La Grotta: Ice Creams and Sorbets: A Cookbook

I'm upgrading my original two stars to 4. I still stand by the fact that I've had to make adjustments to the recipes and even bought a new ice cream maker (compressor type that freezes on it's own) in order to make this book work for me. But, the flavors are so amazing that I really love this book. There's just something special about it. Who would have guessed that sour cream cucumber ice cream would be fantastic? Travers did.So far the banana with dulce de leche and butterscotch schnapps was the biggest hit. (It calls for dark rum, but I didn't have any) Everyone loved it! I've made peach (so good!) and the cantaloupe jasmine sorbet is so summery and refreshing. She always suggests substitutions for hard to find items. I didn't have jasmine flowers so I used a strongly scented jasmine tea. It provided a nice subtle background flavor for the melon. The pear sorbet with bay leaf (i didn't have myrtle) and ginger is out of this world.Of course, a lot of these recipes are going to be as good as the fruit you have available. So, remember you'll get more sweetness out of a super ripe fruit. It's great to shop a farmer's market or somewhere you can taste the fruit first. One of the great things about the book is that you can find a recipe for just about all fruit available and some that I've never even heard of. So, when I would usually pick out the recipe and then shop. I've been finding the fruit and then picking a recipe. I'm loving this book.I started with a Cuisinart frozen canister type ice cream maker. Even America's Test Kitchen gave it a great rating. But, I couldn't make these recipes work with it. (see original review) So, I bought a Whynter 2 quart that freezes ice cream on it's own. Big selling points: There is no canister thawing out before your ice cream freezes. And as soon as you are done with one batch you can start another without first having to freeze the canister again. I've made 5 batches of ice cream & sorbet in this new machine in the last two days and they've all turned out perfectly. Great texture. Beautiful flavors.Major adjustment... I don't strain the ice cream base before it put it in the ice cream maker. First of all, I don't put cantaloupe seeds in with the mix or anything that I don't want to find bits of in the finished product. Peelings, sure. But, not things I don't want to eat. I zap it all in the Vita-Mix until it's so liquified that there isn't anything left in the basket when I've tried to strain it. So, I skip the straining step. This way it's colder when I pour it into the machine. If I were still using the frozen canister I would be chilling the mix even more after the trip in the blender. Maybe then it would freeze better in the frozen canister type machine.******(original review)It's not working for me. I've tried two recipes. One sorbet and one ice cream. Neither would freeze before the canister thawed. Barely slushy. Nothing like soft serve. I put the sorbet in the freezer anyway like it was. It is very hard and has very large ice crystals. Closer to granita than sorbet. I just put the ice cream in the freezer. I have no idea what it will be like when it freezes. It's like really cold cream right now. I think the big problem is that the recipes do not stress that the liquid needs to be really super chilled before it goes into the ice cream maker. These ice cream recipe said to chill every thing overnight. Then throw it in the blender to puree and combine. The strain it. Then put it in the ice cream maker. By that time, the liquid is room temp again. I should have just stuck it back in the fridge. But there are just so many days that I'm willing to devote to making one quart of ice cream. I have the Cuisinart with the canister that you freeze before you use it. Maybe you have to have an ice cream maker with a compressor or one that you can crank and add ice to for as long as it takes, no matter how long that might be, maybe then these recipes will work. Or you can use what you know and try to adapt the recipes to make them work. But, that's not why I buy a book. I want the author to have figured out how to do that for me. I will say that the cantaloupe and jasmine sorbet tastes fantastic. I poured some peach sparkling water over it and created a kind of slushy that is really refreshing. And the flavor of the cucumber sour cream ice cream is lovely as well. But, again, the recipe is a problem. It tells you to make a custard but to stop cooking it the minute it reaches 180 degrees. It tells you later to scrape it into the canister. It didn't scrape. It poured. I know how to make a custard. I guess I should have ignored the recipe instructions. So frustrating.

This book is beautiful, whimsical and contains some exciting flavor combos. Definitely a fresh and creative approach to 21st century ice creams. I tried quite a few of the recipes and usually, the results are fantastic. But there are errors throughout and inconsistencies between the volume and weight measurements of ingredients. So it usually takes quite a bit of time consuming detective work to figure what the author truly meant -- whether the volumes listed are right, whether it's the weight listings that are right, etc.

Giving this book 5 stars because it is very good. However, this edition is identical to her first one, except that in this one measurements are different to accommodate for USA’s thinner dairy, in comparison to European. I purchased both thinking the latter included new recipes; a bit deceiving I’d say, this information should have been disclosed.

Gorgeous book, super innovative flavors. Some ingredients may be a little tricky to find and the names of others are in British English so may confuse American English speakers.

This is the 2nd time ordering this book. Aside from the book being a little smaller in size, it is in excellent shape.

Fun read...will try recipes

I have edited my review for this book repeatedly but I have settled finally on giving it five stars and I have just ordered it (after originally checking it out from the library). With the metric measurements, I have used the recipes in this book to make excellent ice cream!First, I checked this item out from the library to decide whether or not to purchase it. I made several recipes using the metric measurements (both US and metric options are provided). All the recipes I have made were great! These include the Swiss Vanilla, Loganberry (though I did use marionberries), Barbados Custard, and the Banana.Then I noticed some strange inconsistencies between the US and metric measurements (I had only been using metric measurements). For example, in the loganberry ice cream recipe it calls for 100 ml/1/2 cup whole milk and 300 ml/1 cup heavy cream. In the Gariguette Strawberry (Ice Cream) it calls for 150 ml/1/2 cup whole milk and 250 ml/1 cup heavy cream. In the Rhubarb and Raspberry Ripple (Ice Cream) it calls for 150 ml/1/2 cup whole milk and 200 ml/1 cup heavy cream. When I noticed this I changed my review to two stars from five since this was concerning to me. I contacted to publisher to see if there was some explanation for this. Today I received a response via the publisher from the author who explained that in order to account for the difference in fat between US and UK dairy products she made some adjustments to the recipes and she also wanted the recipes to have regular amounts, so rounded up or down as appropriate. She said that this was done on purpose and the recipes will work with either the US or metric measurements.The takeaway for me - this is great book and the recipes are fantastic! I have only used the metric measurements but I have made several of these recipes. I have several ice cream cook books and worked in restaurants and commercial kitchens for almost 10 years. The recipes I have made have been some of the best ice creams I have ever made or eaten. They are not too sweet, very flavor forward, and have a refreshing quality often lacking in ice creams (in my opinion). I have even found them to keep well. I have changed my review back to five stars.

Dieses Buch ist eindeutig eins der besten Rezeptbücher, das ich je hatte. Alles schmeckt - meistens sehr viel besser, als ich es erwartet hatte. Und die Rezepte sind ohne großen Aufwand nachzumachen: Das einzige Problem ist die Geduldsprobe, bevor man das Eis testen kann, denn Kitty Travers empfiehlt, die Eismasse einen Tag ruhen zu lassen.Besonders lecker bisher: das Pflaumen-Vanille-Eis oder auch das Mandelsorbet. Viel Lob gab es aber auch für das Nektarinen-Estragon-Eis. Aber da ja 75 Rezepte im Buch sind, kann ich noch etliche zum ersten Mal ausprobieren. Ich freue mich schon darauf.

It is totally wrong for publishers to republish a book without being very clear that it is just a copy of a previous book.I bought this in good faith thinking it was a 2nd book. I will never trust this publisher again.