One of the most versatile yet underutilized items in the kitchen is the ice cream scooper. As someone who has consumed less than four litres of ice cream a year, I never knew what to do with my ice cream scooper at home. The few times in the year where I would use this niche tool was serving ice cream for guests at dinner parties. Since the quarantine has started, I’ve binge-watched many cooking series on Netflix that have given me renewed ideas on using this underrated tool in the kitchen. I personally enjoy using the ones with a trigger since it essentially self-cleans. The non-lever options are great as well but additional tools may be required to scrape the leftovers from the scooper. None of the four uses we will discuss today include scooping ice cream.
Perfect meatballs
There’s no need to limit the ice cream scooper to only dessert items. In fact, using the scoop for meatballs has saved me time and fuss cleaning out at least two spoons. Moreover, it makes each meatball exactly the same size which helps with cooking them evenly. In fact my obsession with ice cream scoopers have left me to purchase two with different sizes. For times when I need a classic-sized meatball vs. the time I use them to make jumbo falafels or arancini orbs.
Giant meatballs made with my large-sized ice cream scooper
Melon balls
I learned this creative method of using the scooper from a baker friend. She would tell me about the different cakes she baked with melon ball adornments. For an amateur baker like myself, I preferred to use these colorful melon balls for summer drinks such as in a refreshing glass of punch. They are beautifully consistent in size and work in many dinner party situations.
Tater tots
Despite not having tried this technique just yet, I have seen chefs use this in their respective cooking shows on Netflix. After heating a hot pot of oil, scooping the potato batter into the hot oil for frying is a piece of cake. Personally, I would use a smaller scooper to ensure the entire orb is properly fried to the core. The sphere shape also helps tater tots to fry evenly which is a large bonus.
Batter portion for muffins and cookies
Ever wonder how professional bakers have the perfect same-sized cookies in every tray? One easy way of achieving this as a home baker is to use ice cream scoopers. Oftentimes the gooey, sticky nature of cookie dough always set me back from wanting to bake because of the intense clean-up process required. However, with the levered ice cream scooper, you no longer need multiple tools like spatulas, spoons and more spoons to help scrape the original spoon. Instead, the ice cream scooper is a one-size-fits-all wonder that has helped me overcome some common baking challenges.
Chocolate chip Cookies I made recently that are exactly the same size and look perfect for family or guests.
