Reviews Cooking, Food And Wine Book

Product Details

From Publishers Weekly
Lebovitz, a former Chez Panisse pastry chef and author of The Great Chocolate Book, credits his "first and craziest, most insane summer job"— as an ice cream scooper at a soda fountain—with inspiring his lifelong devotion to ice cream. The author's 25 years of experience as a frozen-dessert maker are put to excellent use in this wittily written, detailed volume. Step-by-step photos and advice on selecting an ice cream machine will reassure ice cream amateurs. Experts and novices alike will appreciate tips for selecting the best citrus and creating unusual but complementary pairings (apricots go nicely with Olive Oil Ice Cream). An impressive array of flavors is available for the making, like Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream, Vanilla Frozen Yogurt, Fresh Fig Ice Cream and Pear Pecorino Ice Cream. Sorbet, sherbet and granita also are explored in depth, as are ice cream "vessels," such as brownies and crepes. Great photos and plenty of practical advice combine to make this an appealing and useful resource for the dessert aficionado. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review
"...dozens of recipes for delectable frozen treats, from Chocolate-Peanut Butter Ice Cream to Cherry Sorbet to Blood Orange Granita." -- Library Journal - Judith Sutton

"...pastry chef David Lebovitz take(s) ice cream in imaginative and sometimes startling new directions." -- Janet Fletcher-The San Francisco Chronicle

"All in all, I'd be surprised to learn that there's a better ice cream book that's out there." -- Michael Ruhlman-Author, The Making of a Chef and The Soul of a Chef (ruhlman.com)

"David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop is a complete guide to making ice cream." -- Michael Hastings-The Winston-Salem Journal

"Lebovitz spans the globe with his recipes, including the likes of Vietnamese Coffee Ice Cream...and Gianduja Gelato, a hazelnut specialty of Italy." -- Sumathi Reddy-The Baltimore Sun

From the Publisher
* A generous collection of classic and contemporary recipes for ice creams, sorbets, granitas, and accompaniments, from a former Chez Panisse pastry chef and popular dessert book author.
* Includes more than 200 recipes and 45 full-color food photos.
* Features in-depth material on successful ice cream making, from choosing the right equipment and the best ingredients to crafting the perfect custard.
* Most recipes are accompanied by "Perfect Pairings"--variations and garnishes for turning homemade ice cream into fun and fanciful desserts.

Customer Reviews

A Kiwi's perspective
A new cookbook that makes you instantly want to try at least a dozen recipes is an exhilarating find. Perhaps it was the thirty-degree day, when I first paged through David Lebovitz's vast selection of frozen delights, that spurred my excitement about where to start. Kiwifruit sorbet? Strawberry frozen yoghurt? Tiramisù ice cream? All were a cinch to make and impressed guests. Pastry chef Mr Lebovitz - ex Chez Panisse in California, now based in Paris - covers everything a home cook needs to know about making ice creams, sorbets, sherbets, gelatos, granitas and the sweet extras (sauces, cones, crepes, etc) that complement frozen desserts. He gives excellent foundation instructions -making the perfect base custard, ingredients, equipment - and supplies a vast selection of recipes. Most are simple (having just a handful of easy-to-find ingredients); a few are shocking. Roquefort-honey ice cream is, he assures the reader, remarkably good - plus it takes care of the cheese and dessert courses in one go. A large proportion of the recipes require an ice cream maker, but if you haven't already got one there's more than enough inspiration to warrant a further $60 investment. Whatever the weather, here is a book worth having. This autumn I'm serving fig ice cream. Come winter I'm looking forward to freshly-churned cinnamon ice cream on my apple crumble.

This book should be included with every ice cream maker
What can I say? "Perfect Scoop" will make you look like a superstar! I've been playing with this book for months and to date, I've tried over 1/3 of the recipes. I've used this book more than any other in my collection. The photos are enticing and the recipes are written in a clear, approachable manner. David sets you up for success. My top 3 favorites: gianduja, Vietnamese coffee, and malted milk.

something for everyone
This is a fantastic book on ice creams. I am a pastry chef at a restaurant that makes all of its ice creams and sorbets in-house. I can tell you that all of the recipes I have made from this book have been wonderful and come out perfectly without fail. I had contemplated on buying this earlier in the summer to give our sorbet list a facelift and procrastinated until early fall... let's just say I am kicking myself for waiting for so long! There really is something for everyone in this book, from simple to more daring, and you always end up with a well-balanced flavor profile. This is definitely going to be in my library for a long time.