Portion Control
Scooping an Instagram-worthy ice cream cone isn’t as easy as you think it is! It takes practice and the rights techniques to create a great cone your customer will love, and one that leaves you more profitable at the end of the day.
The key to ice cream profits for your business lie in accurate portion control. Some ice cream stores and restaurants carefully weigh individual ice cream portions to control costs and yields. Many establishments find this method time consuming and prefer to train employees in the art of producing scoops of consistent size and weight. This way, scoops are weighed occasionally to check accuracy. We want to provide you with some techniques and tips, therefore, we’ve compiled a step-by-step process to properly scoop ice cream.
Step 1: Fill up the dipper well with room-temperature water. This will allow you to clean your scoops and other utensils, this process removes allergens and protects against bacterial growth. Dipping your scoop into water also keeps the ice cream or frozen dessert from sticking to the metal scoops, making them easier to deposit into cups and cones.
Step 2: When using the scoop in a dipper well, you’ll want to ensure you tap the scoop on the side of the dipper well to eliminate the water before you scoop a second time. Too much water in the ice cream will cause ice crystals and overall grittiness in the ice cream.
Step 3: Hold your hand further down the scoop for good support and proper structure. Start the scoop close to the wall of the tub, not any deeper than one-half-inch into the ice cream. Next, form a large scoop in the tub, use the side of the tubs for leverage when transferring to the cone.
Tip: Don’t play with the ice cream too much. The more you play with the ice cream and pat it down, the more air will be lost, losing fluffiness. If you let the ice cream fall into the cone, the ice cream cone will look bigger for your customer, and this will leave you more profitable because you’re executing good portion control.
The type of cone you’re scooping with will also affect your process. Waffles cones are typically easier to work with because of their hardness and thickness, and they have a slight backing to rest the ice cream on. Regular cones, and sometimes sugar cones, break a lot easier when placing the ice cream on the cone.
Step 4: Now that you’ve scooped your cone and made your customer’s day, maintaining the tubs and freezers are also important. Periodically throughout the day, and at closing time, you should scrap down the ice cream on the inside walls of the tub. This is accomplished by using an ice cream spade or spatula. Your display of ice cream will look beautiful and it will be ready to WOW your next customer!