Ice cream

Most of what is true for sorbet is also true for ice cream, especially this: It is best made at the last minute, because once it sits in a zero-degree freezer for any length of time, its texture will never be the same. In fact, the way some restaurants ensure that their ice cream is creamy and smooth is to freeze it just before service; what is left over after service is then often not frozen at all, but simply refrigerated, and the mixture is refrozen the next day.

Ice cream, as everyone knows, takes well to a wide variety of flavors. We start with a basic but very, very rich vanilla ice cream, and add to it in novel but not childish ways: citrus and rice, roasted almonds, glazed chestnuts, and a very bitter caramel. All of these are what you might call “adult” flavors—sophisticated, delicious, and complex rather than syrupy-sweet.