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Summary: A Very Cool Book
Review: I bought an ice cream maker at Williams-Sonoma this summer and the store clerk suggested I buy this book to go with it. I wanted to get the most out of my machine so I bought it, and I've been cooking my way from one end to the other ever since. I've never seen so many classic ice cream recipes along with so many unusual ones. And they all work. The chocolate truffle ice cream is dark and rich. The green tea ice cre am is light and subtle. And the oatmeal ice cream is my favorite new breakfast. If you want an ice cream cook book that has it all, you just found it. Buy this book today.
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Summary: The Ice Cream Book to Get
Review: I bought my first ice cream maker last year along with The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. All the recipes have turned out wonderfully. My friends especially love the strawberry ice cream made with strawberry jam. It is so creamy! My husband was blown away with the peanut butter recipe. I served this with a chocolate sauce and he was in peanut butter heaven. This is a most comprehensive book for ice cream making.
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Summary: Very nice compendium
Review: I bought this ice cream book along with 2 others -- Ben and Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book and Gelato by Pamela Sheldon Johns. As a beginner, this book easily comes up tops. The range of recipes is simply staggering (over 500) and they range from the most basic (plain vanilla, chocolate) to very adventurous (nutmeg, lavender, cheese cake). In short, there's something for everybody here. One thing to note is that there are no photos in this book -- all the space is taken up by what ultimately counts -- ie page after page of wonderful recipes. I didn't mind this one bit -- afterall, how different can ice creams look anyway (besides color and garnishing??) The instructions are simple and straight-forward and the author makes only small and understandable assumptions with regards to ingredients. He speaks of heavy cream, half-and-half (items which are all too common in the West but may not be entirely familiar in smaller countries or cities. Incidentally, I come from a place where those terms did not immediately ring a bell, haha... Heavy cream = 36% fat content, half-and-half ~ 18% fat content, I found out separately). The best thing about this book is that at the end of each recipe, the author suggests up to 5 or 6 variations, e.g. cherry chocolate swirl, etc. There's just an endless permutation to the things you can try on your own. One more distinction is the author's decision to only include recipes that require cooking as far as eggs are concerned (custard-based ice creams). Yes, I wholly agree with this because using contaminated raw eggs for ice cream can be disastrous, and besides uncooked eggs don't keep well. This book is a must-have for dessert enthusiasts and if you live in a city that doesn't have all the cool ingredients readily, don't fret... there are TONNES of other simpler recipes that you can try -- and the results are still as glorious. Good luck!
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Summary: Comparatively speaking, this is the best
Review: I did not technically buy, but rather checked this book out of the library along with 4 other ice cream books which all happen to be for sale here at Amazon. By far, the recipes in this book are the best. I'm not interested in reading useless trivia about the history of frozen desserts-- I just want great recipes THAT WORK and make me look like a great gourmet cook and that taste delicious. For that, this book delivers.
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Summary: The Ultimate Addictive Ice Cream Book
Review: I don't usually share my thoughts about cookbooks that I buy, but I have to say that this book is truly addictive. When I first started making the ice creams in the book I stuck to the recipes that didn't require eggs. The author calls them Philadelphia style, but my family calls them delicious. All the ingredients called for are fresh. Fresh berries, fresh peaches, fresh cream. I like it that the strawberry ice cream requires so few ingredients. But my husband grew up eating frozen custard so I decided to try a few of the recipes that required a little more cooking. Beat the eggs, add the sugar, beat in some flour or cornstarch to help thicken the custard, heat the milk - it scared me at first, I'm not a great cook. But I did it. The custard was rich and smooth. Then came the fresh fruit. We're totally addicted. And it's nice knowing that there's nothing artificial going into our ice cream and frozen custards. I also like the fact that all the eggs we eat are being cooked first. After reading a few of the reviews here, I decided to try an experiment. So many people said they were staying away from the odd flavors, so I made some - sweet potato and green tea. We're hooked. They're so good. Someone else said you shouldn't add flour to ice. I made the mint ice cream recipe from this book without adding the cornstarch as the recipe called for. The ice cream was icy, grainy is what my husband called it. So I made it again just as the recipe required and it was perfect and has become an instant staple in our freezer.
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Summary: Put that ice cream maker to work
Review: I have had an ice cream maker sitting on the shelf unused for about 10 years. I saw it and became "motivated" to use it. Actually, it was more like, "you never use this thing and I am going to put it in the garage sale". I bought this wonderful book for inspiration and I've been "inspired" about 3 pounds worth already. Time to switch to sorbets. The recipies are so easy and so good. The recipies all have variations, to dress up or change the formula and make it something different. The key lime becomes key lime pie with a simple addition. Wide range of choices from several versions of vanilla to the exotic. I bought a copy for a friend and gave it to her with a maker as a wedding present. She has made ice cream 5 times a week the last three weeks! Great ideas and it can also serve the more experienced cook as a jumping off point.
Thrifty, too. I used scraps from freezing fruit, followed the basic formula, and I'll bet my apricot sorbet can beat anything made by a commercial source. I even used it with my diet drink powder and made S--m F--t into an ice cream treat. You can control what goes into your product. Great for diabetics or other restricted diets. You can do non-dairy if you're lactose intolerant. Fun for kids, too. Let them help you invent variations. This book is a must-have for anybody who wants to make ice cream.
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Summary: Diverse array of recipes - something for everyone!
Review: I just got my new ice cream maker and I purchased this book and the book "Gelato!" to get started. I found this book to be my favorite of the two. It is fairly straightforward and no-frills, and it's not the type of book to sit and read in an armchair ("Gelato!" is that type of book, with a history of Gelato making and rich text and accompanying photos). But this book has several recipes (rich to not-as-rich) for the basic flavors, and offers several variations on most of the recipes (such as grapefruit-kiwi sorbet after the main recipe for grapefruit sorbet). Most of the recipes appear to be very easy to follow. If there is a complicated recipe, it's good bet he offers a simpler one for the same flavor, with a clear description of what the differences in your final product are likely to be. I haven't used my machine that much yet, but I have found the recipes I have tried from this book to be easy to make, with delicious results. It doesn't offer gelato recipes, but has many many ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt recipes. I think it will be a very useful companion to anyone's ice cream making at home.
Rating:
Summary: Diverse array of recipes - something for everyone!
Review: I just got my new ice cream maker and I purchased this book and the book "Gelato!" to get started. I found this book to be my favorite of the two. It is fairly straightforward and no-frills, and it's not the type of book to sit and read in an armchair ("Gelato!" is that type of book, with a history of Gelato making and rich text and accompanying photos). But this book has several recipes (rich to not-as-rich) for the basic flavors, and offers several variations on most of the recipes (such as grapefruit-kiwi sorbet after the main recipe for grapefruit sorbet). Most of the recipes appear to be very easy to follow. If there is a complicated recipe, it's good bet he offers a simpler one for the same flavor, with a clear description of what the differences in your final product are likely to be. I haven't used my machine that much yet, but I have found the recipes I have tried from this book to be easy to make, with delicious results. It doesn't offer gelato recipes, but has many many ice cream, sorbet and frozen yogurt recipes. I think it will be a very useful companion to anyone's ice cream making at home.
Rating:
Summary: still the best ice cream book ev er
Review: I own this book and Ben and Jerry's and I like them both. However, this one is my favorite because it is more comprehensive. It is also nicely organized by recipe. Many flavors will have recipe variations listed below the main recipe. The Ben and Jerry's book is quite old and only has a few of their popular flavors which are listed under generic names and not the names sold in stores. If I did it over again, I would save some money and only get this book.
Rating:
Summary: Great variety of recipes
Review: I own this book and Ben and Jerry's and I like them both. However, this one is my favorite because it is more comprehensive. It is also nicely organized by recipe. Many flavors will have recipe variations listed below the main recipe. The Ben and Jerry's book is quite old and only has a few of their popular flavors which are listed under generic names and not the names sold in stores. If I did it over again, I would save some money and only get this book.
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