Everything About Chocolate Publication date : October 15, 2009
Katherine Khodorowsky is a communications consultant and the author of numerous works on the senses and gastronomy.
Dr Hervé Robert, a nutritionist, teaches at the Faculty of Medicine of Paris and is responsible for nutritional information for producers of fine chocolates and for the chocolate industry.
They are both elected members of the French Academy of Chocolate and Sweets.
“Behind each piece of chocolate lies a tale: the story of the men, women and children whose lives revolve around the cocoa bean, with its many related jobs of widely different categories. Chocolate has the taste of faraway places, and the route travelled by the cocoa bean is a long one: the epicurean who bites into a piece of chocolate can scarcely begin to imagine the many hands that have worked to transform the cocoa beans and other ingredients. The power of cocoa lies not only in its aroma; it also provides a singular illustration of the stakes involved in North-South relations, and in the development of fair trade. Following the cocoa and chocolate routes will take us on a journey around the globe and its power struggles. Starting at the Equator, where the cocoa plant grows, the first link in the chain is made up of small, family planters. The final link, located in the northern hemisphere, is the domain of industrial scientists and fine craftsmen, who, much like alchemists, enhance and improve the high-quality ingredients they receive from the producers.
“This is an indispensable guidebook for all chocolate epicureans who will thus be able to follow the history and the development of chocolate, its image and its flavours, and to understand why chocolate has positive effects,” write Katherine Khodorowsky and Hervé Robert.
In this thorough guidebook, chocolate gourmets will discover chocolate in all its facets: its history, behind-the-scenes production, nutritional properties, and the latest inventions of today’s greatest chocolate artisans. They will learn how to enhance their appreciation of the marvellous “brown gold” that has become increasingly sought-after worldwide.
Firm in the knowledge that chocolate is good for us, and freed of received ideas and guilt feelings, readers will learn from the practical advice given here how to select, enjoy and appreciate the subtle alliances of cocoa flavours — no longer as simple chocolate lovers but as knowledgeable gourmets.