dICEd Blog Listing

Growing up, Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez and his family would take a perennial summer pilgrimage to Catalina Island, about 20 miles off the Southern California coast. “Dead...

An aromatic putty made from almond paste, confectioners sugar and corn syrup was divided and dyed into different colors. By combining the colorful pastes, shaping them with carving tools, and adding...

Get in the spirit of the season with this chocolate recipe, perfect for a family-friendly weekend activity or Halloween party dessert. Chef Tracy makes hers a little more mystical by brushing gold...

All of our best holidays are celebrated with abundance, and the candy focused ones are no exception. We can’t imagine that we’ll ever get tired of these indulgent treats, but soon, the idea of one...

Long before I attended culinary school, I attempted to make homemade marshmallows. Unsurprisingly, my first go was a sticky mess — my marshmallows fell flat. Flash forward a few years later to...

Tréand believes that anyone can create their own work of art if they put in the time. “Sugar work is not only for chefs, says Tréand. “It's for everybody. Hopefully I can fill up the class with...

For those of you who haven’t heard of calissons, they’re a traditional almond candy that can be found in sweets shops throughout Provence, France. Chef Kathryn adds her personal, summery touch by...

Where does brittle come from? Brittle is a Southern treat that is enjoyed mostly around the holiday season. Though it’s not exactly clear when the first brittle was created, one legend says that a...

If you’re the average marshmallow consumer and not a food historian, that can be hard to believe. The commercially made and mass-produced treats that seem to have a never-ending shelf life feel like a...

The use of sugar sculptures as a form of creative expression and political dialogue ages back many centuries. Sidney Mintz, in Sweetness and Power, describes the medieval fashioning of sugar, called...

What inspired your interest in candy? I grew up in a suburb of Chicago, which was—and still is—a real candy and chocolate mecca. I also lived briefly in L.A., where I became very aware of See’s Candy...

With the possible exception of salt, the instinctual desire for sweetness—more than any other taste—is surely hardwired somewhere deep within our DNA. From the moment of birth, we seek our nourishment...