Handle Your Ice Cream with Care

It’s National Ice Cream Month. That’s something worth celebrating. It’s also July, so it’s hot out. Maybe this is a good time to talk about handling and storing our ice cream.

The good folks at the International Dairy Foods Association know a little something about storing and handling ice cream. They’ve got some thoughts on the subject.

First of all, no one needs a science degree to understand that ice cream must be kept cold. Ice cream and frozen desserts can see changes in body, texture and flavor characteristics because of melting. Plus, ice cream gets sticky when it melts. Who needs that?

So, let’s start with simple tips:

• Ice cream should be the last thing you get at the grocery store before proceeding to the checkout.
• Place at the top of the grocery cart.
• Don’t buy soft ice cream. The freezer at the store should be at least -20° F.
• Make the grocery or ice cream shop before heading home. Blasting the air conditioning in your car will not keep the ice cream from melting over time.
• Keep your freezer cold. This should go without saying, but we’re saying it anyway. -5° and 0° F should do it.
• Store ice cream in the main part of the freezer. Don’t store it on the freezer door. There is too much temperature fluctuation
• Don’t store ice cream next to uncovered food. Nobody want Rocky Road ice cream that tastes like frozen Brussels sprouts.
See? Storing ice cream isn’t so hard. National Ice Cream Month to practice storing and eating ice cream.