Tips & Tricks: The Secret to Super-Smooth, Scoopable Ice Cream

When you want ice cream, you want the good stuff. No crunchy bits of freezer burn, no crumbly texture. Nope, you want ice cream so smooth a scoop sails straight through it like George Clooney's speedboat traversing, glittering Lake Como. But how do you get that silky-smooth texture every time? First things first: you'll want to make your ice cream at home. This involves effort, sure, but it's the sort of effort that will be richly rewarded. Take your favorite recipe, combine and cook your ingredients to make a base, then take that base and don't make ice cream.

Because the secret to super-smooth frozen desserts? It's time. Stick that base in the fridge and let it sit for a few hours or even overnight. During those few hours, the fat droplets will undergo a transformation that helps them stick together during churning, trapping air bubbles and leading to a soft, silky, irresistible texture that will make you the hero of any human gathering. After all, there's no party guest more welcome than the person who brings homemade ice cream, provided, of course, that it's super smooth and scoopable.