Kitchen

[AngelPuppy1]

Yeeeeeeeessss!  So good this way!  DH loves ice cream when it's as hard as a brick.  I don't think its very flavorful this way.  Any how, I love it when it starts melting a bit.  Not soupy, but just creamy.  A few seconds in microwave and a couple mashes with a spoon --- perfect!  And yes --- ice cream all year long!!!!  

[godi]

Before the microwave I left it sit on the counter till it was just right! 😋 

[beckyb1012]

I exercise every day so that I can have a bowl of ice cream every single night.  But I want mine as hard/frozen as I can get it to last longer.  I even have a special bowl that stays in my freezer except when I use it.  It sits inside another bowl that I filled with water so my ice cream bowl sits in ice while I eat it.  Just keep a kitchen towel wrapped around it for my hands to stay warm.. Believe me in Texas this time of year you have to be inventive if you want ice cream and not ice flavored milk.

[chickenbutt]

I've done this before and it works great.  Now, I will just take the ice cream out of the freezer when I start eating dinner and it's enough time to soften it enough to use.   I'm not very strong anymore so I just flat can't dig a scoop into hard ice cream.

[LilacTree]

@chickenbutt 

Hi chickenbutt, glad to see you back!  

I also microwave my iced dessert (can’t eat dairy with rheumatoid).  I also was finding it too hard for my hands and wrists to get the spoon in and out.  I’ve been doing it for years now. Love it that way!

BTW, Ben &Jerry has a great variety of iced desserts, and I cannot taste the difference between it and real ice cream.

[software]

I must be doing it wrong, no matter how long or short a time, it will have ice crystals the next time I get it out of the freezer.   

[Greeneyedlady21]

@software I read an article earlier this Summer about freezer burn/ice crystals in ice cream. One trick is to always keep ice cream in the back of the freezer, because that's the coldest area. Never keep it on the door. It happens because of softening and refreezing of the ice cream. Also you can place wax paper on the top of the ice cream inside the container.

[chickenbutt]

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@LilacTree wrote:

@chickenbutt 

Hi chickenbutt, glad to see you back!  

I also microwave my iced dessert (can’t eat dairy with rheumatoid).  I also was finding it too hard for my hands and wrists to get the spoon in and out.  I’ve been doing it for years now. Love it that way!

BTW, Ben &Jerry has a great variety of iced desserts, and I cannot taste the difference between it and real ice cream.

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Hey LT!  Nice seein' ya.  I hope this finds you well.

I was thinking about the ice crystals problem.   I have seen that and never nuke mine, so I think it's just a 'space in the container' thing.   I wonder if taking a small piece of cellophane wrap and pressing it down onto the top surface of the ice cream would preclude that. 

That's also my thing for gravy.  When you make gravy and then use some out of the pan, while letting the rest of it cool it will grow this gross skin on top.   I just can't deal with that so, after I have removed what I am going to use and have taken the pot off the stove so it can cool before storing the rest of it, I take a piece of cellophane wrap and push it down onto the top surface of the gravy.  You need to carefully be sure to cover the entire surface.  It's easy to do.   Leave that there until it is completely cooled, then remove it and pour the rest of the gravy into the storage container to refrigerate.  Works 100%.  no more gravy skin. 

[depglass]

My neighbor taught me this.  I never did previously because I assumed it would melt on the outside only.  Microwaving the entire carton for 15-20 seconds softens it uniformly so I can get the scoop in.