How to Make Ice Cream: An Illustrated Step-By-Step Guide to Perfect Ice Cream, Gelato and Sauces (Cook's Illustrated How to Cook)

We all scream for ice cream, but how do you make it at home? How to Make Ice Cream has a happily short-winded answer. In fewer than 100 pages, it presents illustrated, step-by-step instructions for creating perfect ice cream, gelato, and accompanying sauces--basic recipes, equipment notes, tips, and other information that all ice-cream makers, whether would-be or past master, can use.

Following a statement of culinary principle--custard-based ice cream is preferred for maximum creamy richness and made-at-home success--the book then presents ice-cream basics and evaluative notes on ice-cream makers, from simple churns to deluxe, high-tech units. Master recipes, such as the one for vanilla ice cream, are offered with variations, including Chocolate Truffle and Caramel Almond Swirl. Recipes for gelato, the flavor-intensive Italian ice cream, and for sauces including hot fudge and warm Bing cherry, follow. Underlying techniques are explored throughout ("do not churn too long" is one) and sensible tips abound.

A true primer, the book is part of the Cook's Illustrated Library, a modest yet consistently authoritative series from the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine. Like the magazine, the books are dedicated to presenting tried-and-perfected recipes and cooking techniques in a concise, approachable way. --Arthur Boehm