A. B. Marshall

Ices: Plain and Fancy

Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1976 ISBN 0-87099-950-7

Summary:

Originally published in 1885, this is one of the earliest ice cream books. It was reprinted by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The book begins with an modern introduction, essentially giving some historical background on the author and her writing of the book. The next section discusses some of the recipes, and describes the differences between the older method of making ice cream that was originally used by Marshall to more modern methods. The remainder of the book is the original text of Marshall's book.

Marshall's book begins with some hints on making ices, followed by a discussion of the equipment, followed by the recipes. The recipes are divided into sections, with the first few sections discussing techniques for each section, followed by a sections on Cream Ices Made From Ripe Fruit, Water and Perfumed Ices Made From Ripe Fruits, Sorbets, Mousses, Dressed Ices (bombes, puddings, etc).

The recipes appear in both the original form, and in the margin a modern form has been added. After the recipes, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has reproduced the advertisements that appeared in the original book, after which comes a glossary.

A number of ice cream photos from the time and possibly from the early 20th century (but I'm unsure of the exact dates of the photos).

Critique:

Lots of good recipes in here. This is a beautifully done book.