Book jacket blurb:
La Grotta Ices is the culmination of Kitty’s obsessive exploration and research into 75 ice cream, sorbet, and granita recipes. Sunlit flavours and far-flung traditions pervade Kitty’s ice creams as well as her ultimate inspiration: nature. La Grotta celebrates ripe seasonal fruits and the true artistry of real ice cream through inventive flavours and pure, natural ingredients.
Opinion:
First up, full disclosure: I never have and likely never will make ice cream at home. I am a foodie in the sense that I like eating and reading about food, but as Mr Bookworm will confirm I am not blessed in the kitchen.
This book was a birthday gift, after the 2nd Annual Bookworm Family Ice Cream Investigation in Mumbles (Joe’s for flavour, Ripples for selection if you’re ever over that way). I think Young Bookworm was hoping I would whip up a batch of freshly made ice cream for an after-school treat – he’s still waiting…
This is my favourite kind of cookbook, with recipes interspersed with stories about the ingredients. Believe the blurb, Kitty is clearly obsessed with beautiful, seasonal ingredients, both local and more exotic, and how they come together to make a delicious dessert. You will find the old favourites (Mint Choc Chip – the Queen of flavours) alongside mouth-watering soon-to-be-new favourites like Rhubarb and Raspberry Ripple or Blackberry and Rose Geranium.
There are some surprises along the way – who’d have thought Pea Pod or Carrot Seed should ever be in ice cream but the way Kitty describes them I’m converted!
The joy in the book is found in the ingredients and combinations, but should you be inspired to dust off the ice cream maker the instructions are clear, detailed and with plenty of tips so that even I could produce something reasonable!
However, there are certain things in life that are best left to the experts, and for me ice cream is one of them so this summer I shall find my way to South Bermondsey to see how it’s done. And perhaps a follow-up trip to test a different flavour, all in the name of scientific investigation of course.
- Non-fiction
- Food
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