The story behind the ice cream dreams of Katie Luber and Sara Engram, authors of the new book, Spice Dreams.

RM What’s your first memory of eating ice cream? 
Katie When I was a little girl, my dad would always pile the neighborhood kids into his VW microbus and take us all over to Baskin-Robbins. I always ordered a double dip of chocolate chip, and it seemed like my cone bit the dust every time we went. Even more vivid are the stories that my mother told me about her childhood adventures with ice cream. She grew up in Dallas—before air-conditioning—during the Depression. She always told my brothers and me about how, on especially hot and sultry evenings, her father and uncles would make homemade ice cream. Everyone had to take a turn at the crank, and she hated how hard it was to turn. With relish, she’d recite the most despised flavors, like grape, and rum raisin, and how they looked like wet cement. She and her sister would pretend to eat the ice cream, but run to the bushes and dump it out instead. 
Sara I grew up in southern Alabama, where summers were really hot and humid. I had three sets of aunts, uncles, and cousins living on the same block, and we liked to have ice cream parties with hand-cranked ice cream. It was so cold to sit on top of the canister to keep it stable while older cousins or adults churned the ice cream by hand. I’m not sure whether it was absolutely necessary to have a small child provide that stability or it was just a way to let us feel included, but boy, was that seat cold! I loved every kind of homemade ice cream, but especially the vanilla.

RM Do you remember the first time you made it at home?
Katie I began making ice cream at home because I craved it when I became pregnant with my first child, Jacob. I made super-luscious vanillas with add-ins like peppermint, and chocolate and raspberries. I had a tiny galley kitchen in New York City, and by the end of my pregnancy could only fit in sideways!
Sara I loved homemade ice cream as a child, but I got addicted all over again when my husband started experimenting with making fruit-flavored ice creams. Now, as much as I love pure fruit flavor—whether strawberry or banana or pear—I can no longer make an ice cream without a bit of spice embellishment. Strawberry just screams for some cinnamon, and if there’s anything better than an ice cream made from perfectly ripe pears, it’s the same ice cream with a teaspoon or two of cardamom.

RM What made you decide to follow up your first book, Spice Kitchen, with a book about ice cream? 
Katie Ice cream is so nonthreatening that it is a wonderful place for explorers to try new flavor combinations. 
Sara Plus, it’s the perfect empty canvas just waiting for an artist to try something new. We are all about helping people see how they can try new things with some of their favorite everyday foods.

RM Why spices?
Katie I have always had a thing for the flavors of spices, and we knew that the tongue can distinguish more flavor gradations around sweet than salty flavors, and ice cream seemed the perfect vehicle for experimenting with spicy flavor combinations. 
Sara Why spices? Why not? Seriously, spices—especially organic spices—provide pure, vibrant flavors without any added calories or fat. (There’s already enough of that in ice cream!)
Katie Most people do not realize how much spices can complement sweet flavors. One of my favorite recipes in the book is a white chocolate allspice ice cream that is just heavenly. That said, my kids have still not forgiven me for a pickled beet ice cream with rosemary and ginger. It was pink and beautiful but tasted just like frozen borscht.
Sara Spices like ginger or cloves can create a slight buzz that lingers in your mouth, forcing you to take notice of each bite—so you get pleasure from savoring the dish, rather than gulping it all down and going for more. 

RM What’s your fave ice cream truck treat?
Katie Dreamsicles, though I’d take an ice cream sandwich or an Eskimo Pie, too.
Sara Dreamsicles. Enough said!

RM Chocolate or vanilla?
Katie Vanilla!  But with lots of add-ins! Including cardamom sprinkled on top; chocolate, cumin, and fennel; or peach chunks with chili or allspice!
Sara Vanilla! Especially with cardamom sprinkled on top.

Buy it!

Spice Dreams: Flavored Ice Creams and Other Frozen Treats

June 1, 20101

$17, Andrews McMeel