Book Review By Terri Schlichenmeyer, Northend Agent’s
Your tongue can barely stay behind your teeth.
Is it Rocky Road that’s tempting you, or chocolate chip cookie dough? Maybe something with caramel on top, or just plain vanilla, dressed up in a rainbow of sprinkles. Have you ever had a bad ice cream cone on a hot summer’s day? Probably not – so dip into the new book “Ice Cream Queen” by Lokelani Albanza, and have a taste.
For nearly three centuries, says Albanza, “African American hands have been touching sugar.” Planting it, harvesting it, processing it, every step was loaded with possible danger, loss of limb, and loss of life.
Sugar is the first ingredient for ice cream, which was first made some 1500 years ago but which didn’t arrive in this country until around 1744. Thirty years after that, America’s first ice cream parlor was opened in New York City, and it was a hit. Take note, though, and stress the word “parlor.” An ice cream shop was a totally unacceptable place for unchaperoned ladies. A parlor was completely fine.
Writing about memories of her grandma’s stash of ice cream, Albanza recalls enjoying it after a good Southern meal cooked by the Tennessean woman. In her career-journey, Albanza learned about other Black cooks and Black cookbooks,
“And then I found Sarah Estell.”
From roughly 1840, until the Civil War, Estell, a Black woman, owned and ran an ice cream “saloon” in Nashville, serving ice cream she made. Known locally as the “Ice Cream Queen,” Estell seemed to disappear after 1865.
Like her “North Star,” Estell, Albanza makes unusual kinds of ice cream.
In this book, you’ll find a glossary of terms, lists of equipment needed, and directions for different bases to get you started. There are recipes for basic flavors, Parmesan, cream cheese & pepper jelly, burnt almond, and marshmallow You can have blueberry ice cream, cranberry-cherry vodka, summer corn, and more. But why stop there?
Says Albanza, “I have yet to come across one person who doesn’t like ice cream. Not one.”
So what’s your preference? A waffle cone, a regular cone, or in a bowl? Sprinkles or not and okay, now you want some ice cream but first, check out “Ice Cream Queen.”
The thing you’ll notice about this book is that it’s so happy. From the “birth of ice cream,” to tales of notable people in frozen-concoction history, to recipes for kids and kids-at-heart, this is one of those books that cooks will love but it’s not just for them. Author Lokelani Alabanza satisfies everyone, from historians to foodies, with step-by-step, easy-to-try instructions, so you can create tasty foundations for whatever flavor you might want to try. There’s even some encouragement for a little experimentation of your own. Glossy photos will make your mouth water while you’re smiling big.
Summertime can be a scorcher, and you know what cools you off best? Yep, so find this book, invest in a few tools, and be the hit of the neighborhood. For that, a book like “Ice Cream Queen” can’t be licked.
