The administration, faculty, staff, and students of The Culinary Institute of America all touched and influenced this book. I thank the administration for agreeing to join me in producing what I hope will be an important textbook, professional reference work, and contribution to the field of confectionery. My friend Tom Gumpel deserves special credit for providing me with the impetus to begin work on this book. Without his encouragement, I would never have undertaken the project. Were it not for the ongoing support of Dean Thomas Vaccaro, completing the second edition would have been considerably more arduous.