Ice Cream Serving Tips From Dr. Bob

Ice cream is not at its best directly from the freezer, says Robert Small. "If you want the most intense flavor, it needs to temper or soften up," he says. "So you need to take it out of the freezer about 30 minutes ahead of serving."

Proper storage is another issue. "It's almost like wine--you put ice cream in contact with air and it's going to deteriorate," says Small. At his Upland dipping store, tubs of ice cream are smoothed flat as they are scooped to reduce surface area exposed to air, and paper covers are pressed down on the surface of the ice cream between scoops.

Small recommends the same tactic for the home freezer, using wax paper and pushing it down on the flattened surface of the ice cream before recapping the container. "If you just put the lid back on, it's going to build up ice crystals and you're going to lose some of that texture," he says.

Another approach, of course, is to empty the container at one sitting.