I can’t talk about homemade ice cream without talking about how much I love it. I LOVE IT, YOU GUYS. What I do not love is when it gets freezer-burnt, takes on weird flavors, freezes into a impenetrable block, and/or gets otherwise icky in the freezer. I put a lot of work into a batch of homemade ice cream, so I like to treat it right. Here are my favorite ways to store homemade ice cream with stuff you likely already have in your kitchen.
Talenti Gelato Containers: So, I mentioned that I love homemade ice cream, but the reality of my life is that I also would like to swim in a tub of Talenti Gelato. For grocery store gelato, it’s really good. So, go treat yo self to some Talenti and be sure to save the container. It’s plastic, screw-top, and made for storing ice cream, so—surprise—it’s very good for storing ice cream. This is currently my favorite method for keeping DIY ice cream fresh and not just because it involves eating more ice cream.
Quart Cottage Cheese and Yogurt Containers + Plastic Wrap: This was my go-to method for a long time until I started eating too much grocery store gelato. Re-purposing plastic quart yogurt and cottage cheese containers is also an awesome way to go, but when I do this I always place a layer of plastic wrap between the ice cream and the lid. It helps stave off freezer burn and I think it also helps the lid have a bit tighter seal.
Pyrex Glass Containers with Lids: I have a small set of these that I use for leftovers that I plan to re-heat in the microwave or oven and I’ve also used them to store homemade ice cream. For these, I also use a layer of plastic wrap between the ice cream and the lid for maximum frost deflection.
Do you have a favorite method of storing homemade ice cream?
Here are some more tips from around the web:
Storing Homemade Ice Cream, from Chowhound
10 tips for homemade ice cream success, from Serious Eats
Storing Homemade Ice Cream, from eGullet
Tips for making homemade ice cream softer, from David Lebovitz
About autumn
Autumn Giles is the creator of Autumn Makes & Does and the co-host of the Alphabet Soup Podcast.
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I love this and am ready to admit that I have become a weird homemade ice cream snob with her own set of specialty containers! (I blame it on the book recipe development last summer.) Zak Designs makes a cool freezable pint container that has the same slushy insides as freezer packs, so we take them to Cape Cod with us. They’re just the right size for a pint of Four Seas ice cream to go! And the Tovolo glide-a-scoop container is long, thin, and perfectly sized to take up a minuscule amount of space in the freezer. Which is good, because I have four different kinds of ice cream treats in there right now.
You know, I saw one of those insulated pint containers at the brooklyn kitchen a couple years ago and have regretted not buying it ever since!
I too am a big fan of Talenti; I especially like their fruity sorbets. And since I don’t have an ice cream maker, they’ll have to do. For now….
Kaela, the chocolate usually catches my eye before I can give any other flavors a chance, but there’s a blood orange right? I’d like to try that one definitely!
I totally treat myself to Talenti occasionally. Maybe I should buy some to enjoy while I’m making homemade ice cream. I like that plan! We have glass containers, similar to Pyrex, that we typically use for our ice cream (the brand is Frigoverre).