Rick Bayless' Go-To Ice Cream Scoop (And What Makes It Stand Out From The Rest)

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There are several ways to get a workout in the kitchen. Lifting a large pot of freshly boiled pasta, kneading bread dough, etc. Simply scooping ice cream into a bowl can be quite the challenge, if the ice cream is frozen solid and you don't have a proper ice cream scoop. (This is why heating your ice cream slightly before scooping it is one of our favorite microwave hacks.) The experience can give you a whole new appreciation for the employees working the dessert counter (rather than the shopping area) at Braum's or your favorite ice purveyor.

But you can cut down on the frustration by arming yourself with a high-quality ice cream scoop. Chef Rick Bayless, who recently partnered with hot sauce brand El Yucateco to share Mexican cooking tips, shared a hot tip for this cool treat. Bayless recommends the Zeroll Ice Cream Scoop. Why? "It's got antifreeze in it," he told Chowhound. "So when you scoop, it makes a really nice scoop, but then it releases the scoop."

The Zeroll scoop has been a family and restaurant favorite since 1935. It is made of aluminum and comes in a variety of scoop sizes, depending on how much ice cream you want to portion out at a time. The design is deceptively simple, with no springs or movable elements; however, it's the head-conductive fluid inside, which warms up with your hand, that makes all the difference. The scoop also keeps the ice cream from compacting when you grab it, so your portions look more satisfying, giving you more scoops per container than with another product.

There are many variations on the ice cream scoop, from shape (paddles vs. circles vs. ovals) to materials (aluminum, plastic, stainless steel) to mechanism. Users appreciate that the Zeroll is a single piece of equipment. Other scoops may have springs and handles, which are prone to breaking or sticking. (Just don't place your Zeroll in the dishwasher, as the aluminum could corrode.)

If you don't have the perfect scooper, don't worry. Enthusiastic ice cream consumers have a host of other ways to make dishing out ice cream easier. A simple option — if you can wait — is to just let the ice cream sit out on the counter for five to ten minutes before attempting to scoop. If your ice cream is consistently too hard, you could consider adjusting your freezer temperature. Generally, freezers should be set at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit. If your freezer is significantly below that, you could possibly raise the temperature (depending on your appliance's other contents). Another common method, if you lack the Zeroll or something similar, is to dip the scoop in hot or boiling water for a second before running it through the ice cream. And of course, there's always the microwave.

A less intuitive hack, perhaps, is to store your ice cream in a sealed plastic bag. Not only does this help protect it against crystallizing and freezer burn, the added layer of insulation keeps the ice cream just that much softer, aka, more scoopable.