Salt & Straw Ice Cream Cookbook

by Tyler Malek, J.J. Goode

Based out of Portland, Oregon, Salt & Straw is the brainchild of two cousins, Tyler and Kim Malek, who had a vision but no recipes. They turned to their friends for advice--chefs, chocolatiers, brewers, and food experts of all kinds--and what came out is a super-simple base that takes five minutes to make, and an ice cream company that sees new flavors and inspiration everywhere they look.

Using that base recipe, you can make dozens of Salt & Straw's most beloved, unique (and a little controversial) flavors, including Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbons, Roasted Strawberry and Toasted White Chocolate, and Buttered Mashed Potatoes and Gravy.

But more importantly, this book reveals what they've learned, how to tap your own creativity, and how to invent flavors of your own, based on whatever you see around you. Because ice cream isn't just a thing you eat, it's a way to live.

Genres: Cookbooks, Food, Cooking, Nonfiction, Food and Drink, Reference

240 pages, Hardcover

Published April 30, 2019

Reviews

[Cindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I learned new things about making ice cream, such as how 1/4 tsp of xanthan gum makes the finished product more scoopable and why it’s important to put parchment paper on top (to prevent ice crystals from forming). Overall, the recipes are COMPLICATED! To make the gooey chocolate brownie ice cream, for example, you make the basic ice cream base, homemade marshmallow fluff to put in the brownies, the brownies, and then the chocolate sauce to blend with the ice cream base before churning. Whew! It reminds me of a Charlie Trotter cookbook: great, inventive but so time-consuming that it’s a real commitment and labor of love to recreate. Unlike the late Mr. Trotter’s creations, one can buy Salt & Straw ice cream on the west coast, so I don’t have spend days churning up these recipes except when I’m attempting to make sugar-free versions. Of course that adds another layer of complication as first I have to mix a batch of sugar-free syrup to sub for corn syrup. All that aside, hubs said the gooey chocolate brownie (that I made with fudge brownies but no marshmallow fluff) was “perfect.”
Helpful tip for making sugar free ice cream of Salt & Straw caliber: unless you are going to eat it the day it is churned, use Xylitol (from birch, not corn) in the base instead of erythritol and the ice cream will stay scoopable right from the freezer. If you have pets this might not be a good option since xylitol is toxic to dogs and cats.

[Nic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful! I bought it thinking there wouldn’t be anything I could eat (of the 3 bases used for the recipes, 2 are vegan!). It’s beautiful and full of cool ice cream science.

Some flavors make me queasy to read about (crickets, turkey skin, pig’s blood) but those are outliers and according to the author, still good.

I’ll stick with the fruits and maybe some sort of whiskey flavor, thanks. Very enjoyable read though

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is easily one of the best ice cream books I've ever read. I love Salt & Straw ice cream, and made a point of stopping by every time I drove into San Francisco. Having tried most of the Thanksgiving and Christmas flavors in the shop, I was excited to see most of those recipes here (especially the turkey caramel, it's delicious!) The methods, breakdowns and recipes are all very clearly written and so easy to understand. They way Malek writes is reassuring and encouraging, so you really do feel like you can easily conquer what sounds like a complicated recipe, and I haven't run across many cookbooks like that. The ice cream base recipe is excellent- really the best one. And don't forget to read the intro and instructions chapters carefully, he offers really great tips on keeping your fresh made ice cream frozen properly so it's always perfect.

[Summer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hungry for ice cream now!

Interesting recipes that are not for the faint of heart. Some great basics in there too. Inspires you to start making ice cream at home so you can play around with fillings while helping you be brave & creative with the ingredients you choose. Cool book!

[Camryn P. · Rating 5 out of 5]

The results are incredible! Complicated recipes, but homemade goods that amount to the stuff you buy in the Salt and Straw ice cream stores. I've made Sea Salt Caramel, Strawberry-Cilantro Sorbet, Cinnamon Snickerdoodle, Freckled Woodblock Chocolate, and none have failed to be anything less than spectacular. What's more, the recipes yield two pints, which is not only more than the store offers pre-packed, but enough ice cream to share or eat yourself and have some for later. The history of the the shop itself is fun and full of the Portland vibe, as well as the short descriptions for each category of flavor and individual recipe. Most recipes do require some specialized ingredients, but if you're able the end result is well worth the work.

[Michael Perez · Rating 4 out of 5]

My favorite kind of cookbook is one that has lots of strange but inspiring recipes--and this book has tons of them. So far, I've done Avacado Sorbet, Chocolate Gooey Brownie, Olive Oil, and Salted Caramel. Anything that inspires you to try something new should be a five-star automatically.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was happy to see recipes for real flavors you'd find in their ice cream shop. (I may have been suspicious that they might not actually reveal those.) They even included recipes for mix-ins that need to be made and details for those you need to purchase. I've made lots of ice cream and will stick with my own base, but I found several great tips for the process. There is an interesting section on beer flavors and some holiday themed recipes, since ice cream isn't just for summer. Loved the creative staging of the photos. I thought the carving of the Salted Turkey Caramel flavor was hilarious.

[Kate · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple years ago, one of my brothers told me he bought this book and was working his way through all of the recipes in it. Salt & Straw's Honey Lavender is one of my favorite ice cream flavors, but I'm not big fan of waiting in ridiculously long lines for ice cream; so after he assured me the instructions were easy to follow, I got an ice cream maker and this book and gave it go.
It's super easy! And absolutely delicious!
(I can safely say there's a couple recipes here that I have no desire to ever attempt. Blood Pudding? Come on. Gross.)
Still though, there's a lot a lot a lot to love in this book. I'm making the Stumptown Coffee & Burnside Bourbon flavor today. I'm pretty pumped.

[jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

yup, the vegan base is legit - best I've made!

[Jenni Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've only tried one recipe so far, but it is a great template for creating your own flavors. It also has lots of recipes for specific S&S ice creams like the lavender honey.

[Amie · Rating 5 out of 5]

All the recipes!! Surprisingly insightful. And as an Oregonian, I’m impressed with the featured local brands.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible recipe book with some amazing (and honestly some kinda weird, but in a good way) recipes!
Honestly even worth having for the ice cream and sorbet base recipes alone, if you aren’t into the “weird” stuff. We have made several different incredible ice creams using the base and my own ingredients as well. Consistency and flavors are fantastic!

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantastic recipes and clear instructions, but it's still better in person.

[Beka · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very inventive (often weird) flavors with lots of science explained along the way.

[Pearse Anderson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a weird book - it's a collection of recipes that sounds appalling to make (green apple and mayonnaise ice cream? Kale and parmesan fudge ice cream?) but are presented in ways too complex to easily understand how they will taste, often will expensive additives that you will only use for one recipe that you're still on the fence about. For example, blood ice cream: I don't know how to purchase blood or what to look for, and the book provides little help. Chocolate-covered insects from one distributor: I am not going to buy $30 of critters, shipping included. Are dandelion bitters ESSENTIAL to this recipe? I have no idea what to substitute with. Cementing this is the fact that many recipes require small portion of larger recipes: the brownies bites, for example, require one cup of marshmallow fluff, but the fluff recipe makes 6 cups, and the brownie recipe only needs 1 cup of bites, so I was left with multiple times too much of food I didn't know what to do with. Couldn't these recipes have been presented in two ratios, once for one batch of ice cream and secondly for optional leftovers? Even small things like corn syrup had no listed substitute. This was a fantastic cookbook in many other regards: food photography and styling, explaining the science behind ice cream and the history of this famous and influential shoppe, but I will only be using a few recipes from this cookbook and won't be purchasing a copy for my house. My main takeaway is the coconut recipe here, it's the best vegan base I've ever made it terms of flavor, denseness, and complexity.

[Stephen · Rating 3 out of 5]

The making of ice cream is an interesting blend of art and science. Both parts are important to the product. Malek, the proprietor of an ice-cream making company just down the freeway from us, touches carefully upon both in setting forth his experience with making frozen treats. He introduced me to the use of xanthan gum rather than using an egg custard to thicken the batch. He refers to the preparation of an egg custard as "precarious" and I have botched up enough batches to mildly agree. I was put off by the thought of surrendering to the mad scientists of molecular gastronomy but the xanthan gum thing (1) really works, (2) is really easy and (3) is abundantly available. His highly-innovative thoughts on new and interesting flavours are a mixed bag. I look forward to bourbon and coffee, bacon caramel, honey lavender, cranberry apple, and butter-roasted chestnut. I have less enthusiasm for strawberry balsamic with black pepper, pear and blue cheese, smoked Hefeweizen, goat cheese Marionberry habanero, cauliflower garam masala, and sweet potato with maple pecans. But one has to assent to Malek's creativity. This is not the first book about ice cream to add to your culinary library. Better would be Cook's Illustrated, "How to Make Ice Cream" (1997); Peggy Fallon, "The Best Ice Cream Maker Cookbook Ever" (1998); ot Matt O'Connor, "The IceCreamists: Boutique Ice Creams and Other Guilty Pleasures" (2012).

[Rosie · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a world filled with pintrest recipes, I was looking for an ice cream recipe book that was super ambitious and kind of avant-garde. If I wanted basic vanilla that recipe exists on the Internet already. While it started out eye rollingly pretentious, it turned into a really great cook book providing concrete recipes to try out, as well as explainers and base recipes for when we want to explore on our own. I also loved the humor brought into the writing. I'm excited to try out these recipes, and possibly use the tips and tricks in this book to come up with my own. It's been a while since I last read a cook book and left this excited to try its recipes out!

[Jeanette Beaulieu · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave this a 4 because they give you a ton of very important chemistry info that I can apply to vegan ice cream making. That being said, while they include a vegan ice cream base in the book, there is only one vegan ice cream recipe included in the recipes and it's super complicated (you have to make a caramel sauce, and cookie bars and then add them to the ice cream). I was a little disappointed because they always had 1-3 vegan flavors available at their shops and was hoping for more in the book. Still, in true salt and straw style these recipes are super complex and delicious sounding. Definitely a good pick for the gourmand in your life.

[Matt Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm marking this as read even though I haven't read every word of every recipe yet because I have read the narrative sections and, more importantly, I wanted to review it.

This is an excellent cookbook. Tyler Malek will not only teach you how to make his ice cream recipes, he will teach you some basic (and not so basic) tricks of the trade that will help you do your own thing and create your own sweet creations. I'm not about to consider myself an expert ice cream maker, but because of this book, I'm certainly no longer a novice.

And, oh yeah: his recipes are incredible.

If you want to make your own ice cream, start here.

[Kathie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this up from the library and hadn't heard of the ice cream shop before then. The majority of the recipes are quirky flavor combos, some of which seem more for shock value than taste. The Pear & Blue Cheese turned out bland, but the Strawberry Honey Balsamic with Black Pepper was delicious! Hesitant to buy because I'm not really interested in beer or vegetable flavors in ice cream, but it's a fun one for those who like experimenting and a weird factor. Might pick up again around Thanksgiving to make an ice cream that matches the meal, just for the conversation starter/laughs.

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most inspiring ice cream cookbook EVER

This book spills all the tea, letting us in on every tip and trick Salt & Straw uses to concoct their unique flavors. From how to keep mix-ins chewy to how to extract porky savoriness into caramel to the secret for luscious egg yolk-free ice cream, there is a delicious secret on every page, fully explained and made easy and accessible! I have a lot of ice cream cookbooks, and this one sits beside David Lebovitz's excellent classic, The Perfect Scoop, as a must have!

[Chris Chaffin]

An ice cream cookbook that creativly expands the scope of possible ice cream flavors. The author includes flavors that seem almost impossible. I tried making a batch of the pear with blue cheese as well as the strawberry with balsamic vinegar. I like them both, but I especially liked the strawberry with vinegar. To me the acid bit of the vinegar enhanced the strawberry flavor. I also like the short bread cookies recipe. I have never encounterd ice cream recipies that are as unusual or as adventurous as the ones found in this book.

[(a)lyss(a) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an interesting book about the history of Salt & Straw.

The book talks about the creation of the business, their expansion, and how the team created the recipes. The book is full of recipes based on Salt & Straw servings including both sweet and savory recipes. There's a base ice cream recipes that the recipes build on and advice on using ice cream machines for the right texture and flavor. Some of the recipes are time intensive, but can see it being worth trying to make if you're a big fan.

[Echo3180 · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have never been to a Salt & Straw location, but now I am planning to go.

Book starts off with the history of the business, then covers ice cream basics (the bases you start with), then recipes are divided into different chapters which are organized by flavor groups - The classics, brewers, flowers, berry, farmers market, student inventor, spooktacular, thanksgiving, and holiday.

I was pleasantly surprised to see dairy free options covered in the book (as well as their locations).

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for inventive ice cream recipes that run the gamut from being super simple to more complex projects. There are also lots of helpful hints about ingredients, the science behind ice cream, equipment, and techniques. Overall really pleased with how the ice cream is turning out and looking forward to exploring more recipes!

[Susan Ciliberti · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of how this business was created was interesting. I would like to visit one of their stores to sample the ice cream. The book contained a lot of helpful ideas about the ice cream making process. I feel like I learned quite a lot. The recipes were unusual and did not sound tempting. Not sure if I will make any of them.

[Blake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has my go-to ice cream base and opened my eyes to the wonders of Xanthan Gum. I usually don't bother heating it up to simplify and save time, and it still turns out great. (If you heat it up it will be even better.)

Some of the recipes I've tried are fantastic. Others look very strange, but I appreciate the inspiration.

[Ragon Duffy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow, I learned a lot about the science of ice cream making! Can't wait to try their basic base and although a lot of the recipes are a bit more experimental than I usually make, or require VERY specific ingredients, I learned a lot about how to tweak ingredients for freezing--the tips on cookies were very useful!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved their ice cream. They have such a way of balancing flavors and combining things that do not seem to go together or in ice and somehow it is magic.
I am not as into recipes that rely on a base and have other things added - perhaps I am a snob about this but one cannot help but be inspired by the flavor combinations and texture ideas that this book has.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a library lend that became a fast purchase! The ice cream base is solid. Each recipe is easy to break down into simple steps with DELICIOUS results. And it’s quite possible that a $20 book will now lead to a $200 upgraded ice cream machine purchase... 😉