Ice cream scoops

[paradox3]

What's your opinion on ice cream scoops?

I have been doing some decluttering and reading up on some of the gurus in the field. There are many of these experts out there.

Ice cream scoops are often cited as an unnecessary kitchen item that should be eliminated. A spoon works just as well, the thinking goes. But does it really?

I am keeping my ice cream scoop even though we don't buy ice cream very often. Any time I have tried to use a spoon it has been much more difficult especially if the ice cream is very frozen. I have even bent a spoon or two this way in my lifetime.

What do you say?

 

[Mendalla]

We don't usually have ice cream around (Mrs. M isn't crazy about it, and I generally avoid anything with large amounts of sugar in) but in my family home, where we usually had at least vanilla around for making floats, a spoon always seemed to suffice. I don't think we ever had an actual scoop. That said, I do occasionally have ice cream at Mandarin and can see where a sturdy scoop like the ones they use would be better than a spoon when the ice cream is hard.

 

[paradox3]

When I was growing up my mom used to buy ice cream in bricks. She always sliced them with a knife and you would get a nice rectangle. I particularly remember Neapolitan ice cream being served this way.

When the carton was empty my mom would flatten it out, put it on a piece of newspaper and give it to the dog to lick clean. Ah memories!

 

[Mendalla]

When I was growing up my mom used to buy ice cream in bricks.

Yep, we mostly had bricks, too. Some brands still sell them from what I see in stores. Slicing only happened rarely though. Neapolitan looked cool when sliced, though, because of the stripes.

 

[Redbaron]

I vote for keeping at least one decent scoop. Spoons are OK, but I find scoops are easier to deal with, even with soft serve.

 

[paradox3]

Yep, we mostly had bricks, too. Some brands still sell them from what I see in stores. Slicing only happened rarely though. Neapolitan looked cool when sliced, though, because of the stripes.

There was one brand that sold a brick of ice cream that looked like a checkerboard. It was also very cool when sliced.

 

[paradox3]

I vote for keeping at least one decent scoop. Spoons are OK, but I find scoops are easier to deal with, even with soft serve.

Agreed. If the goal is to be efficient with drawer space in the kitchen, one ice cream scoop doesnt occupy much real estate

 

[paradox3]

The organizing gurus don't like garlic presses either. We have one but I often bypass it. Mr Paradox is a fan.

And then there are melon ballers. I once took a fruit tray to a neighborhood brunch at the cottage and got a lot of comments on the melon balls.

"You have a melon baller at the cottage?" someone said.

Of course. Doesn't everyone?

 

[Mendalla]

The organizing gurus don't like garlic presses either.

We keep one around. It's handy when you need the garlic fine for something like a dressing. Sometimes Mrs. M just chops it, though, for other things. Faster and doesn't create an extra item to wash.

And then there are melon ballers.

Doubt we would ever own one. It's more for show, really, and Mrs. M generally has melons in the house for her own consumption, not fruit trays.

 

[paradox3]

Melon ballers are wasteful unless you eat the extra fruit which I generally do. Yes they are for show. Fruit trays have long been my solution when asked to contribute to a potluck.

 

[paradox3]

I hear that ice cream scoops are useful for muffin batter etc.

 

[Redbaron]

The organizing gurus don't like garlic presses either. We have one but I often bypass it. Mr Paradox is a fan.

And then there are melon ballers. I once took a fruit tray to a neighborhood brunch at the cottage and got a lot of comments on the melon balls.

"You have a melon baller at the cottage?" someone said.

Of course. Doesn't everyone?

I read of one organizing guru who said no house should have more than thirty books total. Yes, THEY WALK AMOING US.....

 

[Carolla]

There was one brand that sold a brick of ice cream that looked like a checkerboard. It was also very cool when sliced.

I was just about to comment on the checkerboard style when I came to your post!

 

[Carolla]

Definite yes to ice cream scoop! Use ours for icecream, and batter scooping too - in fact just the other day for trail mix cookie dough, and for sourdough buttermilk biscuits Just the right size. And a scoop is usually much stronger than a spoon you might use to dig out icecream - have bent a few spoons in the past doing this.
Yes for garlic press - our is a two piece version from Lee Valley that twists through sharp teeth more than presses to mash up the garlic - great if you need it really fine for salad dressing or sauces.
Yes to an antique melon baller! It was my grandmother's Two sizes - one on each end of a wooden handle (that is shedding its paint - reminder to self - have to sand that off!) I rarely use it, but keep it anyway. Fun as you say for fruit plates, and sometimes for making interesting garnish for drinks - impresses the heck out of little kids & adults alike! And of course the waste bits always have to find their way into somebody's mouth!!

 

[paradox3]

I read of one organizing guru who said no house should have more than thirty books total. Yes, THEY WALK AMOING US.....

They don't like toys and children's books either. I kept all my favorites of my kids' books and have been enjoying them with my granddaughter. There are a couple of toys I wish I had kept.

I have a few toys from my own childhood. My daughters had little interest in them but my granddaughter enjoys my old Barbie dolls. You should see her eyes go wide when I explain some of Skipper's dresses were sewn by her great grandmother.

I even have a Barbie sweater that was knitted by her great great grandmother.

The key is to be selective about what we hang onto I think.

 

[paradox3]

I was just about to comment on the checkerboard style when I came to your post!

What I remember was a strawberry and vanilla combo. It might have been Chapman's but I am not sure.

 

[paradox3]

Good points about finely chopped garlic which is needed sometimes. I am generally making spaghetti sauce or a stir fry so chopping with a knife does the trick.

 

[paradox3]

The organizing gurus also want us to digitalize all our old photographs.

If you don't organize them first, wouldn't you just end up with a big digitalized mess?

I went through all of mine a few years ago. I tossed all the duplicates, poor shots, etc. Ditto for pix of landmarks and vacation scenery. I had my parents' photos as well as my own. It was a big job and I have been left with more albums than you can shake a stick at. I'm happy though.

Will my kids be interested in all of this someday? Doesn't seem that way so far.

 

[Waterfall]

I use ice cream scoops for sure. They work great when you put the ice cream on cones for the grandkids and I also use it sometimes for mashed potatoes, squash, sweet potatoes, etc..
If the ice cream is really hard I will run the scoop under hot water to make scooping easier.

 

[Mendalla]

The organizing gurus also want us to digitalize all our old photographs.

If you don't organize them first, wouldn't you just end up with a big digitalized mess?

Mrs. M did this, more so we could have backups than to get rid of them, though. We still have the albums, and the digital images are stored in a couple places (so we have backups of the backups. Can you tell one of us works in IT? ) . They were already pretty well organized and labelled (after all, we both went to library school) so she just had to pick which were important enough to scan.