Repeatedly softening ice cream in the microwave
My wife is in the habit of making ice cream easier to serve up by defrosting it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to soften it. After serving, the ice cream goes back in the freezer until the next time.
I estimate that a 2 litre tub of ice cream may well be microwaved and then re-frozen 6-8 times.
Is it safe to do this? Is it safer, or less safe, than just letting the ice cream defrost at room temperature for half an hour?
Best Answer
It's perfectly safe to do this, it's not great for the ice cream's consistency to keep warming it and cooling it as you'll start to get big ice crystals. I'd suggest you get a metal ice cream scoop and put it in hot water instead.
If you have to thaw it to use it I'd leave it on the counter for 10 minutes instead of nuking it so you get an even thaw, using the microwave tends to melt one spot and leave another solid.
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Quick Answer about "Repeatedly softening ice cream in the microwave"
Is it OK to soften ice cream in the microwave?
To soften in the refrigerator, transfer ice cream from the freezer to the refrigerator 20-30 minutes before using. Or let it stand at room temperature for 10-15 minutes. Hard ice cream can also be softened in the microwave at 30% power for about 30 seconds.How many times can you microwave ice cream?
My wife is in the habit of making ice cream easier to serve up by defrosting it in the microwave for 20 seconds or so to soften it. After serving, the ice cream goes back in the freezer until the next time. I estimate that a 2 litre tub of ice cream may well be microwaved and then re-frozen 6-8 times.Can you microwave ice cream and then refreeze it?
It is only safe to refreeze ice cream if it is slightly melted and has been kept cold. If it melted outside the freezer, refreezing it and eating it could be unsafe. When ice cream melts, bacteria such as Listeria can grow. Listeria outbreaks can occur in freezers when ice cream that melted is refrozen.Can you put frozen ice cream in the microwave?
Don't worry if you forgot to take enough time to soften your ice cream in the refrigerator. You can still use the microwave as a fast solution that will work a softening miracle. Be careful not to heat the frozen treat for too long.Daddy Files Rants - Ice Cream in the Microwave
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Answer 2
Many, but not all, ice cream recipes contain raw egg or only partially-cooked egg.
Most commercial ice cream recipes do not.
The health-risks of raw egg depend on where in the world you are, but increase signficantly if the food it is in is being heated high enough that some of it will be at incubation temperature (won't happen for ice cream as a whole unless you end up accidentally melt it all, but could in hot spots). Even in Europe I'd be cautious of doing this repeatedly with raw-egg containing ice-cream, and I'd be very cautious indeed in the US.
With other ice cream recipes I'd just be worried about what it would do to the consistency of the ice cream in terms of how pleasant it felt.
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