Scoop Frozen-Solid Ice Cream Like Butter With This Knife Trick

Sure, we all scream for ice cream, but sometimes we scream at it, too, especially when it's rock-hard and can't be scooped out of the container. There is no shortage of online hacks meant to make this task easier, though, including one YouTube video from America's Test Kitchen that advocates cutting the ice cream into checkerboard squares. We asked Ed Dorval of Miami's V Gelato if this was necessary, and he tells us that the real takeaway from the video wasn't the pattern, but a few prep steps that barely rated a mention by its creator.

"The main thing she did right was leaving it at room temperature for five to ten minutes and letting it breathe, which always does the trick," Dorval tells The Takeout. He added that the video showed one more helpful tip: "A warm knife or scoop is always best. The temperature contrast will help cut into the ice cream better than cold to cold." It doesn't matter which implement you use — even a spoon will work — since, as he said, "Any knife or scoop option will do if warmed properly first." In the video, the knife was held under hot running water, which is about the quickest way to warm up a metal utensil. It was then able to cut through the frozen dessert like the proverbial hot knife through butter, or, in this case, ice cream.

Of course, one storage tip to keep your ice cream from hardening is to store the tub or container in a plastic bag. If it's too late for that, though, Ed Dorval suggests that there's another way you could make your too-solid ice cream more scoopable. "If you want it softer and more aerated, you can also cut out a really frozen portion and put it in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and let it mix for a minute or two at a gradual, slow to medium speed. This will soften it a lot more and give that straight out of the machine texture," he tells us.

The upside to using the stand mixer method is that you can easily add mix-ins to your ice cream, just like Cold Stone Creamery, only without the need to knead (or the stone). Cookie crumbs, chocolate chips, chopped fruit, mini marshmallows, nuts, or shredded coconut can all be added as the paddle does its thing. You could even make a copycat DQ Blizzard by using one part whipped topping to every two parts ice cream, or augment the whipped topping with a splash of milk for a DIY McFlurry. (McDonald's may claim to have fixed all of its broken Flurry machines, but the McBroken website claims otherwise, so it's always good to know a homemade alternative.)