How To Keep Ice Cream From Melting In The Ice Bucket

There’s nothing more fun than taking an ice bucket full of delicious food to a picnic at the beach or in the park. If it’s hot, you might want to bring ice cream, but how do you keep it from melting? Luckily, here are some great tips to help you keep your ice cream longer.

Table of Contents

Use dry ice

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Buy about 4.5 – 9 kg of dry ice for a 38 liter ice bucket. You can buy dry ice at food stores for about 45,000 VND/kg. Dry ice will evaporate at a rate of 2.5 – 5 kg/day, so if you buy dry ice too soon you will have nothing left. ^{[1] X Research Source}

Dry ice is usually in the form of a 25x5cm square block, weighing about 4.5 kg. You will need one block for every 38 cm of ice bucket length. ^{[2] X Research Source}
You can make your own dry ice by spraying a CO2 fire extinguisher on your pillowcase for 2-3 seconds. Wear gloves, closed-toe shoes, and other protective clothing if you’re making your own dry ice.

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Choose an insulated cooler with a vent. Dry ice will evaporate, so you’ll need to use a vented cooler or vent valve. If the freezer is tightly sealed, the vapors will cause pressure to build up and possibly explode.

If the cooler doesn’t have a vent, open the lid slightly. ^{[3] X Research Sources}
Plastic or Styrofoam ice bins are common options for storing dry ice.

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Use thick gloves to handle dry ice. Dry ice can “burn” your hands (“burns” at -78 degrees Celsius called cryoburn). Either way, don’t let your bare hands come into contact with the dry ice when taking it out of the freezer! ^{[4] X Research Sources}

READ More: How to Make Pizza

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Place the ice cream on the bottom of the ice bucket. The cold air will sink, so dry ice is most effective when placed over something that needs to be kept cold. If possible, you should put dry ice on top of other items in the freezer. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Wrap dry ice in a towel and place in the ice bucket. The towel layer acts as an insulator and preserves the dry ice for a longer time. It also helps protect everything in the freezer from damage from contact with dry ice. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

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Keep drinks and other snacks in separate freezers so they don’t freeze. Dry ice is cold enough to freeze everything under it. You should store drinks and other snacks in the freezer to ensure they do not freeze and help dry ice keep longer. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

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Fill the empty space in the ice bucket. The empty space in the freezer will cause the dry ice to evaporate faster. If you don’t have a lot of food to put in the freezer, you can fill the bucket with regular ice, a towel or newspaper, or just buy more ice cream! ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Close the lid tightly after filling the ice bucket.

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Keep the cooler in the trunk if you’re carrying it in the vehicle. The dry ice will evaporate and turn into carbon dioxide. In confined and confined spaces like a car, carbon dioxide build-up can cause dizziness and even fainting.

If the trunk doesn’t have enough space and you have to put an ice box in the car, remember to turn the car window ajar or adjust the air conditioner to let outside air circulate into the car. ^{[9] X Research Source}

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Avoid leaving the cooler in the sun. Dry ice will last longer if you place the cooler in the shade.

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Leave the ice to dry at room temperature when not in use. The wind will help clear the dry ice blocks! When you have finished eating ice cream, you just need to open the ice box and leave it in a ventilated place. The dry ice will turn into carbon dioxide and disappear into the air. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Never throw dry ice down the drain, sink, toilet, or trash. Water pipes can freeze and burst, or even explode if dry ice expands too quickly.

Use regular ice

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Choose high-quality ice buckets. Not all ice buckets are created equal! Different brands use different insulation methods. A quality brand name cooler like Yeti or Cpeman will keep ice cream long lasting much more effectively than a styrofoam cooler. ^{[11] X Research Source}

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Chill the freezer before putting everything in. You probably don’t want to put the ice cream in the warm ice bucket. Bring the ice bucket into the house to cool. If necessary, you can pour a bucket of ice into the cooler to cool the bucket. Before you put the ice cream in, remove the old ice and replace it with new ice. ^{[12] X Research Source}

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Place the ice cream in the bottom of the ice bucket. Items placed at the bottom of the bin will stay the coldest. But things that don’t need to be frozen can be placed on top. Don’t put anything warm in the freezer with the ice cream, because the ice cream should be kept as cold as possible! ^{[13] X Research Source}

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Use a large block of ice to slow down the melting process. Use a large saucepan or large box to make a large block of ice. The bigger the ice cube, the longer it takes to melt – and the longer your ice cream will melt! ^{[14] X Research Source}

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Sprinkle a layer of rock salt over the ice to slow down the melting process. Rock salt helps to slow down the rate of melting of ice. In fact, rock salt has been used to make ice cream since time immemorial! Sprinkle 1-2 handfuls of rock salt right on top of the rock. ^{[15] X Research Source}