Sweet Invention: A History of Dessert

by Michael Krondl

Overview

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.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613736555
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	11/01/2016
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	400
Sales rank:	987,341
Product dimensions:	5.10(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.80(d)

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 Nation’s Restaurant News as well as multiple contributions to The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America. For more information visit www.sweetinvention.net

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"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

"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

"Sweet Invention is a captivating journey of dessert travel. Beautifully written and fun to read, Michael Krondl manages to take us on a ride as kid in a candy store throughout the ages to modern day."  —Elizabeth Falkner, chef/pastry chef and author of Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts

"Exhaustive and enlightening history of desserts."  —Booklist

Editorial Reviews

A food historian and former chef, Krondl (The Taste of Conquest), combines copious research and skilled narrative in this delightful journey through the history of dessert. “When you talk about dessert you step away from analyzing basic human needs to a conversation about culture,” Krondl writes. He begins his narrative in India, “because of its national obsession with dessert.” Krondl then explores the habits and sweet predilections of the Middle East, Italy, France, Austria, and the U.S. Along this sugar-studded route, readers learn how at one time in France sugar was mainly used to season fish and was used as an additive to foods intended for invalids; why Paris confectioners tried rescuing Marie Antoinette from the guillotine; and why Austrians are the “maestros of cake.” For those who want to indulge in more backstory, Krondl provides entertaining footnotes, a few recipes, and an extensive bibliography for further investigation. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

"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

"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

"Sweet Invention is a captivating journey of dessert travel. Beautifully written and fun to read, Michael Krondl manages to take us on a ride as kid in a candy store throughout the ages to modern day."  —Elizabeth Falkner, chef/pastry chef and author of Elizabeth Falkner's Demolition Desserts

"Exhaustive and enlightening history of desserts."  —Booklist



"Food historian and chef Michael Krondl's newest book . . . offers a wholly satisfying and erudite journey through the political, religious, cultural and sexual roles that sweets have played on the world's stage. Blending the ingredients of social history, memoir, food literature and travel writing, the book satisfies on multiple levels." —Star Tribune


"A food historian and former chef, Krondl . . . combines copious research and skilled narrative in this delightful journey through the history of dessert." —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher