Synopses & Reviews
From the sacred fudge served to Indias gods to the ephemeral baklava of Istanbuls harems, the towering sugar creations of Renaissance Italy, and the exotically scented macarons of twenty-first century Paris, the worlds confectionary arts have not only mirrored social, technological, and political revolutions, they have also, in many ways, been in their vanguard. Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert captures the stories of sweet makers past and present from India, the Middle East, Italy, France, Vienna, and the United States, as author Michael Krondl meets with confectioners around the globe, savoring and exploring the dessert icons of each tradition. Readers will be tantalized by the rich history of each regions unforgettable desserts and tempted to try their own hand at a time-honored recipe. A fascinating and rewarding read for any lover of sugar, butter, and cream, Sweet Invention embraces the pleasures of dessert while unveiling the secular, metaphysical, and even sexual uses that societies have found for it.
Review
"Michael Krondl writes about the history of desserts with grace, wit, and a considerable sweet tooth." —Nick Malgieri, author of BAKE! and The Modern Baker
Review
"Frosted with eye-catching detail, layered with the rich and mouthwatering history of all things sweet, and leavened by inspired scholarship, Michael Krondl's history of dessert is a lush confection in its own right. . . . This is a must-read for all of us who care about food history, or have a sweet tooth." —Ian Kelly, author of Cooking for Kings: The Life of Antonin Careme, the First Celebrity Chef
Synopsis
From the sacred fudge served to India's gods to the ephemeral baklava of Istanbul's harems, the towering sugar creations of Renaissance Italy, and the exotically scented macarons of twenty-first century Paris, the world's confectionary arts have not only mirrored social, technological, and political revolutions, they have also, in many ways, been in their vanguard.
Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert captures the stories of sweet makers past and present from India, the Middle East, Italy, France, Vienna, and the United States, as author Michael Krondl meets with confectioners around the globe, savoring and exploring the dessert icons of each tradition. Readers will be tantalized by the rich history of each region's unforgettable desserts and tempted to try their own hand at a time-honored recipe. A fascinating and rewarding read for any lover of sugar, butter, and cream,
Sweet Invention embraces the pleasures of dessert while unveiling the secular, metaphysical, and even sexual uses that societies have found for it.
Synopsis
A social, cultural, andabove allculinary history of dessert, Sweet Invention explores the world’s great dessert traditions, from ancient India to 21st-century Indiana. Each chapter begins with author Michael Krondl tasting and analyzing an icon of dessert, such as baklava from the Middle East or macarons from France, and then combines extensive scholarship with a lively writing style to spin an ancient tale of some of the world’s favorite treats and their creators. From the sweet makers of Persia who gave us the first donuts to the sugar sculptors of Renaissance Italy whose creativity gave rise to the modern-day wedding cake, this authoritative read clears up numerous misconceptions about the origins of various desserts, while elucidating their social, political, religiousand even sexualuses through the ages.
Synopsis
Sweet Invention is a social, cultural, andabove allculinary history of dessert. It explores the worlds great dessert traditions, from ancient India to twenty-first century Indiana. Each chapter begins in the present with the author tasting and analyzing one of the dessert icons of each traditionbaklava in the Middle East, or macarons in France for examplebefore spinning a more ancient tale. Readers will meet the sweet makers of Persia who gave us the first donuts, the sugar sculptors of Renaissance Italy whose creativity (by way of Paris and London) gave birth to the modern wedding cake; and the hard-working (and wildly inventive) home economists of the early twentieth century who cooked up such unforgettable delights as chocolate chip cookies and rice crispy squares. A fun and enjoyable read that is groundbreaking in its scholarship, Sweet Invention embraces the pleasures of dessert while elucidating the usessocial, political, religious, and even sexualthat societies have found for it.
About the Author
Michael Krondl is a food historian and the author of The Taste of Conquest, The Great Little Pumpkin Cookbook, and Around the American Table. He is an award-winning cooking instructor, food writer, and former chef. His writing credits include Gastronomica, New York Newsday, and Nations Restaurant News as well as multiple contributions to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. For more information visit www.sweetinvention.net