5 comments about Candy: The Sweet History.

1. Any candy lover, any nostalgia buff, anyone who sneaks a snickers or hides Hershey Bars in secret spots in the kitchen (or bedroom) will love this book. It's not only inforamative, but a trip down the sweet, sweet memory lane of childhood! It's a great gift, but like your favorite candy, don't share it unless you've got one for yourself!



2. The Sweet:
   The book is obviously well-researched, and the author's enthusiasm for the topic shines through. Each page is nicely designed and chock-full of colorful photos of vintage packages and ads. It's fun to flip through.

   The Sour:
   The amateurish writing style, poor editing and number of glaring typos detract from what could've been a real treat. Even a proofreader would have made a world of difference.




3. This book has a great cover and wonderful pictures but it seems to have missed both the editor and proofreader. The writing is also mediocre. It's nice to look at but very hard to read especially when one is attempting to make corrections during the reading process.



4. This book was listed by John Mariani as one of the BEST FOOD and DRINK books of 2003 and his words inspired me to buy several. What a treat it really is!

   I have never seen another book about the history of American candy, and here, with "enormous affection and dogged scholarship", Beth Kimmerle provides an informative and graphically rich nostalgic food book.

   The pictures are great--a real trip down memory lane. The book, along with a few handmade treats from the recipe section, will make a wonderful and unique holiday gift.




5. I saw Beth Kimmerle on a Food TV special about candy and thought she had an amazing job. A candy expert? How did she get such a job? Is there an opening for me? I bought her book and found it fascinating. She covers all the old school favs from Wacky wafers and Lick M Aid. The pictures are great. If you dig candy like me and wish you had her job, you'll love this book.

2 comments about Best of Gaston Lenotre's Desserts: Glorious Desserts of France's Finest Pastry Maker.

1. Gaston Lenotre has compiled a mouth-watering book of French pastries that an intermediate or ambitious beginning cook should have no trouble using. The color photographs are gorgeous, although dated in appearance, and the recipes are well-written and easy to follow.

   The book is laid out as though assuming the reader has no knowledge of pastry baking. The book begins with a compilation of terms and techniques, and procedes to a section of "basic" recipes such as Chantilly Cream, Butter Cream, Dessert Syrup, and Almond Paste. And then the fun begins: brioche, croissants, and pithiviers, working up to Mirabelle Plum Tart, Chocolate-Vanilla Charlotte, soufflees, and Autumn Meringue Cake. The cool-down phase is candy: truffles, chocolate thistles, and carmelized hazelnuts. The Strawberry Cake, deceptively simple in name, is outstanding with its genoise base, buttercream and fresh berry filling, and marzipan top. The Upside Down Orange Cake and the chocolate mousse filled and pleated chocolate ribbon topped Autumn Meringue Cake are also show stoppers. For each recipe, Lenotre supplies preparation time (valid only if you are already familiar with the techniques), baking time, and cookware/utensil needs.

   The biggest drawback to this cookbook is the constant referral to basic recipes, demanding frequent page flipping as you prepare a pastry. For example, the Strawberry Cake requires one recipe of buttercream filling, one recipe of dessert syrup, one recipe of genoise, one recipe of almond paste in addition to the more specific needs. Of course, the advantage of such shortened ingredient lists is the mistaken belief that the preparation might be simpler than it is.

   For anyone interested in the art of pastry making, this is a wonderful book.




2. I own Professional Pastry Chef by Bo Friberg, compare to that book this book is so tiny. However, this book has many recipes that the professional pastry chef contained, mostly with colored pictures. The recipes are easy to follow compare to PPC and with pictured instructions. I agree with the other reviewer who said that pictures a bit dated, but it understandable since this book was published in the late 70s early 80s. PPC and many other books that I tried had often referred to the recipes from other pages, therefore seeing the same method in this book didn't bother me much.
   
   Overall this book carries more bangs than many other larger books in its class. I say buy this book over monster size PPC if you are an at home or professional baker and need to learn the classic French desserts.

No comments about Making Artisan Gelato: 45 Recipes and Techniques for Crafting Flavor-Infused Gelato and Sorbet at Home.

5 comments about All About Chocolate: The Ultimate Resource for the World's Favorite Food.

1. This book has something for everyone about the world of chocolate. If you want to know more about chocolate history or how chocolate is made, it's here. If you want to know where to find the best chocolate in the world, it's also here. This book makes a great travel guide for chocolate afficionados. You can find where to learn more about chocolate and where the nearest chocolate festival or museum is. This book makes a great gift for your chocolate-loving friends and family, as well as a great gift for yourself. All the information and fun facts about chocolate are located in an easy-to-manage paperback book at a great price.



2. Carole Bloom knows all about chocolate and is willing to share it. A compendium of fact and highly educated opinion about the world of chocolate. Dependable and indispensable. It even includes a chapter on other books about chocolate, including fiction, which is the only thing this book is not. In that realm, Bloom and I recommend BITTERSWEET JOURNEY, A Modestly Erotic Novel of Love, Longing & Chocolate.



3. I read my friend's copy of this book. Covers history of chocolate, chocolate around the world, locations of chocolate festivals and events in the USA, explains the different kinds of chocolate, chocolate terms (like bloom, tempering, etc...), chocolate recipes, and even shows listings on the web of where you can find chocolate information. I think it's an interesting book for this sort of general information



4. Wow, all my Internet research seems to be right here in one book!
   Thanks!



5. I bought this for my husband - a definate "chocoholic". It is a great book and the pictures make your mouth water. It tells you so much interesting information about chocolate. If you love chocolate, you will enjoy this book - even if you can't eat the book.

5 comments about Jim Fobel's Old-Fashioned Baking Book: Recipes from an American Childhood.

1. I bought this book several years ago and still use it weekly. It is my absolute favorite cookbook! The recipes are easy to use and kid friendly. My entire family loves the sweet treats I bake using Fobel's recipes. What a wonderful cookbook. Thanks for sharing Jim!



2. I received this book as a gift in 1989. It is the BEST baking book I've ever owned. I need a new one because it is falling apart. The "Almond Ring" pastry is the best - it has been a Christmas morning tradition in our family since I first made it in 1989. The "Devil's Food Cake with Chocolate Fudge Frosting" is the most incredible chocolate cake I've ever made. If you want to learn the basics about baking from scratch, this is the book for you. I will buy this book for each of my kids when they move out - they have learned to bake from scratch over the years by making recipes from this cookbook. Anyone who loves old fashioned baking needs this book!



3. The format of the cookbook is simple and without airs, like the old-fashioned American desserts represented throughout. There are no elaborate photo spreads of artsy kitchen-work, just the occasional black and white photo from Fobel's family album. The font is reasonably large, so you won't have to squint even if your vision is getting a little fuzzy. Ingredients are set apart visually from instructions, and instructions are divided into short, convenient numbered steps that make the recipes easy to follow.
   
   And as for the recipes--oh, my, the recipes! There's a marble cake that's hardly any more difficult to make than a boxed cake mix, yet infinitely more moist and delicious. There's a raspberry cream pie that we picked up the ingredients for on the spur of the moment (the raspberries looked too good to resist that week), and I can still taste its exquisite sweet-tartness. You'll find recipes for traditional favorites such as coconut cream, pecan, and pumpkin pies, but you'll also find things like banana meringue pie, Mrs. Paasanen's cheese pie, and a glazed strawberry pie. Cakes range from a golden fruitcake to burnt butter cupcakes, chocolate coffee cream roll, and a maple layer cake.
   
   There are coffee cakes, sweet rolls, yeast breads, cookies of all kinds, and of course cobblers, crunches, etc. Whether you want something simple that mostly uses dry ingredients and a few things you probably already have around the house, or you're in the mood for something that uses the best of the season's fresh fruit, you'll definitely find it here!
   
   Mr. Fobel started from a pile of crumbling, yellowed recipes that inevitably left out changes and whole steps that his family members knew by heart, and recreated the nostalgic wonders of his childhood for us to enjoy in our own kitchens. These are painstakingly tested recipes that come out beautifully and result in absolutely delicious foods, and this is a cookbook well worth purchasing!



4. I bought this book in the late 80s and have used it steadily through the years. The book was out-of print but recently made a comeback as a paperback. By today's cookbook standards, this isn't a very sophisticated work - and that's fine by me. The recipes come under the heading of "comfort desserts" and the dozen or so that I have used have always turned out well. The Oatmeal Cake with Crunchy Oat Topping is my favorite - a great old-fashioned cake to take to informal gatherings. The Irish Soda Bread, Russian Tea Balls, Applesauce Cake, Cardamom Cookies, Date Crumble Bars, and Pecan Pie are all delicious. Think elementary school bake sales.
   
   The recipe for Cardamom Bread (Nisua) is huge and unwieldy (five braided loaves!) - unless you're the proud owner of an equally hefty Viking 7-Quart mixer. Fobel said he was not able to successfully reduce the recipe to a more mangeable size - perhaps he just didn't try hard enough. My own recipe for Swedish Cardamom Bread makes three braided loaves - as much as anyone would want to handle at one time in a home kitchen. The "1933 Glory Cake" is tooth-achingly sweet and the "Maraschino Cherry Cake" just isn't appetizing - but I prefer sour cherries for baking.
   
   These are easy recipes delivered in a straighforward and friendly manner - and the price is right. Comparable to Marilyn Moore's "Wooden Spoon Dessert Book" and Lee Bailey's "Country Desserts". I give it 3.5 stars.



5. ...please accept my sincere congratulations and thanks for an absolutely fabulous baking book, where every recipe is delicious and never disappoints. I'm from a family of German baking women -- you know how fine an art baking is in Deutschland -- and have shared your recipes and books with them along with best friends. This afternoon I made your scrumptious lemon bars, which my husband and I enjoyed with a small glass of white wine. Truly heavenly. Thank you, Jim.

No comments about Desserts: Over 200 Classic Desserts from around the World.

1 comments about 125 Best Ice Cream Recipes.

1. Well written, clear instructions. Wonderful selection of recipes.
   
   Some of the more unusual selections include:
   Avacado Ice Cream, Corn Ice Cream, Fig Chutney Ice Cream, Ginger Molasses Ice Cream, Guinness Ice Cream, and Roasted Garlic Ice cream.
   
   I personally probably would probably not eat very much of the ones listed above, but it sure might be fun to try them.
   
   More recipes include:
   Oatmeal, Rice Pudding, Cashew, Cherry Custard, Strawberries and Cream, Apricot, Banana Toffee, Green Tea, Orange Custard and many more of the old standby flavors.
   
   Good book overall.

1 comments about The Baking Bible.

1. I got this book by accident, just browsing the bookstore (didn't get it on Amazon). I have been LOVING all the recipes. I made the Zesty Lemon Pound Cake for an office event, and my co-workers are still talking about it 6 months later. It's been requested by name at other friends' dinner parties.
   
   The book also contains a simple cookie recipe that's totally awesome and easy to make. And the Blueberry Coffeecake, Chocolate Chip Coffeecake, etc. Just about everything I have made from this book tastes great.
   
   The instructions are easy to follow and very detailed. I didn't have any experience baking before starting on some recipes in this book. Now, I'm getting a reputation for being a baker among my friends!
   
   I highly recommend this book.

5 comments about Sweets to the Sweet: A Keepsake Book from the Heart of the Home.

1. I purchased all of Susan Branch's books at once--sight unseen--based on the excellent reviews that her books received. All of her books were outstanding BUT I would like to share the following with others who may not realize this: Her keepsake books are basically a copy of what is already in her other books i.e. this dessert keepsake book contained only one new recipe--all of the other pages of this book appear to be copies from her other books--right down to the illustrations. Had I known this, I would not have purchased all of the keepsake books along with her "main" books.



2. As mentioned before in other reviews, this book has downsized recipes and illustrations from Susan Branch's previous books. However, this is a great way to share the joy I have received by purchasing this book for others.



3. In response to ybronw from Canada...Perhaps the duplication of receipes and or illustrations in this book were for the simple reason that it is a KEEPSAKE book..in my opinion , the perfect small gift for that special person that you want to remember for a special occasion. Perhaps, it will introduce the receiver to the incredible talent and sensitivity of the author/illustrator! I enjoy reading the KEEPSAKE books over and over when I only have a few moments to relax and renew my soul with Ms. Branches gentle creativity. When I have more time I pick up her fullsized books for a bigger "taste of peacefulness and tranquility". These are not just cookbooks but reminders of a slower richer way of life.



4. you can just marvel at the artworks and the really pleasant colors and that should pick you up from every gloom you have in your life..susan's books have a really nice way of getting a good message across..that no matter how insane the world gets with advances in technology, we will always have a place in our hearts for the simple things in life..keeping in touch through old fashioned letters, preserving family history through scrapbooks and appreciating home made food cooked with love.



5. I serendipitously came across this book and immediately fell in love with the charmingly hand-detailed recipes and little illustrations. It has a great variety of dessert recipes, all of which sound scrumptious and yet look simple to make - I can't wait to try them out!

3 comments about Ice Carving Made Easy (Hospitality, Travel & Tourism).

1. The author makes good use of templates and photographs, however the written instructions are very vague and not very helpful.(i.e. carve the head, shape the wing, etc.)



2. From a realistic point of view, the book doesn't help a whole lot. Unless you are a japanese master, you will struggle with the vague instructions. The pictures are very nice, but that's about it.



3. I am just thankfull that I personally didn't have to cough up the forty someodd bucks paid for this. The title should read "Money from an Ice Carving Book - Made Easy". Some nice pictures, but zero substance. Most of the template drawings are not even in the proper ratio for a 300lb carving block. And how about this for step by step instruction: 1. Prepare your graph 2. Lay the ice on a piece of Styrofoam. 3. With a saw, remove any ice not required. 4. Shape out the tail and wings. 5. Smooth out the detail. 6. Finish the base. That's it! No kidding! Real helpful eh?! I guess the best way to learn to carve ice is to just get ice and practice. This book certainly isn't going to give you any help, tips or secrets - that's for sure!