New models of ice cream makers actually work (the one we had as a kid made a barely-cold gluey mess that took forever). Cuisinart now even sells a soft-serve ice cream maker (Mix It In – $99.99) with built-in topping-dispensers on the side. Go ahead, twist up your own soft-serve cone and put on as many sprinkles as you want!
Ice cream makers aren’t really just for ice cream anymore. Cuisinart’s ICE-20 ($49.99) can make frozen yogurt, ice cream, sherbet, sorbet or frozen drinks in 20 to 30 minutes flat. So once you realize you’re eating far too much ice cream, you can switch to making fat-free (and dairy free!) sorbet. And when your friends come over for frozen summer cocktails you can serve them up something original and fresh.
For more summer treats, Tovolo makes super fun ice cream sandwich molds in farm animal or geometric shapes ($12.99 for 3 reusable molds). Want a healthy, cheap snack and a great way to get kids to eat juice? Cuisipro’s sailboat-shaped pop molds even have a little drip tray to catch the melting mess ($19.99 for 6 reusable molds and the stand that holds them).
There is a limitless supply of ice cream flavorings (Green Mountain Flavors, Inc. has 15+ options from strawberry to cinnamon to rosewater, $5.99 each), sprinkles, sundae and banana split dishes — as well as a selection of ice cream scoops ranging from traditional and inexpensive to trendy and professional. I can stand behind “Cooks Illustrated” magazine, which rated scoops this month online and gave the Rösle Ice Cream Scoop ($21.99) its No. 1 “Highly Recommended” ranking. The Zeroll Co. Original Ice Cream Scoop ($19.99), made since 1935 and the most supplied scoop to the food service industry, came in at No. 2.
For a sophisticated flair, Made in Napa Valley makes Vanilla Caramel Dessert Sauce With Chardonnay and Pure Dark Chocolate Sauce With Cabernet ($7.99 for 9 oz.). And American Spoon makes Brandied Balaton Cherries by the jar to top off your sundae (not to be confused with their glow-in-the-dark maraschino counterpart). Even better, it’s cherry season, so buy yourself a cherry pitter and make your own — OXO Good Grips makes a great one for $12.99 (and it does olives too, but don’t get me started on martini gadgets, we’ll get to that another time).
Make your ice cream at home, add your favorite ingredients, experiment with new flavors and have a happy summer!
Leslie Khorsandi is the buyer for LeRoux Kitchen, with stores in Portland, Portsmouth and Martha’s Vineyard. Her parents owned a restaurant for 35 years and she came away with the perfect combination of eating to live (from her mom) and living to