A Book With Sweet Flavour

May 29th 2020

Instituto Crandon has published a new book: Tentaciones. As the other recipe books from Crandon (Manual de Cocina, Carnes and Panes), the new one inherits a long history of cooking that started 104 years ago.

Tentaciones is a book entirely dedicated to patisserie that shares flavours and techniques from different parts of the world. It has more than 120 recipes and also teaches how to follow the procedures, the measurement equivalents, the ingredients and the terms used in patisserie.  The team in charge of the book chose a selection of the French big cakes (gâteaux), the classic, the modern and the easiest desserts to accompany all the occasions. All the recipes are written according to Crandon´s method —which is easy and very well known in Uruguay—  and are displayed with tempting design and photographs.

The book is full of chocolates, fruits, creams, sauces, sponge cakes, and pastries. It has 200 pages: The introduction, seven chapters, and indexes at the end. All the recipes of Tentaciones were extensively tested at Crandon´s laboratories and all of them —from the easiest to the most complex— can be prepared at home with ingredients that are easily available in Uruguay. 

Tentaciones is the latest book of Instituto Crandon that continues the cooking tradition which dates back to 1916 with the first Home Economics classes. The teachers in charge were North American Methodist missionaries who were also responsible for a social community programme. They had the purpose and the desire of being part of  Uruguayan households, so they collected recipes to teach how to cook, and the first Manual de Cocina was published in 1957. The book became famous and has been a long-seller because it shows the basic techniques with clarity and conciseness. Several cooking teachers worked on the following editions of the Manual which has intertwined the cooking tendencies with the history of Uruguay. In 2009 a new collection was born with Carnes, a book that gathered meat dishes, and in 2016 Panes appeared with savoury and sweet breads. Four years later Tentaciones answers the enquiries of the public with a gallery of didactic recipes.

The book was launched in mid-May during the COVID-19 pandemic. The social media accounts of the publishing house, bookshops, and Crandon Gastronómico have been flooded with messages. People all over the country have shown interest  in the new book, which promises to be part of both celebrations and common day meals with tasty recipes full of sweetness.