Weekend Reads
We survived the recent heatwave, which seemed like a good time to update my post on Vanilla Ice Cream, with new pictures. Probably the worst thing you can do in a heatwave is photograph ice cream, but I did it. As a former restaurant line cook, I can cook or bake through anything. Having a batch of freshly churned ice cream when it’s that hot, is never a bad idea, but plum sorbet, elderflower sorbet, and strawberry frozen yogurt, are also good ways to cool down, using seasonal fruits, berries, and flowers.
- Got cherries? Make the easy Cherry Red Wine Compote (shown above), or this Cherry Compote without red wine.
- This machine makes perfectly clear spheres of ice for just $199! Oops, I mean $999…
- Parents in the 18th arrondissement of Paris furious their kids were fed industrial, pre-packaged sandwiches.
- Wine glasses that float ensure you don’t spill. (But just in case, you might want to fill ’em with rosé, rather than red.)
- The curse of hashtagged honeymoons.
- The jambon-beurre is having a renaissance.
- I’ve been crushing on this vintage-style Timex watch.
- Even vegans like ice cream, so those avoiding dairy can churn up this dairy-free Strawberry Ice Cream.
- A stylish way to beat the heat in Paris: A hotel in the Marais has a room with a private pool, and a balcony with a view of Paris. (Spoiler: It comes with a hefty price tag.)
- YouTube food stars
- The lavender fields of Provence are getting too much influencer attention, and locals aren’t amused.
- Why we’re feeling burnt-out all the time.
- A chef puts the “rest” in restaurant.
- Up to $675,000 worth of wine stolen from Paris restaurant. (Hint: It wasn’t me.)
- …and joyeaux 14 juillet! (or, la Fête nationale, aka Bastille Day…but only outside of France)
David, could you please tell me which edition of your revised and updated Perfect Scoop has all measurements in grammes? I’m trying to buy online and see more than one publisher. I love your recipes and I’m looking forward to this new version too.
Sorry, please see query above, ISBN number would be helpful.
Hi Sam, All editions of The Perfect Scoop are in grams (and ml’s). The publisher in the U.S. is Ten Speed Press and the Uk publisher is Quarto. Only the Ten Speed/Penguin Random House edition has been updated, and the updated version’s ISBN number is 9780399580314 and it’s listed on their website.
Thank you! I live in Rome so can’t check in bookshops. Ordering online you don’t always get the info you need.
PS Hope you know the best ice cream place in Rome. If not, I’ll tell you. Truly the best, perfection.
How much do I love that Cherry Red Wine Compote? I just drove 1500 miles with four pint jars of it, frozen and in an ice-filled cooler, so I could share it with friends on our shared vacation. We grew the cherries ourselves (Montmorency and Meteor) and the four pint jars are just a small portion of the whole batch. I’ll serve it with your vanilla ice cream. It will be heaven.
Hi David!!! Longtime fan here, been reading the blog for ages and just got my copy of the new edition of Perfect Scoop. One thing I’ve noticed when making a few of the recipes is that they call for a small amount of the sugar to be added after the custard is made. A few of the recipes I forgot to do this and just added it in initially and it was fine, but the few times I followed the recipe and added the sugar at the proper time, my ice cream was slightly grainy and had a slimy mouthfeel. Any ideas what I might be doing wrong? Thank you!!!
PS. I am dying to adapt your Matzah crunch recipe into an ice cream for Passover and can’t wait for spring!!!!
Hi Ellie: I can’t think of any custard-based recipe where sugar is added after the ice cream is made. And sugar shouldn’t make things taste “slimy,” although it could taste grainy if it’s not dissolved, although sitting in a liquid base, then being churned, if sugar is added later in the process, if it doesn’t dissolve, that’s some sturdy sugar :) Let me know which recipes you’re referring to so I can assist.
Took me forever to remember!!!! It was the Coffee Cajeta recipe – I don’t think that the sugar I added with the egg yolks fully dissolved and as a result the ice cream had the slightest graininess to it.
A separate question, too – I’m planning to make your pistachio ice cream with Bronte pistachio paste but I’m having trouble finding paste that isn’t sweetened. Was the paste that you used sweetened also? I’m just not sure if I should decrease the sugar in the recipe because I don’t want it to be too sweet but I also don’t want the ice cream to be too hard.
Thank you!
It was a sweetened pistachio paste. It can be quite expensive in the U.S., and I’m hoping to revise that recipe when I get a chance, using regular shelled pistachios, in the future.
Hi David,
Wow, that picture is just mouthwatering. May I ask where did you get the stainless steel (assuming) coupes? I needed those in my life. Please don’t tell me you found them in a Parisian flea market. I can’t wait to make that cherry compote!
I don’t recall where I got them but you can usually find things like that online if you’re looking for used ones. (Try Etsy or Ebay.) New ones are also available; search “stainless steel ice cream coupe”