The Ultimate Ice Cream Book claims to have recipes for “over 500 ice creams, sorbets, granitas, drinks, and more”. So, when I ordered the book online I expected it to be, well, massive. I was thinking dictionary or at least Joy of Cooking thickness. Not this book, “Ultimate Ice Cream” is only 225 pages long. “How does that happen?” you ask. Well, each ice cream recipe has at least a few “variations,” presumably each variation counts for another recipe. For instance, “marmalade ice cream” has 8 “variations” (ie 1) “Use apricot jam and apricot liqueur or strawberry syrup.” Quite frankly, I’m not sure I would count that as another recipe.

But, that’s just me being critical. Mr. Weinstien has some creative recipes in the book including lavender ice cream, saffron ice cream, corn ice cream and kiwi sorbet. I haven’t even come close to putting a dent in this book, but from what it seems, it should be the only ice cream cookbook I’ll ever need.

The Ultimate Ice Cream Book: Over 500 Ice Creams, Sorbets, Granitas, Drinks, And More is written by Bruce Weinstein.

I had never seen a book dedicated to reviews of ice cream shops until I stumbled across East Coast Scoops on Amazon. As far as food guide books go, this one isn’t bad. It reviews 55 shops is 12 states on the East Coast (DC/Maryland and north from there). I was a little disappointed by the lack of coverage for the DC area—just 2 reviews for DC proper, 1 in Silver Spring, and 1 in Bethesda (MD). Each review is a page long and covers: intriguing details about the shop , popular flavors, and administrative details (location, phone, website, etc). There are also 5 “extra scoop” sections with information on the origin of the ice cream cone and a basic history of ice cream. My only complaint is that this book is a little short. I would have liked to see more reviews and recommendations. Nevertheless, this is an excellent choice for the ice cream lover on the East Cost.

East Coast Scoops is written by Megan O. Steintrager and was published in 2005

East Coast Scoops: Finding the Region’s Best Ice Cream Parlors, Gelaterias, and Custard Stands