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Susan Jung

How to choose ... a scoop

Most people would call the pictured item an ice cream scoop, but if you choose the right type it

can be used for a lot more.

What is it?  It's a tool that is  meant to make scooping ice cream easier, but that's not always the result.

What  types are there? Some are  just glorified spoons with a deeper bowl and sturdier handle.  Some scoops  have bowls that are heated  via batteries or electricity, but they  tend to be  expensive. You can get the same effect by dipping the bowl of the scoop into warm water. The type pictured has a spring in the handle  designed to eject the ball of ice cream. If the scoop is too cold the  confectionary sometimes  becomes stuck.

Is it an essential tool in the kitchen? Of course not - the only tools you absolutely need are knives and pans. But like a lot of  kitchen equipment, it can make cooking  easier.

How? The  ones with spring handles are  good for scooping  equal-sized portions of foods. You can use them to scoop muffin batter into baking tins, shape balls of biscuit dough and measure portions of   soft foods such as hamburger meat  and crab cakes.

What else? Spring-handled ice cream scoops come  in different sizes, from those suited to chocolate truffles  to large scoops that hold about 300 grams. They are available in  the usual round shape  and  oval (called 'quenelle' scoops) shapes. Some scoops are coated with Teflon, so the ice cream doesn't stick to the bowl, but the coating flakes off over time.

Where to buy: PanHandler (tel: 2523 1672), the cookware shops on Shanghai Street (take exit C of  Yau Ma Tei MTR station) and the kitchenware sections of Wing On (tel: 2852 1888) and Sogo (tel: 2833 8338).



How to choose ... a scoop