No help, but I'll suggest a favorite of ours. The best vanilla custard recipe, then at the end of the freezing, add broken Trader Joe's dark chocolate bar, then on the last couple of turns, add a couple of tablespoons of orange marmalade, so that it just ribbons thru the ice cream.

Have fun!.

Google "il gelato senza segreti"

You may find a downloadable massive pdf file on ice cream making.

It is in English also.

Must have. It is free!

dcarch

I have The Ultimate Ice Cream Book by Bruce Weinstein and The Perfect Scoop. There's also a small frozen yoghurt chapter in The Book of Yogurt by Sonia Uvezian. The little book which came with my machine is better for what you're looking for, however. :) You might be able to get a copy from Lello Appliances Corporation, 355 Murray Hill Parkway, East Rutherford, N.J., 07073, Customer Service 201-939-2555. It's the Lello Dessert Maker by Musso Instruction and Recipe Manual.

Like you, I use recipes as guidelines or inspiration most of the time rather than following them as written. Most of the recipes in both of the ice cream books I have are custards (i.e., with eggs), though there are a few "Philadelphia style" ones (fruit, sugar and cream--no eggs). I don't make ice cream, though. Too much animal fat, either way. Instead I use non-fat yoghurt or make sorbets. I also try not to use added sugar, or use a sweet whole fruit for the sugar. The ice cream recipes are good reads, though.

Ultimate has a definite bias toward custards. It's a compendium of lots of intriguing and unusual flavor combinations, and most recipes have a number of variations with them. There's also a good sized chapter on sorbets and granitas, and one on sauces and toppings. At the end are a few recipes for things like shakes. And mixed in are occasional recipes for accompaniments, like a cornbread cake to go with corn ice cream. The recipes are given in paragraph style, other than the ingredients lists, which are conveniently shown in a shaded sidebar.

The Perfect Scoop has an introductory piece on making custards, with a few pictures, and a goodly discussion of a long list of ingredients by type. There's also a section on equipment, including cooking equipment and ice cream makers. The recipes are pretty standard, including traditional and modern flavors, with a few I've never heard of, like saffron (which I really want to try, because I love saffron). There's a big chapter on sorbets, and a separate one for granitas. There's a sauce chapter and "mix-ins" chapter, as well as a chapter called "vessels" which is about things to go with, like brownies and crepes. There are some appetite whetting full page color pictures. What I really like about the recipes in this book is that they're easy to read, fairly short with plenty of white space, with short introductions in which the author talks about the ingredients (the mint or fruit or whatnot) and gives interesting information about how to use it or good pairings, etc. And does so with a lot of content in a brief space.

For brevity however, and a wide ranging overview, I still like my Lello booklet. :)

There are a few gelati in Perfect Scoop. but not in Ultimate Ice Cream Book, or the Lello booklet (which is odd since it starts by saying you can use it to make gelati, and it's an Italian machine). According to Perfect Scoop, the difference between gelati and other ice creams is that gelati have less air (which I think we all know), gelato machines have a different motion, and what makes them sticky is starch (a Sicilian thing, apparently, though I remember eating lots of sticky gelati in Rome). Of the three very traditional gelato recipes in the book, only one, which is made with Arboria rice, has starch.

I usually make non-fat or low-fat frozen yoghurt, either a stiff regular one, like Stonyfield, or Greek (plain--I add my own flavors), or frozen fruits. Somewhere, I have a good ice milk recipe. I've thought about making my own yoghurt, but as long as I live in the city and don't have cows/goats/sheep of my own, it seems silly to do for a dessert. Anyway, I just put the yoghurt in, toss in some fruit, and let it go. :) Same think with the melon. Toss it in and let it go. :) I don't do "real" sorbets with the simple syrup. I have, but they're too sweet for me. I've tried using Agave sweetener with the yoghurt but it tastes funny. To counter the sourness of Greek yoghurt (which is great but can get too intense for some people), I use bananas.

For more info you can also search the web. Surely some blogger out there has a good overview. :)

Dcarch, thanks for the reference! I tried and the download links weren't linked. :( The flash version seems to work okay, so I'll have to put aside some time to read it online. Unfortunately, the print book is textbook priced.

Dcarch
Not much time to play tonight, but I found this link. It looks promising. Is this what you meant?

Edited later to add this: The links don't open on this site as Pillog said. But I did find another site that seems to work. See the later post.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ice Cream without Secrets

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Wed, Apr 2, 14 at 1:40

Pillog
I printed the manual off the site I listed below. Is this what you were recommending?

Again, no time to look at things tonight.

Here is a link that might be useful: Lello batch ice cream makers by Musso

The one I am talking about is in pdf file format, free download. 450 pages of recipes, directions, and beautiful pictures.

I am sorry I can't find the link.

dcarch

This post was edited by dcarch on Tue, Apr 1, 14 at 21:46

Yes, that's the one. It's the book for their commercial models, but the recipe section is the same. I just find it really straightforward and easy to refer to.

Pillog and Dcarch

I downloaded the file that codebeard gives (in blue) on this Society for Culinary Arts & Letters site . The file is bilingual--the English is usually at the bottom of each page on the computer. And at about 400 plus pages, kinda hard to print. If this is the right book, Dcarch, is it worth printing out?

The link at the bottom of this page lets you download the English/Spanish edition of The Secrets of Ice Cream. Or you can buy it for $184 on Amazon.

Here is a link that might be useful: Angelo Corvitto--Secrets of Ice Cream

Thanks for the link, Bellsmom! I had tried looking for something similar and just found stuff riddled with spyware. :(

For me, it's worth reading through, whether online or onscreen, but if I really wanted it on paper, I'd splurge on the book. But I haven't splurged on Modernist Cuisine either. :) Before any such thing, I'd have to devote more time to sitting and reading them. :)

I guess I was lucky. When it was offered on-line for free download, I grabbed it.

You can buy it on Amazon. Apparently there are two versions. One has more pages, which sells for $559, which is the one I got.

I think it will take a very long time to print the whole thing out. You can do searches with the pdf file in the computer.

dcarch

This post was edited by dcarch on Wed, Apr 2, 14 at 8:44

Dcarch--
Does your version of Ice Cream without Secrets have two languages also? The link I posted above and another I found are to two different bi-lingual copies: one is Spanish English and the other is Italian-English.

It would be nice to have English only. If that is what you have, I'll look around a little more for it.

Pillog-- I ordered The Perfect Scoop and The Ultimate Ice Cream Book. Got both in hardcover used from Amazon for a tad more than $12 total. You gotta love Amazon!

Those two, along with what I can print off on line will be more than enough info, I think.

But I am interested if anyone has another source that they recommend.

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Wed, Apr 2, 14 at 9:55

I haven't tried this book, but it gets fantastic reviews from many foodie bloggers. Google "Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream" and you'll find a few recipes that you can try to help you decide if you want the book.

Here is a link that might be useful: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams

Not basic, but should you ever be on a quest for vegan ice cream recipes, here is a link.

Here is a link that might be useful: Vegan ice

bbstx
Thank you. Jeni's book, the James Beard winner (best baking & dessert book 2011) looks really interesting. I looked on line as you suggested, and watched some of her videos. I am now aware that her ice cream base uses corn syrup, which I may or may not like, but I found a used AddAll copy for less than $10 delivered. So-- a used one is now on the way to my home.

kitchendetective
Good link. I have friends who are vegan, and feeding them is a challenge. This will help.

I ALMOST hope no one else links a gotta-have-it book!
But not quite.
Any more really good ones out there?

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Wed, Apr 2, 14 at 14:46

The guys at The Bitten Word rave about cream cheese being the secret ingredient in Jeni's ice creams. Apparently, using cream cheese instead of egg yolks gives an extra creamy texture.

They also mentioned having had good results with the Fine Cooking "Choose Your Own Homemade Ice Cream."

Here is a link that might be useful: Fine Cooking Interactive Ice Cream Creator

Well, I learned something in the preview of Jeni's book on Amazon (and ordered the book to thank her): Like the Sicilian gelato, she uses starch to stabilize the frozen yoghurt. I have tapioca starch! I'm going to try that.

The book also has the best frozen yoghurt instructions I've seen. They're for a more commercial grade of frozen yoghurt, but might be worth the trouble if I want to make a serious effort for a lot of company. Being able to make ahead and store in the freezer would be a boon.

Unlike Jeni, I'm trying to reduce the richness of the dessert, rather than boost it, and her ice cream flavors sound a bit muddy for me, but the depth she goes into on techniques for storing and serving should be very useful.

bbstx--
Never looked at the Bitten Word before. I will go back to it often, I suspect.

And the Fine Cooking Create Your Own Ice Cream Recipe site you posted led me to this Recipe Makers site, which looks equally promising.

Two great links. Thanks

Here is a link that might be useful: Create your own recipes

I'm wandering in from my usual forums to chime in -- I have the old Ben and Jerry's Recipe Book! I used to love that thing, and it is tucked away with my ice cream maker.

The B&J's recipe book relies a lot on an uncooked egg mixture. (Perhaps the new editions have more using the cooked mixture -- which many people prefer anyways) You need to be comfortable with that concept or be able to source pasteurized eggs.

Thanks, gooster.
Having never yet made ice cream, I have no informed opinion about the taste of egg bases, either cooked or uncooked for ice cream. I also have no prejudices for or against. What did you make from this book? what was your favorite?

It is easy to pasteurize eggs using a sous vide cooker.

Which is what I do all the time.

dcarch

Edited to remove duplicate post.

This post was edited by Bellsmom on Thu, Apr 3, 14 at 23:41

Bellsmon: sorry for the delay -- had to dig out the book! I think I prefer the Ben's Chocolate (with additions like Brownie or fleur de sel caramels) and Coffee Heath Bar Crunch.

I think you need to try both and see what you prefer -- the cooked versions are usually thicker and more custardy --- due to the anglaise. The B&J 2to1 cream-to-milk noncooked base is simple and quick and can be too light for some people.

dcarch: great suggestion on the sous vide!

This post was edited by gooster on Fri, Apr 4, 14 at 0:17

Thanks, gooster.
The B&J cookbook is only $6 on Amazon. I will probably buy it.