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

A brilliant treatise and instruction manual on candy and confections. If your idea of candy making is granny’s fudge made with sweetened condensed milk and chocolate chips, this is probably not for you. But for anyone looking to expand their technique and understanding of applied sugar and chocolate chemistry , you need this. Plenty of delectable recipes along with all the nerdy details. It will transform your culinary life.

Contents of book: cream ganaches (liquor, orange, amaretti, chai, pear, passion vanilla, habanos, hazelnut latte, etc...) , butter ganache (gingerbread, orange, raspberry, lemon, etc...), hard candies (caramels, taffies, soft caramels, toffees, etc...), sugar candies (cherry cordials, different fudges, etc...) , jellied candies (candied fruits, jellies...), and nougats. Incredible comprehensive book. Greweling takes a scientific approch to chocolate making, so you get all the science behind the everything. In that way, it is similar to a textbook. In terms of techniques, this book is a rigorous as you will find. For instance, the technique of molding chocolates is described in 18 steps and 9 pictures. Chocolate molding and dipping defects are described over 3 pages. Preventing 'broken' ganches are described over 5 pages. It talks about freezing. And so on. In terms of recipes, extremely comprehensive. 28 cream ganache recipes, 11 butter ganache. And that's only up to p173 out of 375. Because of the emphasis on technique and science, this book teaches you to teach yourself. That's the real beauty of the book. On top of it all, the photography is beautiful. In terms of difficulty level, I think it's for all levels. A true beginner can skip through the science and just just try out a few recipes. An advanced chocolatier can still find useful information in the tips and recipes. In terms of ingredients, some of the ingredients in some recipes are tough to find for beginners (invert sugar, invertase, co2 cartridges), but a beginner can still pick through and find a recipe to make. Must have for the serious chocolatier. Compared to other books, Jean-Pierre Wybauw's book is similar in its 'science and technical' nature, covering similar but not always exactly the same stuff. These two books are complementary, and both excellent. It is also complementary to Shott's book, which is less scientific and slightly less on technique, but has very nice recipes and a little cheaper.

I'm always a little put off by buying books online without being able to flick through, but this book is amazing! The color photos, and the information it gives on making delicious chocolate is well worth the cost! It is so beautifully written and photographed it's almost like you are right there in a candy makers kitchen with all of the secret recipes they use! If you have ever thought about making fancy chocolate candy creations to wow your guests then this is the book. It explains everything and if you have basic skills in the kitchen you too can make great candy with this book as a guide. I bought it for incorporating the recipes and designs into my own baking business some day. If you use what they have and experament you can take chocolatiering to a whole new level! Absolute beauty and taste all wrapped up into one! I recommend this book to anyone who loves a fine chocolate!

As a professional Pastry Chef, I have to be proficient at all aspects of pastry, baking and confections. Unfortunately, I'm really only best at the aspect I love, plated desserts. I try to ignore the other demands from my employers, or foist them off on pastry cooks and bakers who like to do the things I don't. Those cooks and bakers includes one of Peter Greweling's former students, who helped test some of the recipes while she was a student at the CIA. Chocolate tempering has always been one of my areas of weakness. This book is very clear, very thorough, well-illustrated and very well organized. Even as a coffee table book, it would succeed, because the photos are beautiful. As cooking school text book it is very thorough without being intimating. It is clear Peter Greweling knows his subject completely. I have so far used a few of the recipes, and many others have spawned new creations. I recommend it highly to anyone in the business who is not already an expert in chocolate and confections, as well as anyone who isn't a professional but wants to learn to temper like one.

This book is outstanding. It explains most all details involved in the candy making process. From chapters on ingredients and what function they have to chapters on confection foundations, enabling the reader to become creative with the recipes while keeping the integrity of the preparation. The candy recipes are good and make a excellent American/European standard repetoire. I made a contemporary BonBon, ruby chocolate with pistachio gianduja filling that is playfully indulgent. There is no recipe for it in the book but the book teaches you to create your own. The book is created for professionals but it is easely accessible to most people.

I wanted to get just one book on this subject which would give me all the info I needed to make professional quality products and this book is exactly what I needed. The information is clear and easy to understand as a beginner but gives quality results any professional would be proud of. This book covers every sort of confection I've ever heard of and many that I haven't. I made nougat and found the instructions really detailed but also easy to understand. The result was delicious and actually tasted better than store bought varieties. I have nothing bad to say about this book, it's brilliant and is the only guide to making confecions you should ever need whether you are a beginner or a seasoned professional.

I'm a pretty good cook but I had never dared to tackle making chocolates until recently. It was one of two books I bought to help me into the world of the amateur chocolatier and thank goodness it was. With detailed information on not only the 'how' but also the 'why' of every step of making chocolates this book has given me the insight, inspiration and courage to produce my own handmade chocolates, including how to make the various centres I'd only ever tasted in shop bought sweets before. This book includes easily followed recipes and sumptuous photography that you'd want your own confections to match. The science in making confectionery is also explained and this information is what has helped me, so far, avoid making any huge mistakes. A brief mention is made of the tools required to achieve the desired results, although one or two of them are actually quite pricey and more the purview of the professional confectioner or really ardent (not to mention cash rich) amateurs. What makes me rate this book 5 stars is it's breadth of coverage - it not only details chocolate making but also jellies, hard candy and even starch moulding (I've figured out how to make jelly babies now!!) and this has meant I've been able to branch out into confections I hadn't even considered before. A great place to start from, then, and an ever present reference now I'm becoming more experienced in confectionery. The price is totally justified - this is a must buy for every amateur confectioner or those seriously considering starting in this career path.

Great book, took forever to arrive due to Canada post strike but that want the sellers issue. Arrived in good condition for a used book so I’m happy.

It's a great book. It has good descriptions and photos. The shipment was quick.

A class act in just about every way possible: the binding, the photos, the page design, the writing, the selection of recipes, the breadth of the information, the paper ... Don't hesitate for a moment to purchase. Worth every red cent.

An amazing book - this has so much more detail that I'll ever need. The three recipes I've tried so far have been fantastic, and the level of detail given means I'll be happy to try new techniques.