Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book

We purchased this book at the same time as we invested in Cuisinart's Indulgence Ice Cream Maker. Both were excellent purchases and make a great team.

Please read the introductory pages and sidebars in this book. Not only a fun read but also enlightening and encouraging for small business dreamers and ice cream makers.

All of the recipes I have tried say they make a quart. This is a generous (of course) quart because generous is part of Ben and Jerry's philosophy.

We like a little sweeter chocolate so I substitute semi or milk chocolate for their unsweetened chocolate squares. I also use a microwave to melt the chocolate rather than double boiler. Just my preference.

We started reading some of the book aloud to our teen kids and they asked for more! Along with their ice cream, of course.

This book was a disappointment to me - three basic recipes for ice cream to which you then add different ingredients. They also have some sorbet and drink recipes. Their background was interesting, but I could have read it online. After making a few of their recipes we decided we liked our old standby (which is one of theirs as well): 2 cups milk, 1 can sweetened condensed milk (we use nonfat), then you can add a little more sugar if you like, an egg, almond and/or vanilla extract. Mix and use your ice cream freezer.....easy and delicious with whatever extra goodies you may wish to add! Save your money and buy a little better ice cream maker!

I ordered this book along with my new Kitchen Aid ice cream maker. The book is delightful, written with lots of humor and interesting stories of how Ben & Jerry started their business. Oh, and the recipes are great too! Really, there are some wonderful recipes in this little book. I was concerned about using raw eggs. I live in a very small Canadian town and was unable to get pasteurized eggs. I went online to see what temperatures kill Salmonella and found that "storing below freezing will destroy most of the bacteria". Most??? Sorry, not for my family. I adapted the recipes to make a cooked custard first. Most of these recipes have milk, sugar and eggs as a base. Just whisk the sugar into the milk and whisk in the beaten eggs. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring with a spatula constantly. I used a candy thermometer and you should stop at 175 to 180 degrees Fahrenheit. The minute you see a boiling bubble, take it off the heat and whisk vigorously. Cool the mixture in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap, and whisk it about every 30 minutes until it is completely chilled. Then you add your cream and whatever else you are putting in and pour the whole thing into the ice cream maker. Voila!! Perfect ice cream every time!! This book will also give you the motivation to invent your own flavors, as you will see that the base is, well, basic. You will be limited only by your imagination! Enjoy!

Casual and serious ice cream makers alike will find this recipe book entertaining and very useful, not only for the ice cream recipes but also for the tips on preparation and the topping recipes as well. I have a daughter that doesn't even try any other ice cream recipes.

Good, basic, recipe book. I like that it gives the beginner a good foundation for marking ice cream. It's a step up from the book that comes with the ice cream makers.