Pure Dessert [electronic resource].

ISBN:

9781579656850

Title:

Author:

Medrich, Alice.

Personal Author:

Medrich, Alice.

Publication Information:

New York : Artisan, 2015.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (272 p.)

General Note:

Description based upon print version of record.

Contents:

Cover; Title Page; Also by Alice Medrich; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; In Pursuit of Pleasure; Before You Start; A Light Switched On: Pursuing Flavor; The Flavors of Milk; Why Bother?; The Flavors of Grain, Nuts, and Seeds; Experimenting with Unknown: Cookies 2.0; The Flavors of Fruit; The Flavors of Chocolate; Pure and Simple Chocolate; The Flavors of Honey and Sugar; Tasting Sugar; The Flavors of Herbs and Spices, Flowers and Leaves; Tips on Ice Cream Making; The Flavors of Wine, Beer, and Spirits; Resources; Acknowledgments; Index

Subject Term:

Desserts.

Format:

Electronic Resources

Electronic Access:

Click here to view book

Publication Date:

2015

Publication Information:

New York : Artisan, 2015.

Available:*

Shelf Number	Material Type	Copy	Shelf Location	Status
641.86	1:E-BOOK	1	1:ON-DEMAND	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

A refreshing change in every respect

When you are working with great ingredients, you want to keep it simple. You don't want to blur flavor by overcomplicating. This is why Pure Dessert , from the beloved Alice Medrich, offers the simplest of recipes, using the fewest ingredients in the most interesting ways. There are no glazes, fillings, or frostings--just dessert at its purest, most elemental, and most flavorful.

Alice deftly takes us places we haven't been, using, for example, whole grains, usually reserved for breads, to bring a lovely nutty quality to cookies and strawberry shortcake. Pound cake takes on a new identity with a touch of olive oil and sherry. Unexpected cheeses make divine soufflés. Chestnut flour and walnuts virtually transform meringue. Varietal honeys and raw sugars infuse ice creams and sherbets with delectable new flavor.

Inspired choices of ingredients are at the heart of this collection of entirely new recipes: sesame brittle ice cream, corn-flour tuiles with tangy sea salt and a warming bite of black pepper, honey caramels, strawberries with single-malt sabayon.

To witness Alice's idea-stream as she describes how she arrived at each combination is to instantly understand why three of her books have won Best Cookbook of the Year. She's an experimenter, tinkerer, and sleuth, fascinated with trial and error, with the effects of small changes in recipes, exploring combinations tirelessly and making remarkable discoveries. Does cold cream or hot cream do a better job coaxing out the flavor of mint leaves or rose petals? Why is it that dusting a warm brownie with spices gives it an enticing aromatic nose, whereas putting the spice in the batter blurs the chocolate flavor? Do cooked strawberries or raw make for the better sorbet?

Loaded with advice and novel suggestions, with great recipes and eye-catching, full-color photographs that show off these simple, straightforward desserts, Pure Dessert is an education and a revelation. Thank you, Alice!

Author Notes

Alice Medrich has won more cookbook‑of‑the‑year awards and best in the dessert and baking category awards than any other author. She received her formal training at the prestigious École Lenôtre in France and is credited with popularizing chocolate truffles in the United States when she began making and selling them at her influential Berkeley dessert shop, Cocolat. She has devoted much of her career to teaching and sharing her expansive knowledge about baking. Find her on Instagram and Twitter @alicemedrich.

Reviews (1)

Publisher's Weekly Review

If vanilla is your idea of plain, Medrich will revolutionize your thinking. In her vocabulary, vanilla is a flavor; she distinguishes among the nuances of Bourbon, Mexican, and Tahitian extracts, powders, and beans. Plain means tasting the milk, butter, flour or fresh cheese that defines a cake or custard. She describes 10 different sugars, from "neutral" granulated white to slightly "smoky" dark brown piloncillo. Her three previous cookbooks (including BitterSweet) won awards from the International Association of Culinary Professionals, and her new book is sure to attract the new generation of cooks devoted to elaborate simplicity. Readers should be aware, however, that the brevity of ingredient lists may mislead; some gardens and markets may lack such nonfungible items as lemon verbena, chestnut flour and muscovado sugar. But all will welcome the ultimate summer pudding recipe-berries, bread, sugar, whipped cream-and the liberating range of frozen desserts. (Sept.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

Excerpts

In pursuit of pleasure Faced with an overly sweet, complicated dessert or one made with mundane ingredients, I sometimes long instead for a bowl of good plain yogurt drizzled with honey and sprinkled with walnuts or pistachios, a piece of bittersweet chocolate, or some ripe figs. I havent given up dessert, but when I eat it, I want it to taste as good as that bowl of yogurt or piece of chocolate. I want the soul satisfaction and the sensual pleasure of real flavors. The best chefs cook savory food simply, with the best ingredients. Thats how I like to eat. Why dont we make more desserts that way? The dessert repertoire needs an infusion of new and better ingredients and new approaches to working with them. High-quality ingredients of all sorts are available now. Fresh, delicate cheeses (cow, goat, and sheep) can redefine cheesecake. Interesting grains should not be reserved for heavy loaves and health food: their toasty, nutty flavors can bring nuance and depth to indulgent buttery cookies, delicate wafers, and moist, tender cakes. Organic yogurts, milks, and creams can transform ice creams and sherbets. Great chocolates and cocoas can elevate simple desserts, as will flavors captured from fresh flowers and herbs, coffee beans, and tea leaves. Pure Dessert is a collection of simple, ingredient-driven recipes for cakes, cookies, tarts, ice creams, and other desserts, made from fresh, artisanal, organic, natural, or otherwise distinguished real ingredients. Such ingredients are increasingly abundant in better supermarkets as well as in the obvious places: farmers markets, cheese shops, gourmet and natural food shops online, and a growing number of urban and suburban gardens. Authentic ingredients are important because they taste good. Simple recipes are essential because they allow us to savor that goodness. The emphasis on flavor means desserts that are often (but not always) less sweet and/or less rich than mainstream desserts. If they are less sweet and rich, it is primarily in pursuit of pleasure. Incidental health benefits are just bonuses. My pure desserts are simple, relaxed, convenient, and elegant. These accessible, home-kitchenfriendly recipes include tips to ensure success and notes that reveal the method to my madness. Pure desserts are for busy people who love food and care about what they eat, for people who are curious and open to new tastes, and for those who appreciate the details that make the difference between a good dessert and a great one. Pure desserts can stand alone or be mixed and matched for special occasions. Sour Cream Ice Cream, Tropical Lace Cookies, and strawberries is worthy of a dinner party, but each component is delicious on its own. Pure dessert recipes are brief and inviting, and they welcome improvisation. The media proclaim the message: organic, natural, local, slow, hand-crafted, and authentic. So what more could we ask for? Here are recipes and techniques that are simple, and as easy Excerpted from Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.