Another week, another cookbook review. Perfectly Simple Ice Cream is one I am so excited to make some recipes from, especially coming up on the hot season.
General Thoughts
Two former chefs from Chez Panisse, Alice Water's Berkeley restaurant authored Perfectly Simple Ice Cream. Chez Panisse is known for great ingredients and tasty foods. I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet, but I'm really hopeful I'll get to go on future trip to the Bay Area.
Overall, the recipes seem straight-forward to make, assuming you have an ice cream machine. It goes over the basic techniques for ice cream, sherbet, and frozen yogurt and then goes into very many flavor profiles. There's traditional flavors (Strawberry, Mint Chocolate Chip, etc). There's also some surprising recipes (rice, London Fog, Honey-Lavender, etc.), and even a section on boozy options (Apple Brandy, Late-Harvest Riesling, Rum-Raisin, etc.) It's a really great starting point for trying new recipes and flavor combinations. I'm really excited to try some of these, especially since we don't have a unique local shop like Molly Moon's near us in the Midwest!
Weeknight Cooking?
I wouldn't make ice cream for the first time on a weeknight after work. There's a pretty decent amount of skill in tempering the eggs and making the custard that I would want to be clear-headed and have time to work through the recipe. However, I think once I learned the skill and made a few batches, these recipes seem to be quick enough to make that it would be easy to make on a weeknight. Maybe 30-40 minutes to make the custard and then whatever chilling time you have on your ice cream machine.
Basics or Advanced?
This book goes through the basic techniques of ice cream making, so it's suitable for beginners. It might take some practice to make a great custard, but overall, definitely good for any levels. It's called Perfectly Simple Ice Cream for a reason!
Picture Quality
Pictures and drawings of the instructions are beautiful. In the techniques section, the drawings are good to explain what you need to do. In the rest of the book, it's pictures of ice cream sundaes, which is amazing. Definitely enough to help someone understand what they are doing.
Unique Tools and Ingredients?
So you definitely need an ice cream machine to make most of these recipes. There's a variety of prices that they recommend at the beginning of the book, so maybe not a huge investment, but it's a machine that is single use that will take up space. It might be right for you but not necessarily for everyone!
Ingredients are not very hard to find and most can be kept in the fridge for while before they go bad. For example, a basic ice cream only needs heavy cream, egg yolks, half-and-half, sugar and salt. Add some fresh fruits for flavors, but generally, the ingredients are very approachable and won't require a lot of effort to find. Perhaps some of the more unique flavors have harder to find ingredients, but for most of the book, you don't need anything very hard to find. Again, it's really called Perfectly Simple Ice Cream for a reason!
Recipes I've Cooked From Perfectly Simple Ice Cream
None yet. I'm borrowing my brother's ice cream maker to get started.
Recipes That I Have on my To-Make List From Perfectly Simple Ice Cream
London Fog. Honey Lavender. Rocky Road. Peanut Butter.
Overall, if you're looking for a good book on how to make ice cream and suggestions for flavors to try, I would highly recommend Perfectly Simple Ice Cream!
I received this book for free from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. While I haven't cooked from this book, I evaluated its usability, recipe structure, and overall appeal.
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