86 of 88 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Jeni's Ice Creams at Home, easy and delicious!, June 28, 2011
This review is from: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home (Hardcover)
Since buying this book, I've tried four of Jeni's recipes: Goat Cheese and Roasted Cherries, Salty Caramel, Darkest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World, and Buckeye State. Perfect results with all of them! Just follow the recipe, and you really will get Jeni's Splendid Ice Cream at Home.
Before getting started, I'd recommend reading the first chapter of the book with Jeni's notes, tips, and explanation of the science behind making a great ice cream. As far as equipment goes, you'll need an electric ice cream machine (Jeni uses the Cuisinart Ice-20), whisk, 4-quart or larger pot, 2-3 mixing bowls, gallon size ziploc bags, ice cream storage container, parchment paper, and a big bowl for creating an ice bath. Other tools that comes in handy: a knife for chopping up larger ingredients, cherry pitter if you plan on making anything with cherries in it, digital kitchen scale, and double boiler for melting chocolate. You'll want an extra freezing canister if you plan on making more than one batch a day. For cooking the ice cream mixture, Jeni recommends a 4 quart pot, but I've been using a 6-quart stock pot and couldn't imagine anything smaller. When boiling your cream mixture, it could easily boil over, if your pot isn't big enough.
Basic Ice Cream Ingredients: you'll need heavy cream, whole milk, cornstarch or tapioca starch, sugar, salt, cream cheese, and light corn syrup/glucose syrup. Each recipe will also call for different additional ingredients like vanilla extract or beans, chocolate, natural peanut butter, spices, honey, nuts, liquor, etc. As with all cooking, the better the ingredients: the better the product. Buy organic ingredients and non-homogenized dairy products if you can, and splurge on the "good" chocolate...all this effort deserves the good chocolate!
Ice Cream Storage: I have tried three different storage methods. Reusable gladware/tupperware containers are ok, but I had a couple crack and shatter after freezing, leaving all the ice cream exposed to air. Specialty containers like the ones sold at designer kitchen supply stores are good, but I didn't want to spend $35 on a container, especially when I like to keep several flavors on hand. My favorite containers have been the disposable cardboard containers by Sweet Bliss. The
Plain White Quart Size Frozen Dessert Containers fit one Jeni's recipe, or you can divide it between 2-3 Pint sized containers. Great for home storage and transporting (in an iced cooler).
It's been a blast to make all these great recipes, and I fully intend on cooking my way through this whole book! The recipes are well written and easy to follow. The photography is beautiful, and you get a good feel of what the finished ice cream is supposed to look like. Jeni lists her preferred suppliers if you want to use the exact same ingredients (I've found similar replacements at Whole Foods or the local farmers market).
One note: the "Salty Caramel" recipe has one small typo. The ingredient list calls for vanilla, but it's not listed in the recipe instructions. I added it at the end before mixing the cream mixture with the cream cheese mixture.
7/9/11 - One more note: there is another typo in The Milkiest Chocolate Ice Cream in the World recipe. It should read 1.25 cups of heavy cream instead of just 0.25 cups of heavy cream. I've heard that these typos will be fixed in the second edition which will be printing soon!
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53 of 56 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A delightful read - and even better ice cream!, June 17, 2011
This review is from: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home (Hardcover)
I've had my Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home cookbook for almost a week, and after several ice cream experiments, I thought I should post a review.
First, let's talk about the book, and then we'll talk about the finished products.
The book is such a great read - easy to understand, yet complex enough to give my inner nerd all the details I need. I'm the type of home-cook who likes to know the science behind the recipes so that I can branch out and be as creative with the flavors as I want. And Jeni doesn't miss the mark here! She teaches the "why?" behind every technique, but she says it as if she were your next-door neighbor - not the insanely smart food scientist she's become.
Next, the stories. Oh, the heart-felt personal stories about her business! Jeni gives refreshingly honest recollections of how her business began, why she uses certain products, and how she chose many of her suppliers. If these stories don't warm you up, then your heart must be even colder than the ice cream.
And then there's the photos in the book. These are not only beautiful, but also super-helpful! I know I wouldn't have been as successful in my ice cream-making ventures if I hadn't seen the photos to help me along the way.
So, I loved the book, but I loved the ice cream even more. Seriously, this is some amazing stuff. I can only recall eating homemade ice cream right after it was made; nobody ever dared try to actually put it in the freezer and eat it later! But Jeni's recipes are instead intended to be frozen solid and scooped! After a few hours in the freezer, the ice cream scoops perfectly, is firm, and has the creamiest texture you've never before had from a home ice cream maker. The finished ice cream actually tastes like and has the same texture as the Jeni's ice cream I buy down the street at one of her Scoop Shops.
Get this book today!
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19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More than just amazing ice cream, June 17, 2011
This review is from: Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home (Hardcover)
As a former Columbus resident, I am a huge fan of Jeni's, to the point where my sister sent me 4 pints of ice cream as a Christmas present last year. I was excited when I heard about this book, but was somewhat skeptical as to whether I could recreate Jeni's fabulous ice cream at home, especially since I haven't had much luck making ice cream with other recipes. This is where the genius of Jeni's book comes in. Her instructions are so clear they're virtually foolproof, and she has tested the recipes multiple times in home ice cream makers. This is the first ice cream recipe I tried that actually fit my ice cream maker instead of making way too much. Also, while she created a bunch of new flavors for the book, she did not skimp on sharing the recipes for most (if not all) of the tried and true favorites from her ice cream shop. We made the Salty Caramel ice cream last night, which is a staple in her shops, and it was, hands down, the best ice cream I've ever made.
In addition to the 100+ recipes she includes in the book, she also details the steps in a clear, concise manner, with base recipes for ice cream and frozen yogurt and encourages you to experiment at home with your own flavor ideas. I really feel that this book is more than just a recipe book, and more like a course in ice cream making, where you can learn the basic technique and are inspired to create your own flavors based on what is seasonal and tastes good to your palate.
I encourage you to buy this book, not just because I'm a fan of Jeni's, but because this is one of the best homemade ice cream books I've ever seen.
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