La Grotta Ices

Product Information

Ice cream making is often framed as a science — the pursuit of the perfect texture and flavor measured in ice crystal size and milk protein ratios — but for Kitty, it is most definitely an art.

La Grotta Ices was established in London in 2008, named in recognition of that little glaciere in Cannes which fed her early ice cream dreams. Currently, the ices are being sold every Saturday at Spa Terminus in Bermondsey, where you can get your ices in a cone, cup, or by the pint. Fueled by a well-traveled palate and the desire to pluck fruit from any available source along the way, Kitty has provided us with rich stories and unique recipes in this book.Her spectrum of flavours is not simply seasonal and inventive but show a playfulness and yet skilful blending of different ice cream traditions from the gelataria of Italy to the pistachio and mastic ice creams of the Middle East. Consequently, it is the most expensive spice in the world, but fortunately a little goes a long way. How eating too many Kiwis in the name of love led to a visit to a cowboy-hatted doctor, the part played by Mussolini in the drama, and how Italy can be too much if you're not careful.

Otherwise simmer the apricot halves gently in a non-reactive pan, just until they are cooked through and piping hot (do not boil). One of my favourite places was a beautiful old glacière that I started going to for breakfast everyday, where they had a menu board of fresh new ice creams on offer every time I visited. Maybe you have to have an ice cream maker with a compressor or one that you can crank and add ice to for as long as it takes, no matter how long that might be, maybe then these recipes will work. Often it's that first lick of Mr Whippy soft-scoop vanilla (with a chocolate flake if you were flush) in a dry, brittle, tasteless cone.To make the ice-cream: the following day, pick out the vanilla pod and squeeze out all the seeds, adding them back to the custard.

The Crocus sativus flower, from which saffron is derived, has one bright red stigma divided into three filaments. Throughout these years, every spare moment she had was used for travel and exploration - from France, Sicily, Rome and Naples to Iceland, Istanbul and Brazil. I would be bored by now if I was just making chocolate- and cream-based ice creams, or using nuts and pastes,” she explains.

Glucose syrup, dextrose, and frozen fruit purées are also off-limits, all at odds with the “naturalness” that Kitty champions. London based multi-instrumentalist, composer, experimental sound and visual artist, Damsel Elysium utilises double bass, violin, piano and original field recordings to explore intangible connections between humans and the natural world. She spots a box of Alphonso mangoes half-hidden in a corner and rushes to them to feel the weight of the ripe fruit in her palm.

This was ice cream made from the fruits of southern France and local sweets, where the flavours changed every day. Cut the passion fruit in half horizontally and use a teaspoon to scrape the seeds and pulp of each half into a clean bowl. I had amazing flavours: pecorino and lemon peel, local strawberries with local white wine as a sorbet, and pistachio.Each flavour takes three days to craft (she makes up to eight a week), with Kitty using social media to publicise what she will bring to market. The ice creams, sorbets, and granitas featured in La Grotta are fruit-focusedthe best produce goes into the ice cream and sorbet bases to ensure the purest taste of the fruit shines through. The artwork in the book is eye-catching and fun and photographs, by Grant Cornett, capture perfectly the nostalgia around our ice cream memories. Sunlit flavours and far flung traditions pervade Kitty's ice creams as well as her ultimate inspiration- nature. With pleasure always the aim of the game — whether you’re attempting to replicate one of Kitty’s recipes or just flicking through the book licking your lips — Studio Frith also designed a typeface to reflect this, “derived from the pleasure of ice cream, where nature and play come together.