The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate (Bluffer's Guides) by Neil Davey
| The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate (Bluffer's Guides) by Neil Davey | |
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| Category: Cookery | |
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Reviewer: Sue Magee
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| Summary: Whether you're out to bluff or just to learn more about chocolate this book is what you need. Definitely recommended. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 128 | Date: February 2014 |
| Publisher: Bluffer's Guides | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1909937048 | |
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I've always been a little bit nervous about the Bluffer series, on the basis that I would be sure to come out with a clever-sounding phrase, only to be found out when someone asked the follow-up question. Better, I thought to stay silent and appear ignorant than to open my mouth and prove myself a fool. But then The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate came my way and I couldn't resist - any more than I've ever been able to resist chocolate.
Firstly, you could use this as a primer if you simply want to appear knowledgeable. The book is positively filled with facts and even useful phrases should you want to use them. You're gently guided as to which beans, chocolate makers or chocolatiers are worthy of comment and what you should comment on. There's a wonderful glossary which is worth the cover price on its own and the book is just the size for slipping into the pocket for quick (even sneaky) reference. You might even want to make use of the blank pages at the back to add your own notes. Yep - with this book you could give a reasonable presentation of being knowledgeable, if that's what you want or need to do.
But what if you're just interested in chocolate? What if, like me, you feel that if you are in its thrall you might as well know a bit more about it? Well, what you read might appear to be frivolous and light hearted, aimed at allowing you to appear more knowledgeable than you are (cheat is such a difficult word to use in a non-pejorative way, isn't it?) but the book is packed with solid fact. You're going to learn about the different beans and where they come from and the different flavours which each delivers to the finished product. The manufacturing process is complex - and flaws can show up in what you eat - but the detail is all there along with explanations of the nice difference between a chocolate maker and a chocolatier, one which I had never appreciated before.
There's a run down of the history behind your bar and of the people who have been - and currently are - prominent in the industry. Far from feeling that I wanted to bluff my way in a conversation I was moved to start a list of chocolate which I wanted to taste and areas where I really did want to know more. The most important point I learned though was that the best chocolate does not come from Belgium. That's just very good marketing.
I'd like to thank the publishers for sending a copy to the Bookbag.
For more about what's behind the food we eat have a look at What Einstein Kept Under His Hat: Secrets of Science in the Kitchen by Robert L Wolke and Marlene Parrish. I read The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate in one sitting. For another quick read we can recommend Great Food: A Dissertation Upon Roast Pig and Other Essays by Charles Lamb.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate (Bluffer's Guides) by Neil Davey at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy The Bluffer's Guide to Chocolate (Bluffer's Guides) by Neil Davey at Amazon.com.
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