ice cream - beyond the bowl

How To Make ice cream - beyond the bowl

• 1

  SCOOPING WITH FLAIR - Scoop one kind of ice cream, then midway through the scoop, move to a second flavor & finish the motion. You get one ice cream ball swirled with two flavors.
• 2

  TEMPTING TARTUFO - Scoop & freeze ice cream until it's nice & hard. Dip the ice cream into lukewarm melted chocolate, then freeze until semi-hard. Roll the chocolate-covered ice cream in chopped pistachios, shredded coconut or chocolate shavings.
• 3

  FANCY FLOATS - Cook up nouveau soda fountain creations for dessert. Try peach ice cream with cream soda, mango ice cream with ginger beer or vanilla ice cream with orange soda.
• 4

  HOT FUDGE SAUCE - Microwave 1 C semi-sweet chocolate chips on HIGH, stirring occasionally, until melted, about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes. Stir in 2/3 C sweetened condensed milk, 1/4 C light corn syrup, 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract & a pinch of salt until smooth. Serve warm or at room temperature
• 5

  ICE CREAM TIPS - MAKE THE EASIEST DESSERT EVEN SIMPLER: 1. SCOOP IN ADVANCE FOR A CROWD - To serve ice cream quickly & in well-shaped spheres, scoop it up to several hours before needed, place balls evenly on waxed-paper lined sheet, cover with plastic wrap & store in the freezer until needed. 2. SOFTEN FOR EASY SCOOPING - If the ice cream is too hard for easy scooping, defrost it in the fridge for about 15 mintues or pop it in the microwave for about 30 seconds. 3. TREAT ICE CREAM WITH THE COLDNESS IT DESERVES - When shopping, make the ice cream freezer your last stop. Bag the ice cream by itself or with other frozen items, go directly home & unpack & put it in the freezer as soon as possible. In your home freezer, alway store ice cream in the main section & not the door. 4. BE CREATIVE WITH SERVING DISHES - Use juice glasses, coffee cups, colorful plastic wine glasses or even halved fresh fruit that's been scooped out. Freeze your serving pieces first to keep the ice cream firmer.
• 6

  UNDERSTANDING ICE CREAM LABELS - As if choosing a flavor isn't daunting enough, ice cream also comes in an array of qualities & several different calorie levels. We can't help you choose between triple-chocolate chip & french vanilla, but here is the scoop on what the different labels mean: "Premium" ice cream has more fat than the minimum requirement & often comes in unique & interesting flavors. It is richer, creamier & more expensive than regular ice cream with substantially higher calories & fat. It also weighs more ounce-to-ounce, which can help justify the price. "Regular" ice cream is less dense than premium (it contains more air) & usually is sold in the more familar & standard flavors. Some people prefer the texture - it is less creamy - & it works well in shakes & frozen dessert recipes. It's a good choice when you don't want the ice cream to overpower the rest of the dessert. "Light" ice cream means that there is either 50% less fat or 33% fewer calories than leading brands or the company's own brand. However, read the labels carefully - you might notice that a premium brand's light ice cream still has more calories than a regular or economy ice cream. "Reduced Fat" ice cream has 25% less fat than comparable leading brands or the company's own brand. "Gelato" is Italian ice cream. The flavors can be very pure & rich as it is denser & contains less butterfat than American ice cream.
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