Cut Your Ice Cream Container Down As You Eat It To Prevent Freezer Burn

In a cone, a cup, melted atop cobblers and birthday cake, in milkshakes — we collectively just can't get enough of ice cream, everyone's favorite frozen treat. We all scream for it, after all. For most of us, any type of ice cream is good, but there really is a spectrum from just-good ice cream to the truly great stuff worth indulging in. Whether your ice cream of choice is chocolate, vanilla, dairy, or one of the many non-dairy options, one of the main foes of a truly spectacular scoop is the dreaded freezer burn. If you've ever tucked into a pint while watching Netflix, stashed the remainder for later, and come back to find frost-bitten, ice-coated leftovers, you already know.  

Fortunately, it's not inevitable, and there's actually a simple hack for keeping your ice cream as fresh as the day you bought it. As you eat into the container, simply use scissors to cut down the container, replace the lid, and stick it back in the freezer for your next sweet craving. By cutting the container you're reducing the empty space which means less room for air in the pint or gallon. As air is needed for ice to form, this will help keep your frozen treats creamy, never icy, as they sit in the freezer. We love ice cream for its creamy decadence, and nothing ruins this faster than unwanted ice crystals.

Freezer burn happens thanks to some changes you don't even realize are happening in your freezer, relating to moisture and oxygen content in your frozen foods. As moisture evaporates away from the ice cream, it meets up with air, and refreezes, forming a crust of tiny ice crystals. Preventing exposure to air should be goal number one, as this removed a crucial ingredient needed for the formation of ice to occur in the first place. Trimming down your containers reduces empty space and thus airflow, but as a bonus, it makes ice cream easier to store in a crammed fridge and easier to access with a spoon! You can also tightly pack wax paper or plastic wrap overtop the surface of the ice cream before putting it back into the freezer. 

Did you follow this tip but still get some pesky ice crystals on that pint you were looking forward to eating all day? No stress — frozen fruit that's picked up some ice is completely safe to eat, it just may not be as delicious or creamy an experience. Of course, you could always just eat the whole pint in one sitting to avoid the possibility of freezer burn altogether — we certainly wouldn't judge.