Disclosure / Disclaimer: I received this ebook, free of charge,from Ingram Publishing, via Edelweiss, for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it, all opinions are my own.
Well since, it IS CANDY season, it only makes sense to talk about....
CHOCOLATE!
And who knew, it's history was tied into religiion?
Now you CAN with this book!
A Delicious Adventure Connecting Jews, Religions, History, Travel,
Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao
Rituals and Recipes to the Magic of Cacao
Synopsis:
Take a delectable journey through the religious history of chocolate—a real treat!
In this new and updated second edition, explore the surprising Jewish and other religious connections to chocolate in this gastronomic and historical adventure through cultures, countries, centuries and convictions. Rabbi Deborah Prinz draws from her world travels on the trail of chocolate to enchant chocolate lovers of all backgrounds as she unravels religious connections in the early chocolate trade and shows how Jewish and other religious values infuse chocolate today.
With mouth-watering recipes, a glossary of chocolaty terms, tips for buying luscious, ethically produced chocolate, a list of sweet chocolate museums around the world and more, this book unwraps tasty facts such as:
-Some people—including French (Bayonne) chocolate makers—believe that Jews brought chocolate making to France.
- the bishop of Chiapas, Mexico, was poisoned because he prohibited local women from drinking chocolate during Mass.
- Although Quakers do not observe Easter, it was a Quaker-owned chocolate company—Fry's—that claimed to have created the first chocolate Easter egg in the United Kingdom.
- A born-again Christian businessman in the Midwest marketed his caramel chocolate bar as a "Noshie," after the Yiddish word for "snack."
- Chocolate Chanukah gelt may have developed from St. Nicholas customs.
- The Mayan “Book of Counsel” taught that gods created humans from chocolate and maize.
Review
This was a really interesting book. It is the 2nd, updated edition, but I had never read the first. It is really more of a history book, with recipes included. While we all know chocolcae starts with the cacao bean from a tree that only grows 20 degrees each way from the equator, and thus was originally one of the treasures of the Maya. But how it came to be all over Eurpose and the upper Americas, you might not know about. And that is where this book really shiens. The author does a great job in showing how a small mention in a Chocolatier's brochure, lead her on a fact finding mission, to discover how Jews exiled from Spain may have brought the love of all things chocolate, but mostly of hot chocolate, to the French court, and how it spread from there via some unlikely sources, like the Quakers. I found it quite interesting to read that the first 'coffee shop' in England actually never served coffee, but hot chocolate, and yes, it was foudned by a converso-Jew. And thento find out that all our early presidents had quite the hanering for it, and how it played a part in the Revolution, as the former British citizens no longer served tea, but hot chocolate to guests!
This is a really interesting book, bnot just for those of the Jewish faith, but for anyone who loves chocolate, and loves history! The author really delves into what was going on politically, and with its religious implications, to show shoe something as simple as trade could lead to the import not only of chocolate, but those who made it, and the developement of newreligious centers, far from their original homes. Be sure to add this book to your Christmas gift list for all those foodies, and history lovers, that you don't know what to buy for! It's an amazing book, and you might want a copy for yourself too!
This was a really interesting book. It is the 2nd, updated edition, but I had never read the first. It is really more of a history book, with recipes included. While we all know chocolcae starts with the cacao bean from a tree that only grows 20 degrees each way from the equator, and thus was originally one of the treasures of the Maya. But how it came to be all over Eurpose and the upper Americas, you might not know about. And that is where this book really shiens. The author does a great job in showing how a small mention in a Chocolatier's brochure, lead her on a fact finding mission, to discover how Jews exiled from Spain may have brought the love of all things chocolate, but mostly of hot chocolate, to the French court, and how it spread from there via some unlikely sources, like the Quakers. I found it quite interesting to read that the first 'coffee shop' in England actually never served coffee, but hot chocolate, and yes, it was foudned by a converso-Jew. And thento find out that all our early presidents had quite the hanering for it, and how it played a part in the Revolution, as the former British citizens no longer served tea, but hot chocolate to guests!
This is a really interesting book, bnot just for those of the Jewish faith, but for anyone who loves chocolate, and loves history! The author really delves into what was going on politically, and with its religious implications, to show shoe something as simple as trade could lead to the import not only of chocolate, but those who made it, and the developement of newreligious centers, far from their original homes. Be sure to add this book to your Christmas gift list for all those foodies, and history lovers, that you don't know what to buy for! It's an amazing book, and you might want a copy for yourself too!
Recipe:
Here's an intesting recipe from WWI, when supplies were rationed, yet it makes a declicius cake, and it's perfect for when you may need a last minute cake, and have no time to run and get eggs! I've had it with cake flour and almond flour, and the cake flour gives you a cake like you know, whereas the almond flour is a bit denser, but has more flavor!
About the Author:
Rabbi Deborah R. Prinz lectures about chocolate and religions around the world. A regular contributor to the Huffington Post, the Daily Forward, and elsewhere on the topic of chocolate, she has presented in five countries at chocolate festivals, libraries, museums, culinary events, and congregations. She co-curates Jews on the Chocolate Trail, a traveling exhibit created for the Herbert and Eileen Bernard Museum of Temple Emanu-El, New York City, on display October 2017-February 2018.
Also, she created the blog On the Chocolate Trail (visit www.onthechocolatetrail.org). Prinz received a Starkoff Fellowship and a Director's Fellowship from the American Jewish Archives as well as a Gilder Lehrman Fellowship from the Rockefeller Library to research On the Chocolate Trail. Rabbi Prinz is available to speak to your group or at your event. For more information, please contact her at onthechocolatetrail.org.
Also, she created the blog On the Chocolate Trail (visit www.onthechocolatetrail.org). Prinz received a Starkoff Fellowship and a Director's Fellowship from the American Jewish Archives as well as a Gilder Lehrman Fellowship from the Rockefeller Library to research On the Chocolate Trail. Rabbi Prinz is available to speak to your group or at your event. For more information, please contact her at onthechocolatetrail.org.
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