Dear Judy Ludy:
I need to take ice cream to a picnic, but it’s 100 degrees outside! If I pack it well with ice packs in a cooler, will it melt? What is the best way to get it to the picnic without having to drink it as a milkshake when we arrive?
Signed,
I’m Melting
Dear Melting:
A dilemma indeed!
However, don’t have a meltdown; it’s still possible to have delicious, hard ice cream even when the mercury is in double digits outside.
Here’s what you should do:
- Make sure your ice cream is good and hard before you pack it. I would place it in the coldest part of your freezer overnight.
- Get a large insulated cooler and place plenty of loose ice cubes (like the bags of ice you buy at the market) in the bottom of the cooler, like half way up.
- Place your ice cream containers on top of the cubes, pushing them down into the cubes so they stand up.
- Then pour more cubes on top and close the cover.
Be sure not to pen the cover (no peeking) until it’s time to serve the ice cream.
That’s it!