Unlike several other ice cream scoops on our list, this one is available in several bright colors, including aqua and purple. It is one of the heaviest ice cream scoops on our list, but because of its square head and comfortable grip, it’s the best large ice cream scoop.

Joseph Joseph Dimple Non-Drip Ice Cream Scoop: The dimples on the bowl of the Joseph Joseph help release the ice cream easily, but the white collar, which is designed to catch runny drips as the scoop sits up on end, makes it harder to pull the tool tight against the side of the container and form a ball. The single-piece ice cream scoop, even though it has no mechanical release, is typically favored by ice cream shops because there are no parts that can gum up with repeated use. Ice cream can then be loosened with heat, either by dipping the scoop in warm water—as many ice cream shops do—or through the conduction of heat from the handle to the scoop.

Simple Ice Cream Maker

The typical ice cream scoop is designed to hold about 4 ounces of ice cream, which is about half a cup. However, the Bechtels point out that not all ice creams are created equally, which can affect how much a scoop of ice cream weighs. It’s so brilliant, it’s almost insane. When you grasp the handle, the biodegradable liquid inside it absorbs body heat from your hand. This fluid transfers the heat down the handle toward the scoop, aided by the fishbone structure inside the handle. This extra heat helps the scoop slide easily through ice cream no matter how solid it is, an elegant solution to one of life’s rather painful annoyances. The way it works is pretty simple. The heating element warms up the metal scoop, which in turn melts the ice cream just enough so that it can be easily scooped. Once you’re done scooping, the heating element turns off automatically.

Some scoops (especially those used in commercial settings) list the size "with a number that corresponds to the number of scoops that you would get from a quart of ice cream,” the Bechtels say. “This means that larger-sized scoops will have a smaller number because you’d get fewer scoops from a quart of ice cream from a larger scoop."

The Takeaway

OXO Good Grips Solid Stainless Steel Ice Cream Scoop: The OXO Good Grips Solid Stainless Steel Ice Cream Scoop was simply too heavy. Testers also had a hard time getting the ice cream to curl into a pleasing ball. Ice cream scoops are made from different materials, but the most common materials are zinc, aluminum, and stainless steel. “All of them do the job similarly in terms of performance,” O’Hara says. “However, we do feel like the aluminum seems to have better durability and hold up well to repeated washing and heavy use.” O’Hara says that his ice cream shop scoops have a 3-ounce capacity, but the size of the ice cream mound can depend on the person scooping the ice cream. “As for the ice cream itself, our standard size scoop is about 4.5 to 5 ounces,” he says. Yes. Never wet your scooper, especially with hot water," says Bauer. "A dry, room-temperature scooper is always the way to go. Using a wet scoop glazes ice cream with a thin layer of ice—and hot water will melt ice cream too much, causing ice crystals to form faster when you return the pint to your freezer." Part of what we like about Zeroll scoops or similar models is that they have a nice weight to them,” O’Hara says. “That helps provide leverage when scooping hard ice cream, and it also helps make them more durable.” The Zeroll 1020 Ice Cream Scoop weighs 4.16 ounces, which makes it one of the lightest weight ice cream scoops on our list.