Anyway, about the book and what makes it so great: Ben and Jerry tell you how to make their most popular ice creams, and a bunch that I never saw before. They provide multiple recipes for chocolate ice cream, and write clearly about how they are different. A friend of mine once made all the choclate ice creams and had a tasting party. It was interesting to see how different they really were. (And this book taught me the secret to great chocolate ice cream taste: a pinch of salt--really!)

If you are worried about using eggs, you will want to use a pasteurized egg product in place of the raw eggs. Other than that, this is a terrific book. Lots of good ideas, excellent recipes, and enough discussion about how to create new flavours to encourage even the most reluctant recipe-inventor to go hog wild.

I wish there were a sequel.


Good Tasting Recipes with Fresh Ingredients Fun to Make   December 1, 1998
 100 out of 105 found this review helpful

Who doesn't like Ben and Jerry's premium commercial Ice-cream? The recipes in this book are for their familiar flavors and more. All ingredients are fresh and pure. There is plenty of unusual detail in the book. For example, who else bothers to mention that it takes some fresh lemon juice to restore a tanginess to the all too sweet flavor of over-ripened bananas in banana ice-cream?

Unfortunately, Ben and Jerry are shy about providing techniques for refining the texture of the homemade version. But then why should they know them? They make ice-cream with commercial coolers. For refined techniques specific to homemade ice-cream, you will need to look elsewhere, like Liddle and Weir's "Frozen Desserts".


Fun but flawed   October 23, 2005
 47 out of 49 found this review helpful

Like many other people, I love Ben & Jerry's ice cream. Unfortunately, the premium taste also comes with a premium price, so many years ago my husband gifted me with this book.

It's fun to read about how it all began (two chubby little boys who liked eating more than gym- and who can blame them?) and how they fought off the evil Pilsbury Dough Boy to take a stand in the giant world of commercially delivered ice cream. But really, I'm here for the recipes. Sadly, they had some flaws.

While I realize this was written over ten years ago, I think it's almost inexcusable that nowhere do the authors mention cooking the eggs before you use them. Even if you aren't concerned with salmonella (and if you're using egg yolks, you should be), the difference between a raw and cooked egg base is immense- no matter how much chocolate you throw at it, raw eggs just aren't going to be as delicious. Reams of dessert recipes later, I've figured out how to do it (beat the eggs and sugar, scald the milk, slowly add to egg mixture then carefully cook over low heat until you have something resembling a custard sauce NOT scrambled eggs; chill, then add your cream- THEN use the ice cream maker). Was that so hard?

Also, while I appreciate that they are ice cream makers and not bakers, the recipes they give for their ice cream cakes are off as far as amounts given. For instance, for their brownie ice cream cake, they advise baking their Superfudge brownies in two six inch cake pans and then covering the confection with 1 quart of beaten whipping cream. Having made this recipe several times, I can say without any doubt that their proportions are all wrong- you'll end up with enough left over batter for more than a few cupcakes and possibly another layer. And having doubled this recipe and successfully frosted it with the whippings of two cups of cream, either they whipped their cream to butter or they miscalculated (and didn't test) this recipe.

Still, once you have the technique down (Nigella Lawson's books are good for that), the ingredients and amounts they list work pretty well (again, if you're not baking). I'll never part with this, but I wouldn't give this to anyone just starting out on their homemade ice cream adventure.


CREATIVE EASY TO PREPARE ICE CREAM RECIPES   August 25, 2000
 35 out of 35 found this review helpful

This is a great ice cream book, full of simple no cook - no wait recipes with ample illustrations to keep your mind alert. The author's sense of humor makes it a very enjoyable read, but the recepes themselves are the stars. They share such favorites as Cherry Garcia, Mocha, Health Bar Crunch, Orange Cream, Kiwi Sorbet, Cantaloupe and Oreo Vanilla.

My only problem with this book is because it was written awhile ago, they are still using raw eggs in their most popular/recommended ice cream base. Substitute with a pasterized egg product (Egg Beaters/Better N Eggs) if you aren't sure of the freshness/safeness of your eggs.


Yay for ice cream!   March 19, 2003
 23 out of 25 found this review helpful

I bought a Cuisanart ice cream maker and immediately bought this book to go with it, since I absolutely love Ben and Jerry's ice cream. I decided to make a version of cookies 'n' cream with Mint Oreos (it was all I had). I followed the recipe for the base and the cookie chopping and set it all up and waited. After it's done, the ice cream is a little soft (due to the machine, not the recipe) but after sitting in the freezer it become hard, but not too hard to scoop. I've had people amazed when I tell them I made the ice cream instead of buying it. I do credit B&J for the recipes... but homemade ice cream tastes just as great! The only complaint my mom had was that it wasn't sweet enough for her (easily fixed by adding more sugar next time). If you love their ice cream, you have to have this book. This way, you can make your favorite flavors just the way you like them! Like, I love Chunky Monkey, but I don't like the nuts in it so now I can make it without nuts! Woohoo!