# How to store Ice Cream for long periods? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 22, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186 "2005-08-22T22:52:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/1 "2005-08-22T22:52:24Z")
I’ve won the battle and now I plan to win the war. Now that Ben and Jerry’s Wavy Gravy is officially back for ‘a limited time’ I hope to stock up on enough of it while it’s available so that I can snack on it well into the future. I know from experience with crystal coated gummy old ice cream that the paper containers they come in are too porous to be effective in long term storage in my freezer as is. Is there a method or recommendation on how to store ice cream for long periods? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [August 22, 2005, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/2 "2005-08-22T23:42:01Z")
The other big factor beside containers is freezer temperature. If your freezer is above -18°C, or it has a defrost cycle, you’ll encourage ice crystal formation. Ideally for long term storage, you’d want a -70°C freezer. When you get something that cold, there’s a lot less crystal reformation, and even sugar [epimerization](http://www.chem.uky.edu/research/grossman/stereo/stereogloss.html#E) slows to a crawl. [Here’s some ice cream storage tips.](http://www.nzicecream.co.nz/faq.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/3 "2005-08-23T01:58:03Z")
According the McGee’s On Food and Cooking, ice-cream never freezes fully in a commercial fridge. As the water freezes, the sugar solution becomes more and more concentrated which loves the freezing point of the remaining sugar solution. For it to fully freeze, you would need to lower the temperature enough to freeze it fully. Of the top of my head, I don’t know how low you would have to go but theres some stuff on the science behind it [here](http://www.foodsci.uoguelph.ca/dairyedu/freeztheor.html). However, I would assume that liquid nitrogen would do a good job relatively cheaply. However, it is possible to stabilise ice-cream at relatively low temperatures if you understand what’s going on. It’s not high temperature that’s detrimental to ice-cream so much as **variation** in temperature. If the temperature rises, smaller ice-crystals dissolve and then reform onto bigger crystals when the temperature drops again. If you can find a method of keeping a freezer at a remarkably stable temperature, then crystal production would be slowed down dramatically. Alternatively, theres no real chemical changes going on in ice-cream as it ages, just physical. Which means that it should in theory be possible to melt and then refreeze the icecream again. How to recreate the wavyness is an exercise left up to the reader. ---
**Author:** ![SnakesCatLady](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4af34b/32.png) [@SnakesCatLady](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SnakesCatLady)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/4 "2005-08-23T03:15:57Z")
Just send it over here. I’ll store it…oh…never mind. ---
**Author:** ![MaceMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@MaceMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaceMan)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2005, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/5 "2005-08-23T04:14:29Z")
The ice crystals that form _on top_ of the ice cream after you open it are from moisture in the air condensing and freezing on the ice cream. It doesn’t matter how cold your freezer is. I work with -80 degree Celsius freezers without defrost cycles, and they build up frost just like any other. I wonder if including a dessicant in the freezer compartment could help? Alternatively, you could try pumping in some compressed inert gas to cover the ice cream. Ok, those options are a little extreme. Perhaps a large airtight container could be used to store all your ice cream inside the freezer? I’ve found that simply placing it in a ziploc bag seems to help keep it longer. Another recomendation to avoid frostbite is to place Saran Wrap directly on the surface of the remaining ice cream. ---
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/6 "2005-08-24T00:50:45Z")
My initial thoughts are to bring some kind of metal or hard plastic container to the scoop shop have them fill it (reduction in porous nature of the packaging). I’ll then try to store it in either an old freezer without defrosting equipment (reduction in temp variation) or the deep freeze here at the cafeteria at work (lower temp). The only issue I see is that I’d have to take a band saw to the giant lump to carve off a chunk for eating. Perhaps using one of those food saver type things and tossing in a pint or quart in each bag? ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/7 "2005-08-24T13:55:29Z")
> [@MaceMan](#): > > The ice crystals that form _on top_ of the ice cream after you open it are from moisture in the air condensing and freezing on the ice cream. This is not entirely correct. You could put the ice cream in an airtight bag (a loose one) and still see those crystals. Those crystals are from the moisture in the ice cream migrating towards the container. This phenomenon is commonly known as _freezer burn_. It is particularly notable in meat. I am not knowledgable of the chemistry behind this but I believe it is related to [sublimation](http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLG%2CGGLG%3A2005-28%2CGGLG%3Aen&q=define%3A+sublimation). > [@](#): > > Perhaps a large airtight container could be used to store all your ice cream inside the freezer? . . . Another recomendation to avoid frostbite is to place Saran Wrap directly on the surface of the remaining ice cream. Airtight containers that seal against the surface of the food can indeed help this. The moisture can’t migrate out. I have a FoodSaver machine which seals food in a plastic bag by sucking out all the air. It works great and I never get freezer burn. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/8 "2005-08-24T16:46:16Z")
My WAG. You could have the Ben & Jerry’s vacuum-sealed. Put it in a freezer that can maintain a temperature below - 70 °C. Then you could maintain liquid nitrogen in the freezer. Though someone is going to have to check me on that because I don’t know if it is feasable or safe. Dry ice might be able to say “dry” at a certain temperature and you would not need to replace it. ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/9 "2005-08-24T16:50:36Z")
**CookingWithGas** , I just noticed your post about the FoodSaver. I was wondering where I got that idea. Do you know if it is feasable or safe to use liquid nitro and/or dry ice? ---
**Author:** ![ZenBeam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3ab097/32.png) [@ZenBeam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZenBeam)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/10 "2005-08-24T16:51:18Z")
> [@](#): > > However, it is possible to stabilise ice-cream at relatively low temperatures if you understand what’s going on. It’s not high temperature that’s detrimental to ice-cream so much as variation in temperature. If the temperature rises, smaller ice-crystals dissolve and then reform onto bigger crystals when the temperature drops again. If you can find a method of keeping a freezer at a remarkably stable temperature, then crystal production would be slowed down dramatically. One way to minimize the ice cream’s temperature variation would be to wrap it in some kind of insulation, after putting it in an airtight container or bag. Just a cardboard box, packed in with crumpled newspaper might help. ---
**Author:** ![xbuckeye](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9e8a1a/32.png) [@xbuckeye](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xbuckeye)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/11 "2005-08-24T17:23:43Z")
> [@Shalmanese](#): > > However, it is possible to stabilise ice-cream at relatively low temperatures if you understand what’s going on. It’s not high temperature that’s detrimental to ice-cream so much as **variation** in temperature. If the temperature rises, smaller ice-crystals dissolve and then reform onto bigger crystals when the temperature drops again. If you can find a method of keeping a freezer at a remarkably stable temperature, then crystal production would be slowed down dramatically. > > Alternatively, theres no real chemical changes going on in ice-cream as it ages, just physical. Which means that it should in theory be possible to melt and then refreeze the icecream again. How to recreate the wavyness is an exercise left up to the reader. Yes and no. The temperature flucuation is an important factor, but there are chemical problems with long-term storage. Ice cream is wet, your freezer is not. Moisture will migrate from the ice cream to the freezer. You can minimize this with reduction of headspace and more air-tight packaging as previously mentioned. But you will still have a shelf life problem. And plastic film is not as good as insulating as cardboard, so you increase your freeze-thaw fluctuations. I am not familiar with wavy gravy, but I assume that there is some sort of ripple of gooey goodness in it. The gooey goodness, or mixed in chocolates, candies, nuts, etc. will either be more or less moist than the ice cream. Your moisture will redistribute making ice crystals, sugar crystals, dissolving candies, etc. depending on the mixed-in ingredients. Finally, there is lots of fat in ice cream (I hope you knew that). Fat loves to go rancid. At freezer temperatures, that happens much slower than at room temperature, but dairy fats are very prone to rancidity. That is usually the ‘old’ flavor that ice cream gets. Again, vapor-proof packaging, headspace reduction, and protection from freeze-thaw cycles will help, but only so much. Plan on eating your stash within 3-6 months even with the best of storage conditions. ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/12 "2005-08-24T18:33:23Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > **CookingWithGas** , I just noticed your post about the FoodSaver. I was wondering where I got that idea. Do you know if it is feasable or safe to use liquid nitro and/or dry ice? I don’t know with any authority. Dry ice, of course, is used for all sorts of food applications, like ice cream carts. Dry ice is frozen CO[sub]2[/sub], which is toxic in large gaseous quantities. It hugs the ground, so don’t lie on the floor in a room where dry ice is exposed. When it sublimates the pressure will go up, so you don’t want to put it in a sealed freezer. The pressure will build until the door blows open (or off). Liquid nitro I know less about. It’s colder than dry ice. It will also evaporate and displace breathable air, probably would also cause a pressure issue in a closed container above 320ºF, its boiling point. Coincidentally I was reading a gourmet cooking magazine last night that has an article about industrial devices used by some chefs. One guy uses a tank of liquid nitro to dip some types of food in for quick and decisive freezing. So it apparently can be used safely in food preparation. (I remember one demo I saw on TV as a kid where a TV scientist dipped a carnation in liquid nitro for a second then broke it on the table–it shattered like glass.) ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2005, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/13 "2005-08-24T22:01:18Z")
> **[RECIPES](https://www.foodandwine.com/recipes-old-new?label=kitchen-of-the-future)** > > Food & Wine goes way beyond mere eating and drinking. We're on a mission to find the most exciting places, new experiences, emerging trends and sensations. > [@](#): > > LIQUID CHILLERS To make orange ice cream, Ludovic Lefebvre of Los Angeles’s Bastide purees orange pulp, then pours liquid nitrogen over it to freeze it instantly. “There are no eggs, no cream, no milk—just pure orange flavor,” he says. Lefebvre also dips mayonnaise in liquid nitrogen (at a temperature of negative 320 degrees Fahrenheit) to form a cold, thin shell around a soft center, then serves it with fries, Belgian-style. > > HIGH-TECH ICEBOXES Grant Achatz of Alinea in Chicago (an F&W Best New Chef 2002) is busy playing with a cold plate, a griddlelike contraption custom-built for him by Polyscience, an industrial equipment manufacturer. While regular freezers can maintain temperatures as low as negative five degrees Fahrenheit, the cold plate drops to 45 below zero. Achatz uses it to give dollops of sour cream a thin, frozen crust, which he tops with shavings of smoked salmon. Iacopo Falai of the restaurant Falai in New York City uses a $30,000 Koma industrial freezer, which goes as low as negative 36 degrees Fahrenheit, to make layered mousses that freeze in 30 minutes instead of the usual 10 hours. The temperature is monitored by satellite, so it’s extremely accurate. [quote] ---
**Author:** ![Kozmik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/8dc957/32.png) [@Kozmik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kozmik)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/14 "2005-08-25T03:10:18Z")
> [@xbuckeye](#): > > Plan on eating your stash within 3-6 months even with the best of storage conditions. Well, there is one way to enjoy your ice cream for many years to come. Have you ever had NASA ice cream? It literally melts in your mouth. It is freeze dried so there will be no problems with moisture or fat going bad. It’s dry ice cream! Have your Ben & Jerry’s freeze dried and then vacuum sealed. Then insulate it in a good freezer and you’re all set. 🆒 ---
**Author:** ![CheapBastid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8baadc/32.png) [@CheapBastid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CheapBastid)\ **Post date:** [August 25, 2005, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-store-ice-cream-for-long-periods/318186/15 "2005-08-25T18:17:03Z")
> [@Kozmik](#): > > Well, there is one way to enjoy your ice cream for many years to come. Have you ever had NASA ice cream? It literally melts in your mouth. It is freeze dried so there will be no problems with moisture or fat going bad. It’s dry ice cream! > > Have your Ben & Jerry’s freeze dried and then vacuum sealed. Then insulate it in a good freezer and you’re all set. 🆒 Is this something I could have done? That would be awesome. I did a couple of google searches and I’m getting nowhere.