Book Review: How to Make Ice Cream: 51 Recipes for Classic and Contemporary Flavors

One of the best ways to beat the scorching heat during summer is by indulging in a scoop or two of your favorite ice cream.  Ice cream can be served in a variety of ways such as with a cone, with brownies, or served as a banana split. It is also widely available in grocery stores or supermarkets, restaurants, as well as from an ice cream truck. But homemade ice cream is still far better than any of them.

With homemade ice cream, you can customize the flavors and choose the ingredients you like. Most importantly, you know what is in your ice cream because you personally put the ingredients yourself. You can make a slightly healthier version with less sugar and more fruits.

Making homemade ice cream allows you to be able to tweak this dessert according to your personal preference. It also assures you that you get quality ice cream each time. But if you are thinking that making ice cream is hard, fear not, because the recipe book, How to Make Ice Cream: 51 Recipes for Classic and Contemporary Flavors, will thoroughly guide you through the whole process of making ice cream. Even if you do not want to use an ice cream maker, or you do not have one, you can still create homemade ice cream right in your kitchen. This book provides instructions on how you can make one without an ice cream maker.

The author, Nicole Weston, is a LA based chef with specialties including pastries and chocolate.  She has authored other books including Perfectly Creamy Frozen Yogurt and Making Vegan Frozen Treats. She also has a blog, Baking Bites, that was recognized by the London Times as one of the best 50 food blogs.

The book starts with providing a guide to choosing an ice cream maker. It then explains the basics of how an ice cream is made and all its process.  The recipe book also differentiates the two types of ice cream. One is the French style ice cream which has eggs and is rich and creamy with very thick consistency. While the other is the American or Philadelphia style ice cream that does not use eggs. This one is lighter, has a stronger dairy flavor and is fluid in consistency. Both styles are equally good and this book will help you in pairing ingredients that will work well in each style.  To learn more about the ins and outs of making ice cream definitely check out How to Make Ice Cream: 51 Recipes for Classic and Contemporary Flavors.

Recipes using a variety of ingredients for ice cream are also provided in the book. You can find one for dark chocolate, almond chip, chocolate chip, mocha, strawberry and even fresh ginger. They are also categorized as gourmet, holiday, sugar and spice, fruit and nut, as well as vanilla, chocolate, and coffee. It also offers a lot of non-churn variety with a full section exclusive to non-churn ice cream recipes. The selection of recipes in this book are incredible and all are very easy to perform.

This how to make ice cream recipe book is simple and straightforward with illustrations of materials and techniques included. Ice cream recipes are also indexed for easy reference. They are laid out carefully with a different font for ingredients and instructions in small block paragraph form. With this, following the step by step direction is easier.

With over 50 recipes that are easy to make, you will surely be able to make an ice cream from your own kitchen with this recipe book.