The Perfect Scoop, Revised and Updated: 200 Recipes for Ice Creams, Sorbets, Gelatos, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments[A Cookbook]

This past spring/summer I got on a crazy canning kick--jams, peaches, sauces, etc. We live near one of the best ice cream shops in Los Angeles (don't worry, I'm getting to the point) where they serve "homemade" ice cream like "Guinness" ice cream, salted caramel, Rose Petal, lavender honey--ice creams made with real mint, rose petals, etc. So, back to being on a homemade everything kick, I decided it would be fun to get an ice cream maker for our anniversary so we could make homemade ice cream like our favorite local shop (and seriously, save $$ considering how much we spent there this summer). My first attempt was Lavender Honey Vanilla Bean ice cream (yes, I dove right in). Unfortunately, while the recipe had great ingredients, it didn't give me proper directions on making a custard, so, you guessed it, my custard curdled (which i didn't realize) and my ice cream turned out lumpy. It tasted good but the texture was so weird and unfortunately I just couldn't get past the weird texture to truly enjoy the flavor. Then I came across David's blog and his Chocolate Mint Ice Cream recipe which then led me to his book, The Perfect Scoop, and I felt like I hit gold. I was in heaven leafing through the book with my daughter drooling next to me over the beautiful photos. So far, every recipe I've tried has turned out fabulously. He goes into detail about the proper tools, equipment and step-by-step methods (including how to prevent curdled custard!!). I've made Chocolate Mint (his book only has Mint, but all you need to do is add the chocolate during the churning process) and Holy Cow!!! the best mint ice cream I've ever tasted and I'm a true mint chip connoisseur! Next came Lavender Honey (and I added Vanilla Bean just because) and oh my yumm-o! Pure decadence. Following was salted caramel. OK, this recipe isn't in his book, it's on his blog, but again, he gives step-by-steps to making caramel (which is in the book) and it's so darn easy and I nearly wanted to faint after eating the ice cream. He even has a Guinness recipe (you know what's next for me!). The book covers various inspirations surrounding the colder desserts: ice creams, sorbets and granitas. From the simplest chocolate or vanilla ice cream (with and without custard base) to complex, more labor-intensive combinations. He covers a variety of homemade topping/sauces/accompaniments, mix-ins, and methods of presentations (ex: ice cream cookies, truffles, sugar cups, etc.)--assuming you can keep yourself from eating them before you add the ice cream. I really enjoyed his little anecdotes before each recipe, usually detailing where the recipe came from or how it was inspired. He's a quippy writer and I didn't find any fluff, just straight forward, interesting and educational content. I can't wait to try every single one of the ice creams and although I'm not a huge sorbet or granites lover, the flavors he puts together will tempt me for something a bit healthier. This is a great book and you will definitely not be disappointed with the results. Seriously, you will impress your guests with these homemade ice desserts. While making ice cream isn't as easy as dumping ingredients into a machine (unless you have $1000) David's directions are so clear and concise that it feels almost effortless. Oh, and check out his blog for even more inspiration. And I promise, he's not paying me to write this, he doesn't need to.

I got this book based on what others on Amazon have said. They weren't kidding, this is really the only ice cream recipe cookbook you need. I will only write about ice cream as that's what I love and what I bought it for. This book also has recipes for sorbets, and granitas. For reference I own three other ice cream books: Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book , Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream , and Big Gay Ice Cream . All these are fine on their own. B&J's is a bit vanilla and has safe flavors, Molly's was too experimental, and Big Gay Ice Cream was okay. This book has all the prerequisite classics like chocolate, and vanilla; to modern favorites like cheesecake, or toasted coconut [see photos]; to some unconventional flavors and combinations like sweet potato, and orange-Szechwan pepper ice cream. I have a lot of pages bookmarked as I slowly make them one by one. One thing I really wished they had was more photos. The photos provided are few and compositionally-bland; they should've hired a better photographer to take more pictures of their delicious recipes. One of the "secrets" of making ice cream, and revealed in this book is: you should add a little bit of matching alcohol to all your ice creams. The reason for this is to help with the consistency of the ice cream—it won't make it too hard to scoop. Example: say you make cherry ice cream, you would add a teaspoon of cherry liqueur. If you have chocolate ice cream, you add a chocolate liqueur. The point is not to make it alcoholic, but to help with the creamy nature of home-made ice cream. That is one of many tips in this book. If you want to start making ice cream today, I recommend getting the following items: • Tovolo Ice Cream Tub • Tovolo Ice Cream Scoop • Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker • Cuisinart Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato Maker , if you have the budget Buy this book to discover new and wonderful ice cream flavors you can make yourself, or give them as casual party gifts for people (instead of, say a bottle of wine). And remember, use the freshest and purest ingredients for the best taste. Recommended.

I LOVE this cookbook so much. I have owned the original edition for about 12 years, and it was how I originally discovered David Lebovitz’s blog and other cookbooks. I love it so much that I used it a primary text for my thesis in graduate school, which I wrote about cookbooks and autobiography. I’ve also used it extensively, and have made more recipes than I can count (a few favorites include chocolate sorbet, which my 8 year old daughter made by herself, mango sorbet, cherry almond with stracciatella, mint chocolate chip, and gianduja gelato). I found David Lebovitz’s explanations and directions in the beginning to be perfect for a beginner, and he has enough interesting recipes to keep you busy and interested well after you stop being a beginner. This really is the only ice cream cookbook you’ll ever need. I bought the new edition because I was pretty curious about what new recipes might be included, because I enjoy reading his writing (the reason I used it in my thesis), and because my first edition is well-worn and it’s not a bad idea to have a backup copy of a favorite cookbook. I also couldn’t find any list of what the new recipes were, so I thought I’d provide that here so that any first edition owners can decide if they want to add this revised edition to their library. There aren’t many changes. New recipes include the following: • Butterscotch with peanut butter, chocolate, and pretzel brittle ice cream • Candied bacon and bourbon ice cream • Caramel “crack” ice cream • S’mores ice cream • Caramel corn ice cream • Labneh ice cream with pistachio-sesame brittle • Raspberry froze • Cucumber gin sorbet • Spritz sorbet • Kir granite • Frozen gimlets • Negroni slush • Chocolate shell (I could have sworn this was in the first edition but couldn’t find it while cross-referencing) • Hot honey. Recipes that didn’t make the revised edition include the following: • Green pea ice cream • Parsley ice cream • Black pepper ice cream • Saffron ice cream • Rice ice cream • Papaya lime sorbet • Champagne cassis granite One thing that bothers me about the new edition is that they could have done the page layout better. For instance, more than once, there will be a recipe that you must turn the page to finish. This is most annoying when there is a short recipe on the same page as the longer one, but also annoying when it could easily have been fixed by moving recipes and/or pictures around so that the recipe finished on a facing page instead of on the following page. It seems like they were trying to be a bit more judicious with the pages than they needed to be. I also wish he had updated more of the recipe headnotes, which I really enjoy reading. David Lebovitz sounds like such a fun person to hang out, I desperately wish I could count myself among his group of friends in Paris. More stories would have been welcome for me. For the most part, they’re copied exactly from the first edition. In any case, I hope this list of recipe inclusions helps you if you’re on the fence about whether to add an additional edition to your collection. And please excuse me if it’s not exhaustive, I tried. If you don’t yet have a copy of this ice cream book, I highly recommend it! You’ll learn all the basics and get some fun and interesting recipes. He offers tips for different combinations or mix ins, and with that, the only real limit is your imagination.

Like a lot of events in my life, I discover them years (or decades) after everyone else does. I only recently heard someone (a pastry chef friend of mine) talk about his newest book, Ready For Dessert. Sitting at The Cupcake Cafe in NYC talking recipes, she mentioned she had just bought it and loved it. "You know David's work, right?" Nodding I said (lying), "Oh who hasn't. He's wonderful." When I got home I immediately Googled amazon.com and started ordering all his books! Why? Because my friend Ruth is always right on the money when it comes to cookbooks! Today I made his Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream (Page 35) and cannot describe the taste, texture and aroma. Fantastic! However, I noted in the recipe he says 1 1/2 cups of sweetened condensed milk or 600 grams. 1 1/2 cups are not 600 but 300+. I called Ruth and she said, "Just go by the cups not the grams." She said this ice cream recipe is her favorite. When Spring comes down home (Georgia) I will be ordering Georgia Peaches from Pearson Farms to make his Peach Ice Cream. If you're going to make something from scratch, why not use the very best ingredients you can afford? Right? Matcha (green tea) powder is very expensive and, judging from comments on amazon.com, each matcha company's tea powder differs in strength and taste. I am going to scout around Manhattan to find the best brand for his Green Tea Ice Cream recipe. Then I want to make his Super Lemon Ice Cream. The book is wonderful. Recipes for ice creams, sorbets, granitas and cookies you eat with your ice cream (all illustrated) make this the best ice cream book I have purchased so far. And I have four or five. Now that I have all his books and the one he wrote about his life in Paris (about to be re-released on amazon March 1, 2011) I feel as though I know him personally. He seems so approachable and down-to-earth. Someone you would not be afraid to introduce yourself to if you ran into him at your local supermarket. As he lives in Paris, the chances of that happening are pretty much nil. I highly recommend this book and all of his books. Beautifully illustrated and very well written. You won't regret it. Get them before they become so rare you can't afford them!

The best book on ice cream-making that I have yet to come across. There are so many recipes that are easy to follow. The results are delicious.

Like many of you, I have bought/received cookbooks enough to choke a bookshelf over the years. I usually glance through them, think "Oh I should make that sometime." Then I doom them to their untouched, book purgatory future on my shelf for all eternity. Not with this baby. I bought this book on a whim. I had received the Cuisnart compressor ice cream machine (amazing machine by the way) for Christmas and thought "Why not. Maybe I'll try to make some ice cream this summer when the kids are out of school." From the first moment I was drawn to the crisp, beautiful photos. I loved the easiness of the directions-- the author really makes sure that you can do this. He will say things like "If you accidentally get some cooked eggs in your base, run it through a fine mesh strainer and you will be good as new." Things that an ice cream newbie would do and then freak out, he already anticipates and gives a solution for. This is literally the ice cream Bible of recipe books. I have found myself reaching for this baby again and again and again (while the other ice cream books sit there in simmering, resentful silence, with only their bitter dust for company). I love that the end of the book has recipes to use up egg whites (homemade waffle cones anyone??? Also excellent) when you are using the yolks for the ice cream base. Just a fantastic, absolutely pro level book that will have you saying "Why didn't I ever think to make ice cream in this flavor?" I have not only loved using this book, but I have learned "how ice cream works," ratios, etc, and I have been able to make my own ice cream flavors (avocado ice cream, anyone? Protein shake ice cream for workouts?), astounded at how amazing and professional they tasted and looked. My most recent attempt was fresh mint ice cream (store was all out, I had rampaging mint in the flower beds-- why not?) The photos speak for themselves. Perfect, creamy, light, absolutely out of this world amazing. The green color is all natural from the mint leaves (he mentions this in the book). You will come back to this book over and over. And if you decide to purchase or gift an ice cream machine, this little guy should be your plus one. He will captivate everyone at the party. Thank you David Lebovitz! :)

If I had to choose one ice cream recipe book, this book would be it. It seems concise enough in the hand, given a relatively slim size, but oh! the information that is packed inside. The book is divided into seven basic chapters: introduction,ice creams, sorbets and sherbets,granitas, sauces and toppings, mix ins, and vessels. Each chapter is studded with nearly fool proof gems perfect for a lazy afternoon at home or impressing guests at your next dinner. The introduction is especially handy as it walks you through making ice cream from a stove top custard which can be an admittedly difficult task for the beginner. Lebowitz also talks about key ingredients in his recipes and offers helpful pointers on ice cream making utensils and implements. Need a perfect sauce or topping to crown your new creation? Try his mocha sauce or creamy caramel sauce or perhaps a mixed berry coulis. Maybe mix ins are more your style. Well, honey-sesame brittle, oatmeal praline, and fudge ripple recipes are awaiting you. Maybe you are feeling very adventurous and want to make your own nesting place for your delicious treat. Turn to vessels and make profiteroles, cones, blondies, and cookie cups. The depth of this book excites me. I tried the Philadelphia- style vanilla first. I was enchanted with the pure creamy vanilla taste. My husband stated if he only had one ice cream to eat for the rest of his life, this one would be it. The banana blueberry sorbet was a wonderfully clean, vibrant treat which was ridiculously easy to whip up in my food processor and chill. The introductions to each recipe are well-written and personal. This book is my first by Lebowitz. His writing is education but draws you in. I encourage you to try this book, and I hope to try some of his other books.

There is a lot of information in this book: information on ingredients, equipments, techniques etc.. There's a nice instruction page on how to make a custard with nice pictures. There are lots of recipes: ice creams, sorbets, granitas, sauces, mix-ins, and edible vessels for your treats (brownies, cookies, cones, cups etc...) I love coffee and chocolate.. but I am not a Stout beer drinker... after saying that, I LOVE the GUINNESS-MILK CHOCOLATE ice cream recipe.. it's also my husband's now favorite ice cream :) For me this book is worth it for just that recipe. It is soooooo goood! It has a lovely creamy texture.. You can taste the stout but it's not too in your face; I think I even added just a teensy bit more than the recipe called for :D I also used mixture of Lindt and Godiva milk chocolate.. I'm excited to try the other recipes. There are lots of beautiful pictures in the book, but I would have liked every recipe to have a picture so that you can already see what it looks like by looking at the recipe.. It would have also been nice if table of contents page for each chapter was alphabetically ordered instead of chronologically listed.. After comparing prices, it was cheaper for me to get the book here on Amazon than in the bookstore... (approx $5 difference plus tax)

Possiedo tre diversi libri sui gelati, ne ho guardati altri in libreria: questo è definitivamente il più esauriente, completo e dettagliatamente spiegato ogni in commercio. Ricette a prova di inesperto (io) con abbinamenti e complementi perfetti. Imperdibile.

I bought this book at the same as Lola's one (also available on Amazon). I've been told by a number of people that Lola's is the best ice cream book on the market. Having gone through them both, I beg to differ....! Lebowitz' enthusiasm and sense of child-like wonder about ice cream really comes through in this book, whilst I find Lola's a bit cold (pardon the pun) and scientific. Lebowitz has a larger variety of recipes, sometimes giving custard and non-custard varieties of the same one for when you absolutely positively need ice cream as soon as humanly possible. The range and inventiveness of the recipes is also incredible - so far I've done bog standard vanilla (with a berry swirl), roasted banana, butterscotch and pecan and avocado (inspired) and they have all come out brilliantly. There are some properly weird sounding ones (cracked black pepper ice cream anyone?) which just sound so mental that they must be good. Next up - caramelised pear. Whilst I have yet to try the sorbets, sherbets or granitas I have every confidence that they will also be delicious. The book itself is very nicely put together, with hints, tips and serving suggestions available on most recipes. I find this gives me the confidence to muck about a little and put my own spin on things. Although this does mostly involve just adding a shot of bourbon to everything. Mmmmm grown-up ice cream... Oh - I would recommend investing in an ice cream machine too. Makes life so much easier and gives you a much creamier final product with no ice crystals in.

O livro é bem interessante e as receitas são fáceis de executar. Gostei bastante das explicações e dos detalhes. Valeu a pena.

I've been making recipe after recipe from this, and they're all delicious. Nothing too out there or weird, ingredients aren't difficult to obtain. No recipes asking for corn syrup and everything is in metric measurements(!) which is a real breath of fresh air. Once you nail the basic ice cream base it's easy to make just about anything in this! Some of the recipes call for a lot of egg yolks, but I've found I can reduce them down without losing thickness in the custard. If you don't like the 'eggy' flavour in some of the milder recipes, this won't throw out the recipe!

This book will tell you nothing about modern gelato using stabilizers and dextrose, the recipes are great but tradional using eggs and cream a lot. It is very well written and presented though, with good tips and tricks. I have been buying a lot of books on ice cream lately and the one I found by far the most usefull was Italian Artisinal Gelato, but this one is better suited for beginners, and much better written and presented. I would have adored it 20 years ago, but I have moved on and had hoped for more recipes and information on Italian Ice Cream.