New book tempts chocolate lovers
By Beverly J. Lydick/Tribune Staff
With a botanical name that translates to "food of the gods," it's not as though chocolate (a.ka. Theobroma cacao) needs help in winning over consumers.
But to make the decision easier to dive headlong into a box of bonbons, former Fremonter and author Barbara Albright has written a new book called "1,001 Reasons to Love Chocolate."
The 317-page volume, co-authored by Mary Tiegreen, is loaded with vintage, black and white photographs as well as glossy, full-color shots guaranteed to make the mouth water — when the reader isn't laughing at the text.
Take, for example, the 258th justification to love chocolate — "As a reward for having your teeth cleaned."
Or No. 447 — "It melts in your hand, so you have some left for later."
Or No. 263 — "Having chocolate doesn't keep your neighbors awake."
Or No. 984 — "In the beginning, the Lord created chocolate, and he saw that it was good. Then he separated the light from the dark, and it was better."
In a telephone interview Wednesday with the Fremont Tribune, Albright, now a food writer, cookbook author and knitting and craft designer living in Connecticut, recalled her experiences selling chocolate while employed at Miller Pharmacy North as a teen.
Russell Stover chocolates were the candy of choice and Albright and fellow employee Virgil Ipson informally tracked the numbers of customers who chose light or dark chocolates as their favorite.
A 1973 Fremont High School alum, Albright graduated with a degree in food nutrition from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1977. While at UNL, she complied her first culinary collection, the
Chi Omega Mother-Daughter Cookbook.
Was it a best seller?
"It was — with the
Chi Omegas," she says.
Her latest effort should reach an even bigger audience.
According to "1,001 Reasons," 52 percent of American men and women choose chocolate as their favorite flavor for desserts and sweet snacks, and chocolate is the No. 1 food craved by women.
It's a favorite ingredient in the culinary world, too.
"Chocolate is really versatile," said Albright, former editor-in-chief of Chocolatier magazine. "You can use it in candy, puddings, cookies, cakes. It's amazing."
To compile all those excuses to enjoy chocolate, Albright e-mailed her friends for their input. Most contributors remain anonymous except for celebrities like author Judith Viorst who says, "Strength is the capacity to break a chocolate bar into four pieces with your bare hands — and then eat just one of the pieces."
As for her own personal favorites, Albright named chocolates by Valrhona of France, and Lindt, a Europe-wide chocolatier which originated in Switzerland, as the best of the best.
"But it's really whatever appeals to me at the time," she said. "Sometimes, M&Ms are the only chocolate that will do."
"1,001 Reasons to Love Chocolate" is available through
http://www.amazon.com .
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