The Art and Craft of Chocolate

The earliest evidence of chocolate dates back to 1900 BC where it was used in beverages in Mexico. In Nathan Hodge’s The Art and Craft of Chocolate: An Enthusiast’s Guide to Selecting, Preparing and Enjoying Artisan Chocolate at Home, the world-renowned chocolatier shows how to hack the basic principles of chocolate-making at home using tools as simple as a food processor, a hair dryer, or a double boiler (“hacks at home”). In addition, he offers recipes for traditional moles from different regions of Mexico; traditional Mayan chocolate drinks; cocoa as a meat rub; and various baked goods.


For centuries, chocolate and cacao have been used for many purposes all over the world from a currency during the Mayan empire, to homemade beverages consumed by farm workers in Central America for energy, as well as tortillas and moles in Mexican cuisine. About a year ago, I attended an event at Cholaca in Boulder, Colorado, the producer of pure liquid cacao. One sip of their product had me buzzing for hours so I can attest to the energy aspect.  

Here, Hodge delivers a brief history of chocolate as well as how cacao is processed from bean to bar. He then explains techniques such as how to properly temper chocolate before providing recipes for dishes that include Chocolate stout rolls to Cocoa nib pappardelle with wild mushroom cream sauce.  The Art and Craft of Chocolate covers chocolate in depth and provides insightful facts and tempting recipes.

Our   takes you inside the pages of this book and features the following   dishes for you to try now:

 

The photographs, as you can see, are beautiful and the recipes are pure inspiration. Special thanks to Quarry Books for sharing the materials for our preview above as well as providing three copies of this title in our giveaway below.  

The publisher is offering three copies of this book to EYB Members in the US, CA and UK. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won’t be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on October 2nd, 2018.

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77 Comments

  • rchesser  on  August 14, 2018

    The Cocoa jerk chicken.

  • lauriesk  on  August 14, 2018

    I would try the Red Mole first.

  • JulieQC  on  August 14, 2018

    Cocoa jerk chicken

  • MiMi60  on  August 14, 2018

    Tortellini with lemon ricotta filling

  • ravensfan  on  August 14, 2018

    Champurrado

  • FireRunner2379  on  August 14, 2018

    I like the sounds of the Crispy chocolate carnitas and the Chocolate pasta dough!

  • crownoflilies  on  August 14, 2018

    a vegan version of the chocolate mousse cheesecake

  • demomcook  on  August 14, 2018

    Cocoa nib and melon salad

  • Elbyem  on  August 14, 2018

    The Champurrado

  • jr0717  on  August 14, 2018

    The cacao nib and melon salad sounds intriguing! I'd have to try that first.

  • HArlow  on  August 15, 2018

    The cocoa nib melon salad sounds so unusual, would love to give it a go

  • sgump  on  August 15, 2018

    The Earl Grey chocolate pound cake sounds neat!

  • JulieG1002  on  August 15, 2018

    Red miso- and chocolate-glazed vegetables

  • janv  on  August 15, 2018

    OMG! Cocoa nib short rib and honey-roasted peach sandwiches on chocolate stout rolls

  • sarahawker  on  August 15, 2018

    Drinking chocolate

  • kmn4  on  August 16, 2018

    Black mole.

  • annieski  on  August 17, 2018

    Black mole

  • matag  on  August 17, 2018

    Tortellini with lemon ricotta filling

  • merkusje  on  August 17, 2018

    Chocolate stout rolls

  • Shelley.b  on  August 17, 2018

    Cocoa jerk chicken

  • miggsy  on  August 17, 2018

    Flourless cardamom chocolate cake

  • Julia  on  August 17, 2018

    Flourless cardamom chocolate cake.

  • Taxlady  on  August 17, 2018

    I'd try the Chocolate stout cookies

  • Ozma81  on  August 17, 2018

    Drinking Chocolate

  • LaurenE  on  August 17, 2018

    Earl Grey chocolate pound cake

  • LSanders  on  August 17, 2018

    The champurrado

  • BMeyer  on  August 17, 2018

    drinking chocolate

  • t.t  on  August 17, 2018

    Lavender chocolate ice cream

  • RSW  on  August 18, 2018

    Earl Grey chocolate pound cake

  • Dannausc  on  August 18, 2018

    Crispy chocolate carnitas

  • debbiehb  on  August 18, 2018

    Lavender chocolate ice cream

  • Siegal  on  August 18, 2018

    I want to try chocolate pasta dough!

  • sequoia55  on  August 18, 2018

    Flourless cardamom chocolate cake

  • jmay42066  on  August 18, 2018

    Chocolate-dipped pecan shortbread hearts

  • mph993  on  August 18, 2018

    crispy chocolate carnitas

  • mfl  on  August 19, 2018

    Flourless cardamom chocolate cake… love cardamom

  • KarenGlad  on  August 20, 2018

    Chocolate stout cookies

  • RickPearson54  on  August 20, 2018

    black mole

  • tararr  on  August 20, 2018

    Champurrado

  • verorenee  on  August 20, 2018

    Black sesame and cocoa nib toffee yum

  • kcfish  on  August 21, 2018

    Earl Grey chocolate pound cake

  • Wojtanowski  on  August 21, 2018

    cocoa nib pappardelle with mushroom cream sauce

  • thecharlah  on  August 21, 2018

    Red miso- and chocolate-glazed vegetables

  • kitchenclimbers  on  August 22, 2018

    tortellini

  • lgroom  on  August 22, 2018

    flourless cardamom chocolate cake

  • silversand  on  August 23, 2018

    Drinking chocolate

  • annmartina  on  August 23, 2018

    Black sesame and coca nib toffee

  • floridagld  on  August 23, 2018

    Tortellini with lemon ricotta filling

  • parnassus  on  August 24, 2018

    chocolate tortilla fosho

  • trudys_person  on  August 24, 2018

    Flourless cardamom chocolate cake – I'm currently obsessed with cardamom!

  • lindaeatsherbooks  on  August 27, 2018

    I want to make the Cocoa nib pappardelle with wild mushroom cream sauce.

  • heyjude  on  August 28, 2018

    Cocoa nib and melon salad

  • heyjude  on  August 28, 2018

    Cocoa nib and melon salad

  • skyejaden  on  August 30, 2018

    I would try out the drinking chocolate!!

  • DJCross  on  August 30, 2018

    Too many choices . . .

  • kennethjohngilmour  on  August 30, 2018

    would like to try my hand with the red mole found on page 114 of "The Art and Craft of Chocolate: An Enthusiast's Guide to Selecting, Preparing and Enjoying Artisan Chocolate at Home" by Nathan Hodge

  • tennyogirl  on  August 30, 2018

    Cocoa nib and melon salad

  • NaomiH  on  August 31, 2018

    Tortellini with lemon ricotta filling

  • milgwimper  on  August 31, 2018

    Guajillo chile flan and Flourless cardamom chocolate cake!

  • DomiB  on  September 1, 2018

    Chocolate cardamom cake

  • Laura1  on  September 1, 2018

    Flourless cardamom chocolate cake

  • AwoodlandPrince  on  September 3, 2018

    Earl grey chocolate pound cake

  • kkohle  on  September 3, 2018

    chocolate tortillas sound interesting

  • shellee  on  September 3, 2018

    Flourless cardamom chocolate cake

  • ktwalla  on  September 4, 2018

    Lavender Chocolate Ice Cream

  • choppergirl  on  September 8, 2018

    Thai coconut and lemongrass chocolate soup

  • bopper  on  September 9, 2018

    Champurrado

  • EmilyR  on  September 11, 2018

    Chèvre et fèves et Pinot noir

  • auntietina  on  September 15, 2018

    Thai coconut and lemongrass chocolate soup

  • RoseMGenuine  on  September 23, 2018

    Chocolate stout roll

  • orchidlady01  on  September 24, 2018

    Chocolate mousse cheesecake with chocolate stout cookie crust

  • MamaEnki  on  September 25, 2018

    Black Mole

  • kkarin  on  September 27, 2018

    I’d like instructions for roasting beans and tempering chocolate. Sounds super.

  • eatysmith  on  September 27, 2018

    Drinking chocolate!

  • matag  on  September 28, 2018

    Cocoa jerk chicken

  • Ishtar  on  October 2, 2018

    Cocoa jerk chicken

  • leilx  on  October 2, 2018

    Black sesame and cocoa bib toffee

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