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Summary: Tons of Recipes: A Great COOK BOOK
Review: This book may not have pictures (aside from the ones on the front and back cover (which make my mouth water), and it may not include the history of ice cream, nor a scientific explaination of the bond between sugar and fat, but what it does offer is exactly what I was looking for in an ice cream cook book. Recipes for more kinds of ice cream than I could ever imagine. Every recipe I've tried has worked, even the oatmeal ice cream. My kids ask for it for breakfast. I would have to say this book is a must for anyone looking for a huge collection of ice cream recipes from A to Z. Plus they're all alphabetized so the recipes are easy to find. And don't forget the sorbets, I made the chocolate and banana sorbets and they were fabulous. Keep this one in your kitchen at all times.
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Summary: I LOVE this book!
Review: This is a great ice cream book. Personally, I really like the way it has off-beat flavors like corn ice cream (comes with a recipe for sweet corncake), red bean (a good ice cream, by the way), plum, fig, etc. Plus, it has all the regulars like banana, strawberry, etc. Each recipe has a list of variations at the end, too, which expands your repetoire a lot. Also, the author includes Philadelphia-style ice cream (those made without eggs) and custard-style ice cream (which he says are much better, but more complicated). I highly recommend this book, particularly if you are looking for some funky ice cream recipes!
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Summary: Yum
Review: This is a must have book for anyone with an ice cream maker. The variations listed for each recipe are very helpful. Some of the tips on whether to use fresh, canned or frozen are also very helpful and might be something that isn't always intuitively obvious. Everytime I put this book back on the bookcase I find it laying on the coffee table or kitchen counter because my fiance is planning the next batch!
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Summary: Tons of Recipes, But a Poor Cookbook
Review: This is a recipe book that reads like your mother's recipe cards: lists of ingredients and how to combine them, but nothing about the technique or the science of what you're trying to make. You couldn't find a better book of recipies for ice cream. But if you want to know the whys and hows of ice cream making, this is a poor excuse for a cookbook.Recipies, recipies, recipies!--not only for chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, but for corn, avocado, and oatmeal--this is certainly the right book for those looking for variety. Weinstein has done a fabulous job in assembling old-fashioned favorites as well as nouvelle experiments. His inventiveness of new flavors is as delightful as the astonishing accuracy with which he recreates ice cream parlour favorites. The problem I have with the book is that it's extremely lacking in every other aspect you expect from a good cookbook. Weinstein never discusses the cooking and prep technique he presents. You'd think ice cream was impossible without a food processor, which he calls for in almost every recipe (but you can easily make these recipies without it). He never mentions why I must boil the milk and later strain the mixture (You don't really, unless you're using unpasturized milk). And why must I refrigerate the ice cream before putting it in the ice cream maker? (Okay, maybe that's not so mysterious.) I also became suspicious when I found a recipe for choloclate ice cream (there are many) that calls for cocoa but never for salt. (Salt almost always improves the taste of cocoa and would have the added benefit of lowering the freezing point of your confection, helping it not to freeze solid if you cure it in the freezer.) Finally, dispite the impressive quantity of recipes, you won't find a single one for gelato. In fact, Weinstein implies in his introduction that ice cream and gelato are basically the same. While it's true they are both custards, gelato never contains cream, so the taste and texture is entirely different. But perhaps that's a fair omission in a book on ice cream. The book seems to be written for people who want to make a fine frozen custard, but who would never make such a thing if they knew it was called that. Just do what the book says and no one will get hurt. You won't really learn anything about what you're cooking, but you won't embarrass yourself either.
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Summary: Uncluttered Masterpiece on Frozen Treats
Review: This is so well organzied and done, with its clean, uncluttered page layout design and basic recipe, followed by many options, e.g. Rum Rasin, then options of adding crushed biscotti, etc. I've tried several already and the Rum Rasin and the Plum Variations with plum wine, nuts, etc. were out of this world good and easy to follow the instructions. This cookbook will aid in those months when we're looking to cure that sweet tooth and for that dessert addition to top off a great menu.
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Summary: Simple to Sublime
Review: This is the recipe book that will get you thinking "outside the box". It shows how simply the basic combination of ingredients for plain ice cream can be amended to suit any taste. Recipes are written for quart size makers (like Cuisinart, Donvier, etc.) and is a great place to start for making delicious ice creams, from vanilla to more exotic flavors which encourage experimentation. Not loaded with photos or illustrations, but excellent recipes, and lots of them!
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Summary: Mmmmm!
Review: This is thee book to have for anyone who loves making ice cream! The recipes and variations are easy to follow and the results will please your tastebuds and expand your wardrobe bite after delicious bite.
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Summary: Icy delight
Review: Very few commercial ice creams can stand up to homemade. Oh, I know. I have my commercial favorites too. When you make your own, however, you're in control of everything. Too sweet? Cut down the sugar a little. Too rich? Substitute half and half or milk for some of the cream. You want a flavor that doesn't come in the stores? Then it's time to bite the bullet and make your own.
You'll find details on ice cream machines in this book, as well as the differences between (and pros and cons of) ice cream made with and without eggs, details on flavoring ice creams, and tips for making "mix-ins" (cookies, crackers, etc.) that'll stay crunchy longer. You'll even find three recipes for ice cream cones in here! This cookbook packs a lot of punch into a surprisingly small amount of space. Let's use Pumpkin Ice Cream as an example. Below it you have four variations listed: Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, Pumpkin Raisin Ice Cream, Pumpkin Rum Ice Cream, and Pumpkin Seed Ice Cream. Mr. Weinstein could have done this a number of ways. He could have printed up a new recipe for each variation. He could have left them out entirely. Or he could have put the traditional paragraph of "oh, and you could try adding this, and this, or this." In the first case you pay more for a cookbook that could have been smaller. In the middle case, we would have been bereft of many extra fantastic recipes. In the last case, when we sat down to pick a recipe and make out our grocery list, we would have failed to read the last paragraph, and we'd eternally find ourselves saying "Oh, next time," without ever making the variations. So this is PERFECT. I wish more cookbooks did this. The variations are 1-3 sentence quick directions, but easy to pick out and implement. They're also listed as individual recipes in the index, so you won't have trouble finding them if you lose them.
You'll find a fantastic array of flavors. Apple Butter Ice Cream, for instance. Avocado Ice Cream, with a Gazpacho recipe to accompany it--I guess you can eat ice cream for dinner! The Banana Ice Cream and the Banana Ice Cream Philadelphia Style (no eggs) come with a stunning array of variations. When Mr. Weinstein suggests Bubble Gum Ice Cream, he even provides the toll-free number of a company that sells bubble gum flavoring! Now that's service for you. The book also includes sorbets, granitas, toppings, and ice cream drinks. In all, this is the best ice cream book I've ever laid my hands on, and we have at least four such cookbooks. Mr. Weinstein has created a true treasure of ice cream creation, and deserves no less than a full five stars for his glorious work.
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Summary: excellent book of recipes for frozen treats
Review: We bought this book along with several others when we got our Cuisinart ice cream maker a couple of years ago, and this is the book we turn to most frequently. Results are consistently good and ideas in the book are creative and help you begin to make up your own recipes. There are recipes here for ice cream, sorbets and granitas, ice cream toppings, drinks like malts, shakes and sodas, and even a section on how to make your own cones! There are over 100 pages devoted to ice creams, each taking one or two pages for the basic recipe and a number of variants; for example, the peach ice cream entry also contains recipes for peach ginger, peach macaroon, peach melba and peach thyme ice cream. I have tried over twenty of these recipes and have been very happy with them all. Great resource to go with your small ice cream maker.
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Summary: The Ultimate Ice Cream Book
Review: We have just returned from Europe where the ice cream is made with "real" ingredients. What a taste sensation. After reviewing this book which has easy to follow directions and recipes which are as plain or as exotic as can be, I can't wait for my ice cream maker to arrive. I have even purchased the extra bowls for the maker so I can be ready to begin making my own family favorites such as Green Tea Ice Cream and Creme Brulee Ice Cream. Today I am going to try out one of the cone recipes so I can impress our future dinner guests. My mouth is watering just thinking about all the recipes I have just seen.
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