Have you ever tried to scoop ice cream with a broken ice cream scoop? If you have, you’ll know how frustratingly difficult this can be. But many people just power on through and end up with uneven, messy scoops that ruin the presentation of your dessert.
But you really don’t need to put up with this when there is a simple ice cream scoop fix. In fact, we have lots of handy tips on how to fix cookie scoops and ice cream scoops so you never have to struggle again.
Keep reading to find out more!
Table of contents
The Workings Of An Ice Cream Scoop
Ice cream scoops are manual tools used to scoop out even portions of ice cream. Some people confuse these tools with the cookie scoop but there is a slight difference in the shape of the head. Ice cream scoops have a bowl shaped head whereas a cookie scoop is shaped more like a spade. In any case, both tools are designed to create even portions of food.
When you use your ice cream scoop, the spoon is forced into the ice cream and as it breaks through the surface, an air pocket is formed. Once you take your hand off of the handle, an internal spring is released and this forces the ice cream out of the bowl shaped head.
Usually, ice cream scoops are made from either one of two parts. It’s normally the larger scoops that have two parts while smaller ones don’t. These parts are the scoop and the handle; it’s a pretty simple design but one that works well.
Help! My Ice Cream Scoop Is Broken – What Happened?
If you love sweet treats then an ice cream scoop will be one of the most important tools in your kitchen. So when you find that it isn’t working as it should, this can be wildly annoying. There are a couple of things that might happen to cause your ice cream scoop to malfunction.
- The scoop can break or bend out of shape which makes it difficult to get those even portions.
- The mechanism in the scoop that releases an air pocket can malfunction and this results in a cavity within the portion after it is released.
If you’re using a metal scoop then it may be possible to bend the bowl shaped head back into place. However, plastic scoops that have suffered this type of damage are usually not salvageable. We will give you more tips on how to deal with these problems throughout this article.
Ways To Fix Your Ice Cream Scoop
You could always go out and buy a new ice cream scoop and there may be times that you have no other choice in this. But before you unnecessarily part with any money, take a look at our ice cream scoop fix suggestions. You may be able to salvage your utensil and save yourself a few dollars in the process.
Freezing And Lubrication
For those times that you can afford to wait a little before serving your ice cream, you might want to pop the ice cream scoop into the freezer. When you do this, the cold temperatures harden the ice cream scoop so it’ll be far easier when it comes to getting ice cream out of the tub.
This is a brilliant hack for when you are dealing with completed chilled ice cream which can be notoriously difficult to scrape. Although, if you use it on slightly softer ice cream, it’ll go through like a hot knife through butter.
Once you take the ice cream scoop out of the freezer, you might also wish to add a little lubrication. Something like vegetable oil works really well as it’ll give the scoop that little extra slipperiness without affecting the flavor of your dessert.
Although some people don’t like to use vegetable oil, there are plenty of other edible lubricants you can use like butter, for example. The one problem you have to keep in mind with this however, is that, unlike oil, butter will go hard when it cools down which is bound to happen when it comes into contact with the ice cream. The result is that the lubricating properties will be lost.
It’s Getting Hot In Here
Cooling your ice cream scoop is one way to make it work better but going in the opposite direction is also worth trying.
To heat up your ice cream scoop, you need nothing more than a bowl of hot water. Allow the scoop to soak in the hot water for a couple of minutes. You could also hold it under running water but of course, this requires more effort on your part.
If you also want to add that little bit of lubrication to the scoop then you could try rubbing some warm veggie oil onto the scoop using a piece of kitchen towel.
The Right Placement Within The Ice Cream
We know how tempting it is to just dive in anywhere on the ice cream because you’re eager to get that serving into your bowl. But just take a few moments to think about where you’re going to place the scoop as this will make all the difference when it comes to getting the ice cream out of the tub.
This tip works best when you’re dealing with super solid ice cream that’s incredibly stubborn. Yes, you could leave the ice cream to soften for a while but who wants to do that when they could be enjoying a delicious dessert?
So, if you want your treat sooner rather than later, make sure to put the ice cream scoop into the middle of the tub and don’t let it touch the edge. You’ll find it easier to scoop and you won’t end up with as much mess.
Cool Things Down
We talked about using hot water but cold water also works amazingly well when your ice cream scoop isn’t playing ball. Just allow the scoop to soak in a bowl of cold water and then watch how easily it glides through even the hardest ice cream.
Keep It Clean
Sometimes, an ice cream scoop can stop working because there is something stuck or blocking it from working as it should. The absolute best way to prevent problems like this is by keeping your ice cream scoop clean. Washing it after each use is essential but sometimes we might miss a bit or just forget to clean up in the rush to devour dessert.
The best way to remove clogged food from your ice cream scoop is to use a cleaning brush as this will get rid of stubborn patches far more effectively than soaking would. That said, having a bowl of warm water for cleaning is still super important.
When you clean your ice cream scoop, it’s a good idea to wear rubber gloves as this will also allow you to use your hands to remove dirt and stuck on food much better than your bare hands. Make sure to soak the rubber gloves in hot water before cleaning; of course, don’t heat them up so much that they’re uncomfortable to wear.
The best product to use for cleaning an ice cream scoop is regular dish soap. However, you can also use chalk which is pretty effective. The reason it works so well is that the chalk breaks up any clogged, old ice cream.
In the most severe cases, baking soda is brilliant at breaking down old food and will have your ice cream scoop looking and working like new in no time at all.
Conclusion
Are you about to serve up a helping of delicious, cooling ice cream but have found that your ice cream scoop isn’t working? If so you might be wondering how to fix (a) cookie scoop and the good news is that there are a lot of simple ways you can get your scoop performing at its best again.
Make sure that the scoop is clean and well maintained and then you can use either heat or cold to make it perform better. It’s also a clever idea to add some lubrication which will help the scoop glide through the ice cream effortlessly.
Use these tips to get your ice cream scoop dishing up tasty servings again and then all you need to do is add the sprinkles!
