Stainless Steel Ice Cream Scoop With Trigger Release for Cookies Fruits (Small)

Product Information

The hollow design of some ice cream scoops helps with heat transfer. "Anyone who has tried to scoop ice cream from a tub that just came out of the freezer knows it’s not easy, so most scoops are designed to transfer the heat from your hand to the ice cream you are scooping," the Bechtels say. "Most hollow scoops are filled with a conductive liquid that warms the scoop, making it just a bit easier to get through a tub of ice cream.” This conductive liquid will often be advertised as an anti-freeze. Pretty much all modern ice cream scoops are made from either aluminum or stainless steel,” say Wes and Kristen Bechtel, co-owners of Boombalatti’s ice cream shop in Wilmington, North Carolina. This makes sense, considering all of the options on our list are made of aluminum, zinc, or stainless steel. While we didn’t notice a certain material performing better than others in our testing, it’s worth noting that aluminum ice cream scoops are hand-wash only, while the other materials are typically dishwasher safe. Not sure what to look for when it comes to the best ice cream scoop? Take a look at this buyer’s guide. Design The Spring Chef Ice Cream Scoop has an ergonomic, comfortable rubber handle that comes in twelve different colors (we tested the purple one). The handle also boasts a notch at the bottom for lifting off frozen lids, similar to a bottle opener. No more cold fingers! We tested 22 ice cream scoops in our Lab—including traditional scoops, dishers, spades, and even a scoop/disher combo—and evaluated them on performance, design, and durability. Each scoop was tested with two types of ice cream: Häagen-Dazs and Blue Bell. Five minutes before scooping, we took the ice cream out of the freezer and placed it on the countertop.

For Kelly Williamson, co-founder of True Scoops ice cream, the best way to scoop ice cream is to let the ice cream soften on the counter until it gives slightly with the touch of a finger. “Dip your ice cream scoop in at a slight angle and drag it towards you until a ball of ice cream has formed,” she says. “If you’re scooping from a pint, dip into it at the same slight angle but ‘go around the world’ which basically means to go around the outside of the pint scooping up all that ice cream.” Shaped into a tab to stop your hand sliding up towards the business end, the handle also has soft non-slip panels, making it comfortable to hold and ensuring your grip stays firmly in one place. Handles are usually made from rubber or plastic. The ice cream scoop will either have a coated handle, or it’ll have a rubber handle as a separate piece. Both rubber and plastic handles are comfortable and grippy, but you’ll lose any heat transference through the warmth of your hand which can make the ice cream a little harder to scoop. Grip Ice cream scoops are tools that are certainly not limited to frozen treats. They can also be used to scoop batter and dough for baking. The disher-style tool allows you to spoon up a precise serving and maintain that perfectly round shape. Plus, the trigger mechanism makes for an easy and smooth release. Many people enjoy using an ice cream scoop for cupcake, muffin, and pancake batter, as well as uniform portions of cookie dough. It's not limited to just the sweet stuff though—we've seen ice cream scoops being used to shape meatballs and patties for burgers. They can also be used to dish up charmingly round servings of mashed potatoes, risotto, and egg salad. The possibilities are endless. Our experts have some pretty helpful tips on how to scoop ice cream like a professional. "Ice cream softens from the outside in, so you want to pull the scoop around the outside of the container you’re scooping from (and the larger the container, the easier it is to scoop),” the Bechtels say. “As you pull the scoop through the ice cream it should curl itself into the perfect ball of ice cream, ready to nestle perfectly into your cup or cone."To be labeled as ice cream in the United States, a gallon of ice cream must weigh at least 4.5 pounds and contain a minimum of 10 percent milk fat,” they say. “Milk fat is both delicious and expensive, so budget-brand frozen dairy desserts will often replace a good deal of the milk fat with whipped air in an attempt to mimic the creaminess of ice cream (while also decreasing the calories). This means a scoop of super premium ice cream will weigh significantly more than an equal-sized scoop of a frozen dairy dessert.” Why are some ice cream scoops hollow? If your ice cream is coming straight from a household freezer, chances are it’s too hard to scoop. (FYI: Ice cream shops have temperature-controlled freezers to keep their ice cream soft and scoopable.) But that’s where this Good Cook Smart Scoop shines. By design, this aluminum scoop is made to handle frozen ice cream. It has metal claws that look clunky but are actually a genius way to cut through ice cream that’s too hard. It’s also a good option when serving up ice cream for guests, as it produces uniformly round scoops. On average, a scoop of ice cream is 1/2 cup, but it depends on who is doing the scooping, what their methods are, and what size scoop is used. A scoop with a 1/2-cup bowl can easily create a 1-cup ball of ice cream.

We use a size 20 scoop, which means we could get about 20 scoops of ice cream from a quart, or approximately 2 ounces per scoop,” they add. “Some shops use a size 10 scoop, which is twice as big: 4-ounce scoops or 10 scoops per quart." Design and Features An updated take on the traditional ice cream scoop, this cleverly designed Trigger Action Ice Cream Scoop from OXO Good Grips is strongly made from stainless steel so it easily scoops through even the most solid ice cream, while the trigger action pops out perfect globes every time. When we tested this in a home kitchen, it took no time at all to scoop tight, round balls of ice cream with the Zeroll. The ice cream easily slid into an awaiting bowl, especially during the first tests while our hand was still warm. That ease of scooping hard ice cream, a sleek and balanced design, and perfectly sized servings put this scoop at the top of the list. Best of all, this is one solid piece, so there's no danger of parts breaking or loosening over time.The handle is hollow and filled with antifreeze, which makes cutting through hard ice cream a breeze. (Though this also means you shouldn’t put it in the dishwasher.) In terms of performance, we hardly found any negatives except that it’s impossible to shape your ice cream scoops into balls due to the nature of spades. But if you don’t care about perfectly round scoops, this was one of the best-performing ice cream scoops we tested. While the scoop itself is the most important part of the ice cream scoop, the handle design also varies. A basic one-piece scoop will be made from the same material as the bowl of the scoop. Others may have a rubber coating for comfort or an ergonomic grip. If a single-piece scoop has conducting liquid to soften the ice cream, however, any coating for comfort would interfere with the heat transference.

For mechanical scoops, the handle can also be where the release is. The release is typically a lever that is operated with the thumb or, in some models, squeezing the handle itself. These are typically designed to be done one-handed. During testing, we noticed that no matter the ice cream texture, the Sumo scoop still made nice and even scoops. Instead of serving your ice cream straight from the freezer, we recommend letting it soften on the counter a few minutes before serving. (When the ice cream was too hard, we had to use our fingers and a spoon to help release it from the scoop.) Nevertheless, this reliable dishwasher-safe scoop got our stamp of approval for comfort and ease of use. Tip: If your freezer is very cold and the ice cream’s set hard, you may find it helpful to warm the Trigger Scoop in some hot water before use. Scooping depends in part on the type of scoop used. If you're using a round scoop, it should be used at an angle, scooping in an s-shape in the tub of ice cream, then following around the outside of the tub to even off the top of the tub for the next scoop. Spade-style scoops are generally pushed into and across the top of the ice cream. Dipping the scoop into hot water can help get the scoop through hard ice cream, but it can also leave a bit of water behind in the ice cream tub where it will turn into ice. It may be better to leave the ice cream out of the freezer for a few minutes to let it soften enough to be easy to scoop.Unlike traditional scoops, the HIC Kitchen spade is wide and flat with a rounded edge that makes it ideal for scooping out hard ice cream. We tested this space on both half-gallon and pint ice cream containers and had the best results with the half-gallon container due to its size. We found that the edge was way better for digging ice cream from around the rim compared to a regular scoop.

Some scoops (especially those used in commercial settings) list the size "with a number that corresponds to the number of scoops that you would get from a quart of ice cream,” the Bechtels say. “This means that larger-sized scoops will have a smaller number because you’d get fewer scoops from a quart of ice cream from a larger scoop."During testing, we found it was comfortable to hold, balanced, and doesn't cause any wrist strain when used. Plus, the non-slip handle ensures a firm, comfortable grip and keeps your hand from getting cold while using. With no moving parts, this scoop is sturdy and durable, and, as an added bonus, is dishwasher safe. This type of scoop isn’t the best for scooping small portions or for making ice cream cones since it can scoop a lot and it's hard to control the serving size and appearance. When we used this scooper with a pint of ice cream we found it a challenge to see over the paddle since it was larger than the container itself, so that's something to keep in mind. However, it worked very efficiently in the half-gallon tub of ice cream. First, we tested each scoop on a pint of Häagen-Dazs to see how well it can scoop ice cream with a firmer texture and maneuver around a pint container. We took three scoops from the pint, paying close attention to how easily the scoop cut through the ice cream and how well it released the ice cream. We also noted how comfortable it was to hold, and we even used our left hand at least once to see if the scoop is suitable for lefties. Then, we hand-washed and dried the scoop before continuing to our second test.