Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream & Dessert Book Reviews

• Add an ice cream maker for a great wedding present

  
  By A9RYUR5YP5PEM on 2000-09-07
  This is a terrific book, and it solved my perpetual problem of what to give people I know well enough to go to their wedding but not well enough to drop $800 on a wedding present. The recipes in this book make great ice cream. Toss in a decent ice cream maker, and you have a present that no one else will think of, that the receipients will appreciate, and one that they will use over time. (For what it's worth, I usually give the Donvier hand-turned machine because it makes dense, smooth ice cream that reminds me of gelato.)

  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

  
  By A1VOG5EBQIGTL3 on 1998-12-01
  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

  
  By A3KV4RQE2FVIZ0 on 2005-10-23
  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

  
  By A95C57OS8MIFX on 2000-08-25
  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!

  
  By on 2003-03-19
  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!
  
  
• One of the best!
  By A2DW6ITKD576FH on 2003-08-23
  I have several books for making ice cream and I think the recipes in this one are the best. I wish they would write a new book as Ben & Jerry have come up with a lot of new flavors since 1987 that aren't in the book. I wouldn't normally make or buy coconut ice cream, but my daughter asked for it and it was delicious! I added almonds that I toasted myself (saute on a stove in a little butter with salt-drain on a paper towel) and it was even better! You don't need a bigger than a quart ice cream maker--just save the leftover "batter" in the refrigerator and make another batch later. The recipes do make much more than the book states.
  
  
• yummy ice cream
  By A3UTWWFY4RPOVP on 2006-08-25
  I tried several ice cream recipes that came with the recipe book with my ice cream maker as well as several I found online, they were all terrible, didn't freeze well, some didn't even make ice cream. Ben and Jerry's were the best recipes. The only problem I had was using the raw eggs. I e-mailed them and they told me they don't recommend using raw eggs. They told me how to pasturize the eggs or better yet use egg beaters. I have been using egg beaters in all their recipes and the ice cream comes out the same. They need to revise this book. I also asked them for some light recipes or frozen yougurt recipes which they told me they were not willing to share at this time. It would be great if they did another book with some new flavors. I recommend this book but do not use raw eggs use egg beaters instead.
  
  
• Looks great, but...
  By A3QURY6MILK4AO on 2004-02-27
  This is one of three ice cream books that I own, but I doubt I'll be making any of the recipes without one major modification -- I just have this aversion to eating raw eggs, you see. I didn't realize that B & J don't cook their ice cream base before I ordered this book. So, unless you're absolutely, 100% certain that the eggs you're using are salmonella free, either try cooking the two base recipes that call for eggs (a third doesn't call for eggs)or try another book. And really, making a cooked custard base for ice cream is NOT difficult. You'll have to wait several hours longer for your treat (20 minutes to cook the custard and a few hours to chill it thoroughly) but hey, that gives you time to hit the gym for a hard workout to burn off the calories in advance. And you'll end up with a creamier, superior product in the end. If you really don't feel you have the time or skill to cook the base, you're probably better off finding a B & J's shop somewhere. If you do, by all means experiment with cooking and post your results here, or maybe try the Williams-Sonoma ice cream book. For really decadent ice cream, go for Nigella Lawson's Endless Summer book -- it's a general cookbook, but has an entire chapter devoted to ice cream (the vanilla is particularly heavenly...)
  
  
• Expert Advice
  By A4H4KYSM2KQ85 on 2005-11-23
  This book provides an introduction into the science of ice cream making, Ben & Jerry's style. It begins with a short history of the Ben & Jerry's ice cream story-don't skip this part-it's quite amusing in places. Then they bring on the main event, the ice cream recipes, first the bases, then the variations. Following this is a section on other desserts and sweets to be served with the ice cream, delicacies like super-fudge brownies and whipped cream.
  
  One aspect I really like about this book is that they generally use just the 3 different ice cream bases provided at the beginning of the book. All the remaining recipes rely on one of those bases, but they add instructions about quantities of other ingredients and how to prepare them before adding them to the ice cream. This approach enables novice ice cream makers to really get a handle on the science of making ice cream, rather than having to deal with entirely new recipes each time. Ben and Jerry include in their recipes numerous tips for success-it's clear that they didn't simply try these recipes out in a test kitchen. These guys actually had to try sell the results to customers, a much higher quality standard than just seeing if the taste was passable. This book is one of the most used recipes books in our kitchen, not only for ice cream recipes, but for other essentials, like the giant chocolate chip cookie recipe (it even beat grandma's chocolate chip cookie recipe-no small feat!).
  
  The only drawback to the book is its reliance on raw eggs in a great number of the recipes. Perhaps it was safe to put eggs in your ice cream without cooking them back in the 80s when this book was written, but you should really think twice before doing so now. These days, thanks to factory egg farms, you have to assume that supermarket eggs are contaminated with salmonella even inside the shells, so you must cook them well before eating them, and especially before serving anything made with eggs to small children or older folks. Freezing doesn't kill bacteria-it just slows growth down a bit, so if an egg contains salmonella and goes into ice cream uncooked, the results could be disastrous. To be on the safe side, either cook the ingredients for the ice cream bases that include eggs over a low heat until they thicken, then chill before freezing, or use eggs from sources you know to be salmonella free.
  
  
• A fun book to have around
  By A1WFVX1RJPMN3B on 2000-05-26
  I make Ice Cream from this book exclusively. I can eat a whole pint of Ben an Jerry's at a sitting, and was suprised to find that my homemade ice creams came out about the same as thiers. You don't get the new flavors like "Chubby Hubby" but that's only because it's an old book. I'm sure if you wrote to them, they'd tell you the recipe. That's just the type of Guys they are.

  In any case, I quite enjoy coming up with my own flavors and substitutions, but since I'm using their cookbook as a guide, my flavors always come out like Ben and Jerry came to my house and made the flavor just for me. If I wonder what Chai-Coconut-Pistachio Ice Cream tastes like, I can whip up a quart using their coconut Ice Cream recipe as a starting point, for about the same price as buying it, and I have flavors that you can't get in the store. It's a wonder that they sell any Ice Cream at all with this book on the market. It just proves that when you treat your customers right, and don't keep any secrets from them, they'll keep buying your product.
  
  

• Great Ice Cream and Book
  By on 2000-02-23
  Though the recipes look simple and easy, the results are amazing. After make batches of the Chocolate Chip cookie dough and Chocolate Fugde Brownie (My favorite), I am convinced this is one of the best ice cream books out. The recipes are couple with hilarious stories from their aventures in the ice cream business.

  This book is fun for all ages. Recipes for ice cream bases are given so you can experiment with your own flavors and additives.

  Almost all the recipes in this book require no cooking at all. So within 1 1/2 hours you could be eating a batch of your favorite flavor.
  
  

• You'll Scream for this Ice Cream!
  By A1PRXH4T5O6B5R on 2002-01-10
  This is an absolutely killer ice cream book. But I found it to be more than simply a cookbook full of ice cream recipes. It is also a celebration of a classic American success story and an affirmation of the funky, down-home style of Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield. Indeed, the book kicks off with the story of Ben & Jerry's, from it's humble beginnings in a renovated gas station to the trials and tribulations of becoming a national brand name.

  The next section of the book is titled, "Ice Cream Theory" and should not be missed. In any kind of cooking, someone who knows what they are doing will usually get better results than someone who is just following a recipe. This section provides that kind of information. It discusses the ice cream-making process and the ingredients, along with how various sweeteners, flavorings and ingredients affect the recipes.
  
  And what about the recipes? Well, I was blown away by the number and diversity of the ice cream recipes in this book. Among them are eleven variations on chocolate, sixteen on various fruits, ten on coffee/mocha and at least eighteen variations on cookies and candies, such as M&Ms, Oreos, Kit Kats, Rolos. In addition, recipes for many of the all-time favorites are here, including Heath Bar Crunch, New York Super Fudge Chunk, Dastardly Mash, Cherry Garcia and Butter Pecan. Who else would share the secrets of their success for the price of a paperback book? And as if all that weren't enough, the book winds up with bonus sections containing recipes for sorbets, sundaes, toppings, baked goods and drinks.

  For yourself or for a gift, this book is sure to please. -- Scott Loban
  
  

• Best Recipe Book EVER !!
  By on 2002-07-15
  I have bought several ice cream books, but this is the ONLY one I can recommend. The recipes are EXCELLENT! I am ordering another since mine is already dog-eared and I've only had it a month. One suggestion if you make the orange cream recipe - use at least double the orange juice stated in the recipe (half a can of frozen concentrate - thawed, of course, and not the small size can). I just tasted the mix to make sure it was the strength I wanted. I've noticed that after this is made and frozen, it doesn't taste as strong as it did before you put it into the machine. I've made this particular recipe 3 times and will continue making it !! It beats any creamsicle you've ever had. And the French Vanilla and Mocha (and regular Coffee) are to die for! The mocha came out the texture of gelato - what a dream ! I haven't managed to try all the recipes yet, but the 10 or so I've tried have turned out perfectly. I am now making it once or twice a week for my co-workers because it is too good not to share! This book has also given me enough information to experiment with recipes of my own. I just can't say enough about this book. And as a previous reviewer states, there should be a sequel - if they are willing to give up more of their recipes. And I wish they would add a recipe for chocolate ice cream using only cocoa powder (I'm too lazy to melt the chocolate squares). Based on their recipes, I strongly recommend using a 1 and 1/2 quart capacity machine, rather than the 1 quart, since when mixes are frozen, they tend to expand due to "whipping" the cream. Air is beaten into the ice cream by the machine, causing the expansion. I noticed that many of the recipes indicate the yield is a "generous quart" and they are not kidding!
  
  
• Fun book, but don't expect to duplicate B&J ice cream
  By ACL0T7X1THPAV on 2007-04-12
  I have had and used this book for about 8 years now. I actually bought it from a Ben & Jerry's store when I lived in Vermont.
  
  I have made some great ice cream since then and used just about every recipe in the book. In addition to ice cream recipes, they also include recipes for sorbet and other non-dairy desserts, as well as recipes for brownies and other "add-ins" for your ice cream. And the recipes are GOOD!
  
  Just a couple notes to those of you who are expecting to not have to buy B&J again once you get this book. There's a lot more to making ice cream than just the ingredients, which are very simple - I can tell you right now it's cream, milk, sugar and if you want, eggs. That's it -- that's a "base" for whatever you want to add, like vanilla, chocolate, M&Ms, cookie dough, whatever. But B&J has really perfected the art of *making* the ice cream - putting in the proper amount of air, freezing it in the proper amount of time to reduce the ice crystal size, etc. I have found it very difficult to do this at home with normal ice cream making equipment. I used to have a regular ice/salt freezer that turns as you add ice and salt around the bucket to make it cold. Now I have one of those bowls for my Kitchenaid stand mixer that you pre-freeze in the freezer. It works fine - but here's a tip: After you make your ice cream mix, put it in the freezer for about 1/2 hour to make it as cold as possible (without turning to ice) before you put it in your maker. The faster the ice cream freezes, the creamier it is. Another thing, if you want more "volume" (less dense) ice cream, whip some air into it before you put it in the maker. Some commercial ice creams have as much as 50% air! Gee, no wonder when it melts there's only 1/2 of what I thought I had! ;-)
  
  Just one issue I have had with the book is that it does not include a recipe for a custard base, which is basically the milk/egg/sugar mixture cooked until it's thickened, then cooled and churned in the maker. Maybe they don't sell this "frozen custard" and that's why they didn't include it -- but I really like the texture of this type of ice cream better.
  
  
• Excellent Book for Ice Cream Lovers!
  By on 1999-08-04
  I bought this as a gift for my parents and have had a hard time finding it anywhere except online. This is the best book of recipes I've seen yet and is highly recommended. Great basic flavors like chocolate and vanilla, plus their special flavors like NY Super Fudge Chunk (my personal favorite). I agree with the other readers who say they are surprised they would share their recipes in their book - but it's true, all the great flavors are in here. Definitely worth the money. I'm buying an extra copy for myself.
  
  
• Not bad for a starting point.
  By A2L68GWZ0J1TYG on 2005-06-12
  I bought a Musso Ice Cream machine from Amazon.com (Great product). The book that came with the machine was too basic. I wanted something with more choices. The Ben & Jerry's book seemed to have some promise. The books covers many popular recipes which will be familiar to you (Based on store bought). The stories that accompany many of the pages are quite interesting and somewhat entertaining.
  
  My biggest problem with the book is that all of the recipes call for RAW eggs. They do not cover the custard style ice cream which requires you to basically cook the eggs. With all of the conceptions that eating raw eggs can cause problems, its a shame that there is no explanation of this. I would like to have some choices in my ice cream ingredients. And putting in raw eggs makes me a little uneasy. I have made ice cream using both methods, with and without raw eggs, so I know the taste difference. However, the choice to use raw eggs or not would have been welcomed.
  
  If you are looking for an entertaining, somewhat informative book to get you started with ice cream making, give this a try. Don't hesitate to search the net for custard style recipes also.
  
  
• Absolutely Necessary!
  By on 2001-03-06
  If you have an ice cream machine (I highly recommend the Cuisinart one), you MUST get this book! Great recipes that can be adapted to your particular tastes, and that come out PERFECT on your very first try. I can't say that about my other ice cream recipe cookbooks! Another hint: DON'T use the recipes in the ice cream maker instruction booklet -- they'll make you want to return the machine!
  
  
• A slight egg problem
  By A2ZV76KG8RR41K on 2001-10-24
  I like the recipes in this book but suggest modifying them if you are concerned about salmonella in raw eggs (worth a thought if you are serving to kids). Most of the recipes do (contrary to another review here) include eggs, but never are the eggs cooked. It's not hard to modify the recipes to cook the eggs -- just make a custard with the eggs, sugar, and cream following the pattern of most other ice cream recipes. But I'm surprised B&J don't even mention this issue.
  
  
• Entertaining and Delicious!
  By on 2003-01-26
  This is a fun recipe book, which will give you all kinds of confidence to make "designer" ice creams, with your home made ice cream maker. The story of Ben and Jerry is funny and endearing. They explain that it's almost impossible to make a truly "bad" batch of home made ice cream, and that has been my experience, too. The recipes are simple and include many of the Ben and Jerry's all time favorites. (Cherry Garcia, Dastardly Mash, Heath Bar Crunch, etc.) There is also a good explanation of the properties of ice cream - butterfat content, air introduction, sweeteners, etc. From this one ice cream recipe book, you'll be on your way to making the best ice cream you've ever tasted, and dreaming up flavors you *wish* you could get at an ice cream shop.
  
  
• More ice cream, less Ben & Jerry, please...
  By A2M5Q0RBME8LGQ on 2003-06-13
  This book is great if you're interested in the history and hijinks of the eponymous Ben & Jerry, or if you absolutely must have the specific recipe for one of their trademark flavors.
  
  However, as a general purpose manual to making ice cream, it leaves a lot to be desired. More than half of the included recipes can be summed up as "Start with our sweet cream base, turn according to manufacturer's instructions, add chunks of [nut/candy/dough] two minutes before it finishes." Sure, it's what has worked for them, but it's rather limited in scope and they could have gotten the message across in far fewer pages.
  
  It's a short, easy read and it's not exactly a waste of money, but for a more thorough education in iced desserts, plan on picking up another book.
  
  
• Cherry Garcia is what they serve in heaven ...
  By A2RX4UZNRGM8K8 on 2006-05-16
  Having spent some time in Vermont I have a special place in my heart for Ben & Jerry. This is a nicely written, often humorous book that includes not only some great recipes but solid information related to ice cream making in general. Experimentation is strongly encouraged and it is fun to read about what inspired some of the great flavors that make Ben & Jerry's what it is. I would have bought this book for the Cherry Garcia recipe alone!
  
  Several comments have been made regarding raw eggs and I appreciate those concerns. The book does provide three base recipes that you can build on, only one of which uses eggs. You can also cook the eggs creating a custard base for the ice cream.
  
  A nice addition to your ice cream recipe collection.
  
  
• A GREAT GIFT BOOK
  By AP122MJZGXYQW on 1999-12-05
  I am always looking for a gift book, reasonably priced, and popular with the public ... this work fits the bill! The recipes are great for the home or cottage and the cartoon characters appeal to the younger set. I like to introduce people to Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream at Christmas by giving a book and a pint of New York Super Fudge Chunk or Cherry Garcia. NO, I don't work for Ben & Jerry's ... I just like their business philosophy and this great little book!
  
  
• Good Food and Lots of Fun!
  By on 2001-07-30
  We recently purchased a high-end electric ice cream maker (the Simac "Gelatio Magnum") and, along with it, the Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream Book; we're in love with both products! Ben and Jerry share the recipes for all of their best flavors--including chocolate chip cookie dough and Heath Bar crunch--plus tell you their own story and "ice cream philosophy." It's a fun cookbook with plenty of practical tips.

  So far we've made six or seven of the recipes, including the French Vanilla (not as rich as I'd like), Strawberry Banana (wonderful, but add an extra banana) and Orange Dream (our favorite). Their sweet cream base is extremely easy to make--it takes about 15 seconds--but if you prefer a richer, more creamy consistency, look for a cooked "custard"-style receipe.
  
  

• Who needs secret recipes anyway?
  By AWNBZSEZ9P8BE on 2003-03-07
  First off, Dastardly Mash no longer exists. If you like it, you're going to have to make it, and the recipe is in here.

  Offering another general review of what may be one of the best (if not best, at least the first) books on ice cream you can buy would be a bit pointless, so I'm going to talk a bit about what they did with this book instead. "Secret recipes" are a big deal -- a guy named Todd has put together quite a successful line of cookbooks based on copying famous foods, and everyone from Coca-Cola to Boston Market has their secrets -- a syrup, a marinade, a cookie. But when Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield published this book in 1987, right around the time Ben & Jerry's was just hitting the big time, they were letting the cash cow out of the bag and doing it in print. Hasn't hurt them a bit, and the book is sixteen years old now.

  Now obviously it's not going to be easy to duplicate the concrete-dense mouthfeel of B&J's ice cream without one of those pricey self-contained ice cream makers from Simac or DeLonghi, but you can still play with their recipes and recreate their flavors (such as the above-mentioned Dastardly Mash) and have a lot of fun doing it. The point is that Ben and Jerry realized that having fun with food is enhanced by learning about it, and nothing is gained by keeping that learning secret.

  Buy this book. Make some ice cream, and enjoy it. And make sure you pass on the recipe to anyone who asks.
  
  

• A little Ben and Jerry's history mixed with great recipes
  By A36EW68H08UOCS on 2004-09-13
  I love ice cream. I bet Ben & Jerry won't mind my saying I love Haagen Dazs' Rum Raisin and Breyer's Butter Pecan and there's hardly anything more decadent than one of those Chocolate Dove Bars.
  
  Ben & Jerry's is over the top, double-dog wicked good. They obviously got the idea of picking out big chunks of great-tasting items and putting them into their ice cream. Some of their flavors are so full of big chunks of chocolate, delicious nuts and flavorful fruits it seems like you can hardly find the ice cream for the goodies!
  
  Ben & Jerry's is also a Great-American success story of a "Mom and Pop" business that started out with a couple of guys who wanted to make good ice cream.
  
  This book is a bargain for Ice Cream lovers. You get easy-to-use recipes for hundreds of ice creams and other desserts - with favorites like "Cherry Garcia" and "Heath Bar Crunch". You also get a mini-history of Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream company with interesting tidbits like their fight to allow their Ice Cream to be sold in groceries against one of the food superpowers, who was trying to push Ben & Jerry aside. If B&J hadn't won that legal battle it's unlikely you or I would have ever heard of them and their wonderful ice creams, but it's still fun to read the first-person of this little New England David slaying the corporate Goliath. Ben & Jerry are well-known for their support of environmental-friendly causes, and they also struck a wonderful blow for free enterprise! Anyway - read more about that in the book.
  
  The book includes fantastic recipes, but also juicy tidbits - things you can do to your ice-cream or ingredients to make them "creamier" or have more "mouthfeel". For you cooks who love to experiment in the kitchen, this book gives you a great starting place - they give you several excellent "starter" base recipes. Then, once you've got your basic vanilla or chocolate (and they give you variations on each, along with their two cents about what makes one different from another) you can go crazy and add your own goodies.
  
  Almost all of the recipes are to make a quart or quart and a half - exactly the right amount to go in one of those great new electric ice-cream makers. There are several of THOSE you can get for less than $30.
  
  Only recommended for those who love ice cream. Is that you? Get the book - go crazy!
  
  
• For creamy, delicious treats!
  By A3KQ9FX2S6JRNC on 2005-02-12
  I'd tried making ice cream in a hand cranked ice cream maker someone gave my fiance and I a while back. I thought the machine was faulty because the ice cream wasn't very good. Then I bought Ben and Jerry's book and I realized it wasn't the machine! All I'd needed was good recipes! Our favorite is the coffee one. It's so smooth and creamy and flavorful it puts my past favorites of Hagen Daz and Starbucks in the back seat. I wondered about the raw egg safety so I'm glad to read what another reviewer said about buying pasturized eggs. I feel like now I can serve this to my niece and nephews without a worry.
  
  
• Look elsewhere
  By A2SUTZRQY7DOIN on 2007-02-14
  Bought this book with my new Cuisinart ice cream maker (see review). Thought the ice cream maker was mediocre after using ice cream recipes from this book (haven't tried the sherbert or sorbet recipes yet). While the book had good ideas, the ice cream tasted just OK. Tried a few other recipes with similar results. Again, blamed the machine. Then we hit on Christopher Kimball's recipe in the Desert Bible. At last, great ice cream. Not icy, but creamy. Full of flavor. Takes a bit more work than the recipes in this book, but worth it.
  
  Buy it for ideas to use with other recipes.
  
  
• I LOVE THESE RECIPES!
  By on 2002-02-23
  This is my favorite ice cream book. Ben & Jerry tell their story in the beginning and the basics of how ice cream is made. Then they list their "11 Greatest Hits" which are 11 of their best ice cream recipes. Next there are 13 variations of chocolate ice cream and 15 fruit ice cream recipes. There are 29 "Downtown Specials" that include Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. The book also lists cookie, candy, brownie, sundae, sauce and drink recipes. In total, this book is 125 pages long. I love the thick, rich ice cream that I get from every batch. Their flavors are the best!!
  
  
• You won't be disappointed
  By AVPNQUVZWMDSX on 2004-01-05
  If you saw this book on the shelves of a bookstore, chances are you might not pick it up: its layout is almost childish, with large type and lots of illustrations.
  It's not that thick or impressive. You would most likely drop it in favor of one of the more serious looking, more expensive books. And you would be making a huge mistake.
  Unlike ice cream recipes I picked up from other "serious" books, every single recipe I've made from this book resulted in amazing ice cream. The butter pecan was heavenly. The cookies & cream perfect.
  There are lots of little tips and explanations, and anecdotes.
  Quite possibly the only recipe book you'll ever need for your ice cream maker.
  
  
• A MUST if you have an ice cream maker!
  By A3JLGYV7IN38YN on 2006-01-11
  I have given this as a gift to several friends who have bought ice cream makers and then let them sit on a shelf. Once they see how good and simple ice cream can be, they are back to making it often. I have been making the recipes for many years and have never gotten sick from using raw eggs. It isn't the inconvenience of cooking the eggs that I don't like, I don't like the cooked custardy taste of custard-based ice cream. I know most of the recipes by heart and can whip up ice cream in no time without even consulting the book by now.
  
  

• Cuisinart ICE-20 Automatic 1-1/2-Quart Ice-Cream Maker, White
• Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker
• KitchenAid KICA0WH Ice Cream Maker Attachment
• The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook Ever
• Perfect Scoop: Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, and Sweet Accompaniments