As far as "amateur" ice cream books go, the Damerow book is top-notch for those wanting more than just a recipe. Her book delves into the details of what makes good ice cream, the function and flavor of ingredients, how to improve your ice cream, and how to troubleshoot problems. The recipes are designed for home use and are not suitable for commercial use, though you might get some good ideas on flavor combinations, etc. Unlike 99% of ice cream authors, Damerow understands that texture, not flavor, is the difficult part to get right. The Stogo book, Ice Cream and Frozen Desserts: A Commercial Guide to Production and Marketing, is also very good, but it's not a culinary book. It covers equipment, sanitation, ingredients, suppliers, marketing, business planning, and other topics. However, it does have 500 recipes that are designed and tested for commmercial use. The recipes make 10 quarts of mix for use in a 20 qt machine. (Author assumes 100% overrun, i.e. volume doubling due to air incorporation.) They are easily scalable for other size machines. Another book with commercial recipes is Gelato & Gourmet Frozen Desserts: A Professional Learning Guide, by Lucianno Ferrari. In addition to gelato, the book has many sorbet and ice cream recipes. The book is only available from Carpigiani (www.carpigiani-usa.com). Finally, the industry bible is Ice Cream, by Marshall, Goff, and Hartel. This is an academic book that covers (in excruciating detail) the science behind ice cream. I wouldn't consider it necessary for a small (batch) operation, but it is encyclopedic in its coverage of the subject. Most ice cream ingredient vendors will be happy to provide many recipes using their ingredients. Most book have only a cursory coverage of stabilzers and emulsifiers. If you make premium ice cream, it's easy to avoid their use altogether because the high level of fat and solids makes it unnecessary. Stabilizers are more important in low-fat and no-fat ice creams and sorbets. Your supplier can provide details on usage. I'm not familiar with the CHIPS books that were mentioned, but I have all the books list above and many more. I'd be happy to provide more detail or e-mail the TOCs. Lee
