipes. Overall, highly recommended; a perfect small treat for yourself or someone else.Book Review: Adventures In Hot Chocolate
Summary: 5 Stars
If your idea of hot chocolate is the watery stuff from the packets in the grocery store, this book will open up a whole new world for you. If you've experienced a great (usually expensive) cup of hot chocolate, this book has the sercets so you can make it happen at home. This book rocks either way. If you're new to the idea of gourmet hot chocolate, have no fear. Turback does a great job of explaining the ingredients, cooking process and even storage.
There are a number of interesting recipes. They are organized by ancestral hot chocolates (I skipped this chapter), European Classics (my favorite chapter), Modern Variations, Spiked Hot Chocolates (really my favorite chapter, seriously), nostalgic hot chocolates and hot chocolate pairings. I never made it past the European and Spiked chapters.
Here's the deal: this is real hot chocolate. Heavy cream, whole milk, half and half, good quality chocolate -- the whole nine. I've never been to Paris, but I read that the hot chocolate is served in very small cups with a spoon. It really is a dessert. This is a once-a-week treat. Anything more and you are taking your health into your own hands. This book helped me start a new winter ritual -- hot chocolate on Friday nights. It was a nice way to end the week during a particularly bitter Chicago winter.
This little book is a surprising treasure. Make someone's day and get them this book with a bar of good chocolate.
Book Review: Not for everyone
Summary: 4 Stars
I found this book at the Scharfenberger store, and I've made two recipes out of it. If you like your hot chocolate milky and mild, this probably isn't the book for you. Most of the recipes are haute cuisine recipes, which means the chocolate is intense, rich, and nearly pudding-like in consistancy (although it's easy to thin out by adding some milk, if you prefer).
The best part of the book is that it encourages you to play with the flavors in your hot chocolate. Even if you don't have all the ingredients to actually recreate a recipe, with a little bit a knowledge and some experimentation, you can adapt the recipe to your ingredients and palate.
Book Review: Chocolate lovers, listen up !
Summary: 5 Stars
This nicely designed little book has a big heart, and will make a terrific stocking stuffer! Author Michael Turback gives us 60 delicious recipes culled from chocolatiers, pastry chefs, and restaurateurs, and they are clever recipes indeed. From classically rich to spicy and zippy, this book covers perhaps all of the known variations of hot chocolate in the universe! My favorite? It's a toss-up between Caramel Hot Chocolate on page 54 and the Hungarian Heat on page 43. But with such a mouth-watering selection of recipes, tomorrow I may change my mind.Book Review: Lovely
Summary: 4 Stars
This is a lovely little book (it's only 6" x 6" square, small enough to tuck into a handbag!) with some very interesting recipes. Each recipe provides fascinating information on chocolate in general, drinking chocolate, or the place from which the recipe originated. There aren't a lot of photos for my taste (I do like plenty of beautiful photographs) but those that are there are very nicely done. I'm especially fond of the Lavender-Pistachio Hot Chocolate and Hot Chocolate a l'Orange, the latter of which uses an unexpected combination of ingredients.