The Book of Chocolate - Hardcover

Chocolate, the world's favorite confection, was unknown in Europe before the sixteenth century, when it was brought back from the Americas by the Spanish conquistadors. Originally consumed as a highly spiced drink and attributed with curative, even aphrodisiacal powers, by the eighteenth century chocolate, served steaming hot with milk and sugar in delicate porcelain cups, had become a favorite indulgence in elegant aristocratic homes and royal courts.

Chocolate prices fell dramatically in the 1830s increasing its popularity. In England, the great Quaker chocolate-producing families, like the Cadburys, promoted chocolate as a "healthful, flesh-forming" drink, which they hoped would replace gin in the cups of the working class. To further their ideals of enlightened capitalism, the Cadbury brothers established a "model village" at Bournville to manufacture their chocolate. Cadbury introduced "French Eating Chocolate" in 1842, and the commercial chocolate bar was born, though it was not to gain in popularity until the end of the century.

Chocolate had been known in North America via Europe since at least 1765, when Dr. James Baker of Massachusetts established the company that today still produces Baker's Chocolate. As in Great Britain, it was not until the nineteenth century that chocolate became truly widespread, due in great part to the enthusiasm of Milton S. Hershey-- a caramel manufacturer from Pennsylvania-- when he saw German chocolate-making machinery at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. Two years later, in 1895, the first Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar was sold.

Today, chocolate in all its guises has become an intrinsic part of our lives, something many people cannot live without. This stunning volume traces the history and production of chocolate from the tropical plantations where the cacao bean is cultivated to the finest manufacturers in Europe and the United States. The authors-- a panel of internationally renowned food specialists-- also introduce us to the master confectioners who still make an infinite variety of chocolate according to time-honored, gourmet traditions.

Illustrated with vintage advertising posters and chocolate packages, fine paintings, and lavish, specially commissioned photographs, this beautifully designed book also features a Connoisseur's Guide to the finest purveyors of chocolate throughout the world, as well as ten sinfully good recipes. A perfect gift for Easter, Valentine's Day, or any occasion, The Book Of Chocolate offers a stunning visual feast for chocolate lovers everywhere.