There aren’t many foods as appealing as lovely scoops of billowy ice cream, gently melting onto a warm dessert—and they are fun to style if you can just scoop and shoot. But it’s an entirely different matter if you are assigned to create perfect scoops for packaging or an advertisement. After a recent advertising shoot, we thought we’d share a few reminders for getting ready for styling very traditional ice cream scoops.

Planning ahead is essential…be sure to have the ice cream delivered to the studio at least 48 hours before the shoot. The studio needs to have proper freezer space (preferably a chest freezer), with the thermostat turned up to a warmer temperature (usually around °F/-18°C) for tempering. If the ice cream is not tempered, you will have a terrible time scooping and getting the texture you want on each scoop (because the ice cream will be too hard.) It’s important to know how much butterfat is in the ice cream—this affects the texture and hardness of the product. A super-premium ice cream might have as much as 18% butterfat, so it is very hard and must be tempered at a higher temperature. Low-fat ice creams, ice milk, or frozen yogurt are all much softer and must be tempered at a lower temperature or they will be too soft for scooping.

Bigger is better…ask your client to provide the ice cream in the largest containers they produce—2.5- to 3-gallon tubs (9.5 to 11.5 liters) are the best, but even half-gallon (2 liter) containers work well. The key is to have as much flat scooping surface area as possible. You must cut the ice cream containers into portions that will provide this for you (large tubs can be cut into quarters; square or round smaller containers can be cut in half.) If possible, prepare the ice cream the day before the shoot, wrapping well in heavy-duty foil and storing in the tempering freezer.

Stay in control…it’s easier to scoop if the ice cream is stable and not moving around. Some stylists create scooping boxes that hold cut pieces of ice cream (that is wrapped in foil) or halved containers (half-gallon blocks or tubs) of ice cream. The alternative is to clamp a piece of wood to the kitchen counter or a table edge; place the container of ice cream against the wood and pull your scoop toward you across the surface of the ice cream.

Keep it cold…have dry ice on hand to really freeze the ice cream once it looks the way you need it. Order dry ice ahead, in 1-inch-thick (2.54-cm) slabs if possible, to be delivered the morning of the shoot. Hold it in Styrofoam coolers. You can then line additional coolers with the slabs to hold your scooped ice cream and for styling. Crushed dry ice can be sprinkled on the ice cream skirts (the collar of rough ice cream at the base of a scoop) to keep it from melting. REMEMBER: never place dry ice in a regular freezer or melt it in a kitchen sink. Dry ice is much colder than the thermostat of a freezer or water pipes can withstand. Handle dry ice with heavy work gloves.

A good selection of ice cream scoops can make or break you…if the ice cream is hard it’s easy to break a handle. Try to find out the approximate scoop sizes you might need ahead of time—and have extras. We like to use scoops that have the “disher” removed (the thin metal blade that moves inside spring-scoops.) To make scooping easier, wrap the handles of the scoops with a cushioning material, like pipe insulation or foam, then wrap with duct tape. This makes pulling the scoops with steady pressure easier and prevents blistering on your hands.

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