Tag Archive for: food storage tips

Sure seems like we’re getting very close to the glorious summer season, and we don’t know about you- but we couldn’t be more excited!

With the summer comes all sorts of seasonal treats – barbecue, fresh berries and ICE CREAM.

We’re a huge fan of this sugary treat and typically have a few pints (at least) in our freezer.

There’s nothing worse than when you’re craving a scoop or two after dinner, you go to serve yourself some and… there’s a line of ice crystals lining the top. Major bummer.

According to some chefs and ice cream experts, this is usually a sign that the ice cream is past its prime and has depreciated in quality. Worse case scenario – it’s expired and could make you sick. Yikes!

Never fear! There are ways to avoid this! We’ve got a ton of tips and tricks for you to store ice cream like a pro. Follow these and you’ll be well on your way to keeping your ice treats as delicious as possible. 🙂

Winter is Coming

The key to your ice cream’s longevity is keeping it COLD. As cold as your freezer can go. Like… Winterfell cold. (Any GoT fans out there?!)

Brands like Ben & Jerry’s have freezers that are cold enough to keep ice cream fresh for years. However, you can do just fine without this amount of freezer power. Just try to keep your pint as cold as possible. Lower that temperature as much as possible and place them all the way at the back.

Avoid Drafts!

In any given household, odds are the freezer door opens and shuts at least a few times a day, if not more.

All of those temperature fluctuations, though, are harsh on your ice cream. It’s the most susceptible to losing quality and freshness with the influx of hot air – so store it at the very back to avoid this. Or better yet, store in a freezer that you don’t open a lot, if you have access to this!

Cap it Up!

Make sure that cap is solidly ON when you put that ice cream back in the freezer. You’ll want minimal amounts of air or other things floating around to get inside. Wrap some saran wrap around it too to guarantee maximum freshness.

Pay Attention to Those Ingredients!

Ice creams that have more sugar in them will lose quality and freshness faster! Sugar is one of the first things to go and depresses the freezing point of ice cream making it harder to store at a temperature cold enough.

There’s no need to avoid the sugar all together – just keep it in mind when buying, storing, and enjoying!

Did You Make the Ice Cream Yourself?

Homemade ice cream goes bad faster than store-bought, mainly because store-bought ice cream has stabilizing ingredients in it that homemade ice cream doesn’t.

Don’t fret! This just means you need to enjoy your hard-earned sweet treats faster. Many experts recommend within 5 days, if you can even wait that long.

That’s it! Enjoy those flavors for us this sunny season, and let us know of any storage hacks you love for ice cream in the comments below!