Book review: The Perfect Scoop & Another Giveaway!

After years of reviewing medical books and journals, I was more than elated when the postie knocked on the door with a different kind of book this time, an ice-cream book! As I am child really, above it all, suffering with the eternal Peter Pan syndrome, this Perfect package really perfected my day. Unlike my other  medical appraisals, cookbook reviews are much more interesting as literally, I could 'have the cake and eat it too!

* Read on for a surprise giveaway at the end of post and winner announcement!*

The Perfect Scoop is yet another sweet treat from the brilliant David Lebovitz, whom really, does not need an introduction in the food world. With hundreds of ice-creams, sorbets, granitas sauces and dessert ideas, one would really be spoiled for choice for the flavour to try. I have been churning homemade ice-creams since I discovered that they do taste much, much better than the shop-bought ones. With organised preparations, you could  have your own fanciful ice-cream flavour in a matter of minutes, but the questions is, what sort of flavours could you try at home? This is where The Perfect Scoop comes  in handy. This book contains 73 ice cream ideas, 39 sorbets and sherbets and 18 granitas recipes, which I think is enough for the lifetime! Wait, there is more..this is probably the only ice-cream book in my posesssion that also contains the most varied ideas for sauces and toppings (27 in total), mix-ins such as buttered pecans and fudge ripples recipes as well as 'vessels' as David calls it, to contain the ice-cream, such as blondies, profiteroles and the traditional yet ever-so popular ice-cream cones. Some toppings that I have never even heard of, and am so excited to try out now!

Too much of a good thing led to the 'conflict' in the house, on what flavour should we try out first. As I am a self confessed chocoholic, and The Husband is a straight-forward vanilla guy, we had an MOU that we shall try out the fanciest of them all: Gianduja-Stacciatella Gelato. Apology if the picture does not do justice to the delicious hazelnut-chocolate ice-cream!

The recipe calls for hazelnut-infused, custard based ice-cream with melted milk chocolates. Stacciatella, easily translated to 'chipped chocolates made by pouring warm melted chocolates into the cold ice-cream at final churning process', really brought the ice-cream to the next level. The ice-cream was a definite winner in the household and my ice-cream maker is now on the rock-and-roll with the latest churn of mango sorbet, a yummy recipe that brings out the best flavour of seasonal fruits. Remember the good old childhood days where ice-cream was a sacred treat? Now The Perfect Scoop brings back those memories straight to one's own kitchen with an even better, wholesome twist to it.

So back to critical appraisal, now that we know the recipes are exceptional. I love the way how the recipes are presented with little anecdotes, as well as the author's 'perfect pairing' suggestions for the ice-cream flavours. The book also comes with the 'Basics' chapter, which is  helpful for beginners and experienced ice-cream makers alike; it covers everything that you ever need to know about ice-cream making. Though I appreciate there are more recipes than photos in the book, I wouldn't mind more of those exquisite photographs to be added in the next edition, as they are really feasts to the eye, and also an attractive way of 'selling' one flavour over the other, especially with hundreds to choose from.

If you want an ice-cream book that would serve you a lifetime of homemade ice-cream pleasures, this is the book for keep. This is The Bible for ice-creams. The hardcover copy would be a beautiful addition to your coffee table collections and David's contagious humour is a good read for those days that you don't feel like churning yet another ice-cream.

So here's the exciting part.

Jacqui Small from AurumPress has kindly provided me with a copy of The Perfect Scoop that I could give to one of the blog readers.

For a chance to win a hardcover copy of The Perfect Scoop, please leave a comment here:

• What is your favourite ice-cream flavour?
• You must follow the blog to enter the giveaway
• The deadline for this giveaway is 28th August 2011

So hurry! This giveaway is open worldwide, so let's make the best of your remaining summer days!

Disclaimer: Although the book is provided by Jacqui Small, the review is solely my own opinion, as well as based on my kitchen experiment with the recipes in the book. Special thanks to Jacqui Small for the cool giveaway, and David Lebovitz for one of the best reads, a chock full of treats.

For the book purchase, please visit:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Perfect-Scoop-Sorbets-Granitas-Accompaniments/dp/1906417547/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1314312168&sr=8-1