Sweet Treats around the World

November 15, 2014
This volume provides traditional recipes from more than 100 countries around the world. The first half of the book is an alphabetical listing of countries, with brief historical overviews of each, followed by a discussion of the sweets that country is known for. A bibliography is provided after each country's entry that lists books and websites with more information on the sweet foods common to the area. Scattered throughout the text are a few black-and-white captioned pictures of sweets. The second half of the book contains the actual recipes. Most of the countries have at least two recipes given. The recipes chosen are ones that do not have hard-to-find ingredients or complicated instructions. They are all converted, if necessary, from metric to standard U.S. measurements. In many cases, the recipes are from oral traditions, and the version of the recipe given has its source cited. There are no pictures of any of the dishes in the recipe section. Additional information and more recipes are listed as available on the authors' website. The back matter contains a selected bibliography with both print and nonprint materials listed, an index, and information about the authors. The introduction in the front of the book gives a history of sweets up to the current possibilities of edible 3-D printing. This is a thorough, one-volume source for information on sweets around the world. Unfortunately, the lack of photographs of the recipes may limit its usefulness to the general public. Since the authors limited the recipes to ones that were relatively easy to make and that contain accessible ingredients, it is difficult to judge whether these are the most traditional recipes for each country. However, public and college libraries with a demand for the subject may find it worthwhile.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)