looking to buy an ice cream scoop

[culinary bear]

Looking to invest in a good scoop; does anyone have any pointers?

[jsolomon]

Looking to invest in a good scoop; does anyone have any pointers?

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One ought never use a small scoop.

[culinary bear]

smart-arse.

[jsolomon]

This scoop is a reasonable one. It's not dishwasher-safe, though.

[Just loafing]

As a veteran of many ice cream cones, I would concur with jsoloman that the one illustrated (basic, but strong) is the best we've tried. I bought one of the Zyliss that was new out this year and supposed to be the next best thing to sliced bread, but it wasn't ... Cheers, Susan

[irodguy]

Solid scoop

This is what I use for cookies

very solid scoop dish washer safe.

[Fat Guy]

jsolomon, that was my old Zeroll scoop, but instead of the 1050, I now have the 1050-ZT, which is the same item in a "Zerolon" version (anodized teflon) so it's nonstick. It is in my opinion a major improvement.

[culinary bear]

One of the reviews on the site said the NS coating eventually peels and discolours the ice-cream. Any truth to this?

[nwyles]

My flatware supplier had a scoop in the showroom from Europe that was $80.00

It was filled with a gas that heated up from the heat from your hand and the ice cream slid right out. It was a little pricy and was not dishwasher safe at all. If it was heated too much, the gas overheated and it just became a regular scoop. Too rich for my blood but the perfect gift for the chef who has everything. If anyone is really serious about this, www.puddifoot.com should get you a bit more info or at least contact info - ask for Jason

[chiantiglace]

kerekes

[jsolomon]

So, I'm going to give up fame and fortune by simply throwing out my million-dollar idea.

We have non-dishwasher-safe antifreeze filled ice cream scoops, but why don't we have some which, instead of having sealed antifreeze in them, have a screw-in plug at the back, a hot-pad styled handle cover, and you fill it with hot water?

Hmm. I may have to talk to Leonard to machine one and try it out.

[Moopheus]

I think that sounds like more work to use than just washing a Zeroll by hand. I've never had much of a problem with ice cream sticking to a Zeroll, so I don't see why you'd need a coated one. The other kind of disher with the release that sweeps through the bowl is useful for many tasks since it comes in a variety of sizes and can be scooped into almost anything, but for ice cream, it's hard to top the Zeroll.

In the 30s the Zeroll was adopted by many ice cream parlors because you could make basically a hollow ball of ice cream with it, rather than a full, solid scoop. It was deliberately designed to be able to do that.

[Fat Guy]

One of the reviews on the site said the NS coating eventually peels and discolours the ice-cream.  Any truth to this?

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Most non-stick coatings do eventually degrade, but if you handle the item properly -- no dishwasher, no scouring pads, not stored in a drawer getting scratched up by your forks and knives -- you should get many years of good service out of it.

[Fat Guy]

My flatware supplier had a scoop in the showroom from Europe that was $80.00

It was filled with a gas that heated up from the heat from your hand and the ice cream slid right out.

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This sounds like the same technology used in the $15 Zeroll, although in the case of the Zeroll it's a liquid antifreeze solution.

[Fat Guy]

I think that sounds like more work to use than just washing a Zeroll by hand. I've never had much of a problem with ice cream sticking to a Zeroll, so I don't see why you'd need a coated one.

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Washing a Zeroll by hand is almost as easy as opening the dishwasher, putting it in the basket, and closing the dishwasher. And it's even easier when you have the non-stick version, which is really just rinse-and-wipe. The other two reasons I like the non-stick better are that it makes actual scooping even easier -- it cuts through the ice cream like the proverbial hot knife through butter -- and that it releases even more readily than the regular edition. No, it's not a dramatic, night-and-day, praise-the-lord difference, but I find that with the regular scoop you're sometimes hanging it over the dish waiting for the ice cream to release, and occasionally you have to shake or otherwise nudge it. Not so with the non-stick. This is one of the better culinary applications for Teflon that I've come across.

[Toliver]

I use the "Zeroll Ice Cream Spade" instead of a scoop. But then I'm not plating it for anyone other than myself so I don't need the pretty curls/balls of ice cream you get with a scoop.

The spade also seems to be easier on the hand & wrist when dishing out ice cream.

[Holly Moore]

A scoop like the Zeroll, while quite good for dipping ice cream, is designed more for lowering a dipping parlor's food cost than for ease of use. It isn't really a "scoop."

The correct method to use one is to drag it along the top surface of the ice cream. It works like a plane, shaving off a sliver of ice cream that, by its designed shape, the scoop rolls into a ball - sort of like rolling a ball for a snow man. In the process it traps a lot of invisible air into the "scoop" of ice cream that the customer doesn't see. I forget the exact percentage - but a rolled portion of ice cream may have just 70-80 percent of ice cream as the same dimensioned portion from a regular scoop.

[Dorie Greenspan]

It doesn't make pretty quenelle-ish portions, but I really like the Chef'n ice cream scoop -- it has a little assymetrical point that burrows its way through any ice cream, even one with lots of chips and chunks.

[culinary bear]

Most non-stick coatings do eventually degrade, but if you handle the item properly -- no dishwasher, no scouring pads, not stored in a drawer getting scratched up by your forks and knives -- you should get many years of good service out of it.

I'm afraid I follow the dictum "If you don't mind not seeing an item again, or at least not seeing it in the same (although cleaned) state it was in, don't give it to the porters to clean".

I caught one of them using my brand new carving knife to punch air holes in an oil can the other day.

He's Congolese, and since I happily speak French, I was able to communicate my rather strong displeasure concerning his actions.

I imagine the fact that I locked him in the walk-in freezer for twenty minutes emphasised my displeasure equally effectively.

Seriously though, I can't begin to tell you how many non-stick items I've had that have been wrecked by asinine porters.

[chefcyn]

This scoop is a reasonable one.  It's not dishwasher-safe, though.

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Any idea why it's not dishwasher safe? Mine has been through the dishwasher a zillion times, and still works fine-though the chlorine in the soap has dulled its finish. Usually I just rinse and drop it in the dish rack anyway. I don't know who keeps putting it in the DW

[jsolomon]

Any idea why it's not dishwasher safe?  Mine has been through the dishwasher a zillion times, and still works fine-though the chlorine in the soap has dulled its finish.  Usually I just rinse and drop it in the dish rack anyway.  I don't know who keeps putting it in the DW

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Properly heated water in a dishwasher is hotter than the boiling point of the antifreeze, so you're slowly boiling away all of the antifreeze in it. Shake it. You shouldn't hear anything anymore. New/non-dishwasher-washed ones will slosh.