The history of ice creams and water ices is a long one. It is generally believed to be the Chinese who developed the art of making iced sweets. About 10 centuries ago they used to chill their fruit and tea drinks with ice, and it was from these early experiments that the fruit flavoured ices first appeared. The Chinese taught the art of making iced sweets to the Indians, Persians and Arabs. In Europe the iced sweet first made an appearance in renaissance times in Italy, in the form of a sorbetto. It was the great chefs of Italy who first realised the gastronomic potentials of ice creams and water ices and who introduced the art to the French. Throughout the 18th and 19th centuries ices became very fashionable and with the developments in refrigeration in the 20th century it became possible for everyone to make ice creams.

The Great Ice Cream Book will enable everyone to make stunning iced sweets, using fresh garden produce, flavourings such as coffee and ginger and of course the countless varieties of liqueurs and spirits. All you need is a freezer compartment and you will be making ice creams and sorbets just like those that grace the tables of many of the finest restaurants in Great Britain and Ireland. All the recipes in this book have been gathered from the kitchens of the very best restaurants, the chefs of which have generously and enthusiastically given up much of their valuable time in order to contribute to the book.