Ice Cream & Frozen Treats

If you liked playing with Play-Doh as a kid, you’d probably like making monkey bread since it requires you to form lots of little balls of dough that then get rolled in butter and cinnamon sugar. That’s the fun part about making monkey bread, but I don’t find making the dough itself all that enjoyable — especially when I want monkey bread fast. That’s where this store-bought staple comes in handy: frozen white bread dough!

Time to bring your winter stew into weeknight territory with a few freezer shortcuts. Start off by spending a little time in the freezer aisle of your grocery store and you’ll find a multitude of smart shortcuts that make for hearty stews with minimal prep. These little gems bulk up the vegetable content of a stew while adding rich, aromatic flavor — plus, they fancy it up without even trying.

Let’s face it — a simple salad just isn’t enough for dinner. (People tend to complain.) So when you’re looking to turn those last bits of spinach, half a cucumber, and a few chopped radishes into a dinner-ready meal, here’s a trick: Reach for that bag of frozen tortellini. This brilliant shortcut transforms the last bits of the crisper drawer into a dinner you can make for one or scale up to feed four or more. Here’s how!

Among the essential staple foods I keep on hand in the kitchen at all times (I’m looking at you, olive oil, grains, and canned tomatoes) are frozen vegetables. I’m not talking about a single bag, but a selection of a few different veggies. Not only are they economical, but they also won’t go bad anytime soon. Keep them tucked away in the freezer and you can rest easy knowing that quick side dishes, wholesome dinners, and hearty breakfasts are just an arm’s reach away.

You know puff pastry, phyllo, and pie dough as the backbone of many a sweet dessert, but these versatile doughs are good for so much more. In fact, one of my favorite ways to use them is for savory snacks and appetizers, from puff pastry cheese sticks to fresh corn galettes. Frozen dough is my secret to no-fuss, last-minute get-togethers with friends and family. But these doughs, while similar, are not created equal.

A box of frozen puff pastry is something of a miracle ingredient. If you’ve ever baked with it, you know exactly what I’m talking about. It puffs into delicate, buttery layers, turning even the most basic recipe into something that feels totally fancy. It’s also super easy to use — all you need to do is pull the box out of the freezer and pop the dough in the oven, right? Well, not quite, although we promise it’s almost that simple.

So you finally got around to pulling your ice cream maker from the depths of your kitchen cabinet, and you’re getting ready to churn up a batch of this cool, creamy treat. In addition to narrowing down your flavor options (so many choices!), there’s one more task at hand: finding the right container to store the ice cream. Here are five choices that get the job done.

When I started making ice cream from scratch, I dove in deep, churning out a mix of flavors weekly. I read through The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz cover to cover, and practically kept it by my nightstand during that first summer. While he taught me all about the best mix-ins and flavoring agents, the biggest tip I took away was how to ensure that my ice cream was as soft and scoopable as those from the best mom-and-pop shops.

Growing up, my dad always chose half gallons of French vanilla ice cream over vanilla ice cream when we’d go shopping together. They all looked beige and creamy to me, but I trusted his instinct. With “French” on the label, he assumed superior quality — they make pretty phenomenal cheese and wine, after all — but was he right? What actually is the difference between a tub of plain ol’ vanilla and French vanilla ice cream?

Here’s the secret no Southern cook wants you to know: As much pride as we have for our state’s peaches, we all have a bag (or more) of frozen peaches hidden away in the deep freeze. Yes, a peak-season peach is worthy of songs and stories of longing, but frozen peaches are a steadfast staple of Southern cooks in the know. First of all, let me be clear that I’m talking about frozen peaches, not canned peaches.

Picture this: You’re doing your weekly grocery shop and there’s a great deal on a family pack of chicken thighs. And now that you’re looking in the meat section, you were thinking maybe you’d have a cookout this weekend and the ground beef is on sale. And you might as well stock up on buns because, well, it’s still summer-ish and you need buns. Somehow you walk out of the store with more than enough to feed you, your family, and then some.

So you bought a pound of ground beef when it was on sale last week because you were finally going to make that Philly cheesesteak pasta skillet. But the week got away from you and now you’ve got to act fast before this perfectly lovely mix of 85/15 ground chuck goes bad. What are you to do? Freeze it, right? Yes, but there’s one little thing you’ve got to do first that’s going to make all the difference when it comes time to use it.

A few days ago, one of my internet friends posted an Instagram story with step-by-step pics of his first Halo Top experience, like an ice cream unboxing sequence. He’d never had Halo Top before, which is weird because I assumed that the entire world was pretty much in agreement that it was the pinnacle of human achievement.

We're going to be honest, okay?

My first experience with “nice” ice cream was 10 years ago on a family vacation in Hawaii. The hotel served some type of magical dairy-free pineapple soft-serve, and I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how they made it. So I ate as much of it as I could before the trip was over, then promptly resumed my nightly Graeter’s habit upon our return home to Cincinnati. I figured the magical stuff could only be created in the tropical oasis that is Maui.

It’s my day job here at Kitchn that convinced me that frozen shrimp was worth keeping in my freezer at all times. Previously, I’d simply buy shrimp from the fish counter at the grocery store when I needed it. Then my colleagues kept gushing about the freshness and convenience of frozen shrimp and I soon realized a whole lot of the “fresh” shrimp I was buying at the grocery store was actually previously frozen. So I gave it a try and almost instantly became a convert.

Since I grew up on frozen vegetables that were cooked in the microwave until they turned to mush, I wrote them all off as soon as I was an adult. I avoided the freezer aisle completely and proclaimed I’d only buy fresh vegetables from then on out. Then I walked into Trader Joe’s, where it’s basically impossible to write off the freezer aisle. And it was there I discovered the one frozen vegetable that completely changed my opinion: frozen artichokes.

If you don’t already have a bag or two of frozen broccoli in your freezer, add it to your grocery list immediately. We’re huge fans of the stuff here at Kitchn — not only for its affordability and ease (forget about chopping down a big head of fresh broccoli!), but also for its versatility. Here are seven ways we love to use it. Add a little green to your breakfast by throwing frozen broccoli into your scrambled egg routine.

After a (much-too-long) hiatus, I’ve reintroduced tater tots to my meal plan. And you know what? I think they taste even more amazing now than they did when I was a kid. All I had to do was change the way I cooked them. To cook a batch of irresistibly delicious tater tots, you’re going to need more time on the clock than what’s instructed on the bag.

For many of us, artichokes aren’t a staple in the way frozen peas and broccoli are, so they can be easy to overlook during your weekly stroll down the freezer aisle. But I hope I can help you change that, because a bag of frozen artichokes (yes, go for the bag over the box!) is unbelievably versatile and can be used to make so many satisfying meals. Artichokes are the freezer vegetable with the power to make even the simplest bowl of weeknight pasta feel fancy.

By nature, stir-fries are quick-cooking meals that can be a breeze to pull together on weeknights. Fire up your wok, and watch dinner come together fast (like, under the 10-minute mark fast). But that doesn’t account for the vegetable prep — the washing, peeling, slicing, and dicing (and cleanup that goes along with it) before you can start cooking. There’s a way to make this weeknight wonder easier still, and it starts with a trip down the freezer aisle.

If that row of rainbow veggies is any indication, frozen vegetables are ready to be celebrated. And over the past few weeks, we’ve done exactly that (even Queen Elsa chimed in!). Our deep dive into the freezer aisle revealed just how transformative frozen veggies can be — both in how much time they save and the instant nutrition they provide. Here, we’re rounding up our biggest deep-freeze learnings in hopes that you, too, will stock a rainbow-filled freezer.

A smartly stocked freezer is a true asset for a solo cook. It ensures easy, fast meals for one are always within arm’s reach, no matter the day or occasion. And, of course, it’s a great place to stash leftovers. Here are seven ways to stock your freezer if you’re cooking for one. Keep a few bags of frozen fruits and vegetables in your freezer and you’ll always have something wholesome to reach for.

I have vivid childhood memories of my mom standing over the kitchen sink on Christmas day squeezing the water out of defrosted packs of spinach to make her famous spinach casserole. Later my sister took over the task and she’d be shuddering from the semi-thawed clumps in her hands. It always seemed like such a nuisance — and so cold! So as an adult, I sort of tried to avoid frozen spinach all together.

Frozen salmon fillets are a freezer staple these days. Keep a few fillets on hand and you have a healthy meal on your hands at all times without having to run to the fish market on your way home. Transfer a portion or two to the fridge in the morning to defrost, and in the evening you’ll have countless options for dinner. Here are 10 ideas to get you started. Salmon might not be the first fish that comes to mind when you’re thinking tacos, but it makes for some seriously tasty ones.

Vanilla ice cream doesn’t have the best reputation in the frozen dessert world. For starters, it’s an insult to call something “vanilla,” as the suggestion implies that whatever you’re referring to is essentially boring AF. Now we are about to add insult to injury with some cold-hearted facts: Nearly one in five store-bought vanilla ice creams doesn’t even contain vanilla, according to U.K. consumer insight organization Which?.

When I was growing up, my mom always had a bag of frozen mixed vegetables in the freezer. Mostly she used it for icing boo-boos and hiding the box of Popsicles behind it, although occasionally she served a long-freezer-burned (and then microwave-steamed) serving of that bright-colored corn, carrot, and green bean medley.

We know you’ve got that bag of frozen peas or cauliflower languishing in the freezer because we do too. Want to make more room for ice cream in your freezer by using up those frozen vegetables regularly? Same! Our very best advice for using up the frozen vegetables is to skip the lengthy directions on the back of the box or bag and try these few shortcuts instead. You’ll get the same tasty, nutritious vegetables in less time from the freezer.

The freezer is such a treasure chest of kitchen delights. I reach into my own for frozen vegetables to get dinner done in a pinch, ice for cold brew and boo-boos alike, and frozen fruit like berries, cherries, and peaches (yes, even in the height of summer!). And yet, I’m not making smoothies every day. No, I’m using frozen fruit for everything from dessert to dinner in a few surprising ways that makes these frozen gems worth their weight in gold.

I love meal planning. It is one of my favorite ways to feel prepared for each week and reduce my daily stress. But meal prep? The final step in meal planning where you chop veggies, make dressings, maybe even cook some meals? I’m really bad at it. Finding time — even just a few hours — over the weekend to cook is probably as hard for you as it is for me. Lately, I’ve been relying on the freezer aisle to help me prep parts of our meal plans to save me time during the week.

Frozen vegetables are a smart cook’s secret weapon. They eliminate two of the biggest roadblocks in the kitchen: washing and prepping produce (hello, slippery squash and stubborn edamame pods) and the time-consuming cleanup that inevitably follows. And, they’re pretty much the easiest way to work more veggies into your diet.

This summer we think you should give banana ice cream, also known as nice cream, a try. Why? Well, for one it’s the easiest freezer treat that you can make without an ice cream maker. Nice cream is also full of fruit, easily customizable, and so dang delicious you’ll be eating it for breakfast too.

Valentine’s Day is next week. I felt like I had to get that information out of the way for anyone, like me, who has been sitting around thinking, Why is everyone writing so many Valentine’s Day stories right now? I still haven’t taken off all my New Year’s Eve makeup. Valentine’s Day is a million years away. But Valentine’s Day is actually next week, so you should start making plans. Personally, I don’t really like going out on Valentine’s Day.

Your freezer wants to be your best friend. Let it. Who else will make your food taste better than before? Check out this list of items better when consumed frozen as well as those that are better for having been frozen. You’ll find new life for many of your favorites just by giving them a chance to chill out. Some things are pretty tasty with a chill still on them. They tend to lean toward the sweeter side, which means a cool dessert is always close at hand.

Soup night is one of my favorites. About once a week in cooler months, I rummage through my freezer for little nuggets of gold that I can quickly turn into soup. Soup is so forgiving and can be made with the smallest bits of different things. Paired with a loaded bread basket, soup night is a winner. Here are 10 foods to stash in your freezer for quick and easy soup suppers. A good stock or broth is key to a great soup.

Have you ever opened up your freezer to find that your once red beef is looking a little brown? Or taken a pint of ice cream out only to discover the top is covered in ice crystals? Freezer burn happens to the best of us. Here’s what you should know. When you see that your red meat has taken on a dull brown shade, or your chicken has gone a bit pale, it’s easy to worry it’s gone bad — but it’s totally safe to eat!

Ice cream is loved around the globe and if you think the United States is the largest per capita consumer of the treat, it’s time to recalibrate your knowledge. According to an annual report from Mintel, the U.S. is neither the country that consumes the most ice cream nor the nation with the highest per capita intake. Last year, the U.S. scarfed down 2.7 billion liters of ice cream. That’s a lot.

While the internet offers plenty of recipes (ahem, our site included), nothing quite beats the feeling a real, live cookbook in your grasp. That’s especially true when you’re diving into the wide world of homemade ice cream and in search of serious guidance to get you on your way. Having something tactile in your grasp is like having a floatie to reach for once you’ve splashed in.

I remember the very first time I took my ice cream maker for a spin. I was giddy with excitement at the prospect of finally making my favorite dessert from scratch. I ever-so-carefully heated, whisked, and stirred the base. I chilled it, just the way the recipe called for, and then I hit a roadblock that completely derailed my ice cream dreams (at least for that day). There was one simple step that I completely overlooked: I forgot to put the ice cream bowl in the freezer ahead of time.

At its most basic, a really good milkshake can be whirled together with nothing more than some good ice cream and milk. That’s the simple version I sipped and savored for years. Then I was introduced to an upgrade that changed everything. With the help of one inexpensive pantry ingredient, I was blending together the best milkshakes of my life. Here’s how you can do it too. All that stands between you and the best milkshake of your life is powdered milk.

If there was ever a time to put a seasonal, boo-zy spin on the beloved ice cream float, it is right now. Grab your favorite pumpkin beer along with some ice cream, and consider this your invitation to skip the PSL in favor of something a bit more festive. If you love beer and ice cream separately, but the thought of them together leaves you slightly skeptical, let me reassure you that not only does this duo work, but it’s also an exquisitely delicious treat.

As we head into soup season (otherwise known as fall and winter), I believe we are divided into two camps of home cooks: those who keep a bag of bones in the freezer and those who don’t (yet!). Which camp do you fall in? Are you the kind of cook who keeps a bag of bones in the freezer for soup-making? We’ve preached about the value of stashing vegetable scraps and Parmesan rinds in the freezer to boost the flavor of stocks, soups, and sauces. Well, bones are no different!

You’ve got to love a freezer waffle — they’re convenient when you want to switch from the toast or bagel routine, and are neutral enough in flavor to host a variety of toppings. Once you’ve found the right brand for your tastes, it’s time to explore all the ways to enjoy them beyond the standard swipe of butter and jam or drizzle of maple syrup. These 10 ideas use frozen waffles as a blank canvas for breakfast (and beyond).

There are a few frozen food hacks that can improve your lunch. Freezing a water bottle to serve as both an ice pack and cool refreshment is one, and freezing soups, yogurts, and even smoothies so they don’t slosh around is another — but what about foods you can pack completely frozen that will thaw to eat by lunchtime? Here are 10 frozen foods you can pack for lunches without thawing.

We’re smack-dab in the dog days of summer, where keeping drinks cool with plenty of extra ice cubes becomes mandatory. Use this as your opportunity to give your drink — be it a simple glass of seltzer or a fancy cocktail — an easy upgrade with bold and brightly colored ice cubes. There’s truly no set formula for preparing these cubes. It’s totally dependent on your preference, and how you intend to use the ice.

This summer I have three road trips on the calendar, and one thing I’m definitely not leaving home without is plenty of snacks. While I like to keep things varied, at the top of this summer’s pack list is fruit. Right now we have a bounty of fresh fruit at our fingertips, and when packed just right it’s a refreshing frozen treat that makes road tripping even sweeter. The key to making frozen fruit successful for snacking on the go is all about the prep and packing.

Picture this: You bring out a big tub of ice cream at your backyard barbecue or pool party, and after it’s been scooped and distributed, it gets forgotten about as guests go back to swimming, lounging, and chatting. There the tub sits in the summer heat, and pretty soon it’s a sticky, drippy mess. Better throw it back in the freezer to refreeze for next time, right? Wrong. There are a few foods that you should never refreeze and unfortunately ice cream is one of them.

Q: Does the amount of sugar in homemade ice cream affect how fast it freezes? Sent by Kamaya Editor: Sugar’s role in ice cream is a starring one, as it’s one of the major factors in determining the texture of the finished product. The Kitchn’s done some digging into the science of ice cream in the past, and touched on the topic of sugar and freezing as well. This is what we learned: As ice cream freezes, ice crystals separate from the liquid cream base.

The concept of leftover ice cream is probably foreign to many. It’s just too delicious leave some behind, right? But if you’ve exercised some restraint, here’s the best way to keep the freezer burn away from your beloved ice cream, especially if it’s homemade! Air is the enemy of ice cream, as the surface of ice cream develops ice crystals if left unexposed. The easy solution? Make a barrier between the air and the ice cream.

Just about every recipe for homemade ice cream calls for an ice cream maker, but what if you don’t have one? Well, it certainly doesn’t mean that homemade ice cream is out of the question for you! You don’t actually need an ice cream maker to make a cool and creamy treat at home. Here are five ways to make ice cream without an ice cream maker. This method does have the potential to get a little messy, but that’s a small price to pay for soft and creamy homemade ice cream.

There’s a big downside to making homemade ice cream; the process is kind of a tease. You see, even after you make the base and churn the ice cream, it’s still not ready to eat yet. I mean, yes, you can dip your spoon in and have a taste, but it’s not firm and scoopable yet. It still needs time to firm up in the freezer to get to that point. Or does it? There just may be a way to speed this process along.

Whether you’re new to making homemade ice cream or you’re a seasoned pro, it’s important you know this — there isn’t one single way to whip up this sweet treat. Depending on the type of ice cream you’re making and personal preference, you have a choice of four different bases to get your dessert started. The ice cream base is where it all begins.

Q: I am lactose intolerant and am planning on experimenting with lactose-free ice cream recipes. I can easily substitute regular milk with lactose-free milk. However, I am having difficulties finding a substitute for the heavy cream, as I have not found lactose-free heavy cream. I have read online that 1 cup heavy cream = 3/4 cup milk and 1/4 cup melted butter. I know this works in savory dishes, but am curious if you guys think it could work in ice cream?

Going out for ice cream is so easy: order your scoop, and someone with strong arm muscles reaches down into the freezer, carves out perfectly round scoops with ease, and hands you your cone. I never seem to be able to recreate these smooth movements at home, though, since my ice cream is always rock-hard straight from the freezer.

If you’re on the outside looking in, you might be tempted to call my relationship with ice cream unhealthy. I like to think of it as necessary. Perhaps you view your morning cup of coffee or tea the same way. A couple years ago I thought it would be a good idea to give ice cream up for Lent. To say those forty days were a challenge is a drastic understatement. I’m thoughtful about what I choose to give up for Lent.

I’ve been testing recipes for many years now, so I’m usually a strict follower of instructions. Deviating from them can sometimes drastically change the outcome of the recipe. There’s also a certain satisfaction I get from methodically following and completing the steps, a bit like working my way down a checklist. But there are a few instructions, based on experience, that I will always choose to ignore, and one of them involves cooking with small frozen vegetables.

This ice cream cake looks elaborate (and delicious), right? Not only does this cake involve 10 sweet layers of pure bliss, but it relies on a shortcut so you can make it far more quickly than you might expect. Ready to go to ice cream cake heaven? Follow me, I’m more than happy to lead the way! You won’t believe how easy it is to build this 10-layer ice cream cake.

If I’ve already made the decision to have dessert, then the question of whether or not to have it a la mode is a no-brainer. Yes, please! There’s something about ice cream that makes each sweet bite that much better. Here are five desserts beyond the traditional apple pie a la mode that are begging to be topped with a scoop of ice cream.

Q: I’m looking for information or a photo of my favorite ice cream treat of all time. It was an orange sherbet bar coated with chocolate on a popsicle stick and it was around in the 70s. The packaging was orange with dark brown writing, and it was known as a Brownie Bar or perhaps an H Bar. I knew it as a Brownie Bar. Do you know if this product still exists? I owned and operated a neighborhood grocery store in Vermont for 45 years and sold these bars.

We’ve been talking about ways to shop your freezer, digging out the last bags of frozen corn, spinach, and other goodies that can help you put a quick meal together. This week, let’s talk about frozen strawberries. I almost always have a bag of these in the freezer, and I love to use them in quick sauces and desserts. Here are a few ways I use them; I’d love to hear your favorites too. Here are five ways that frozen strawberries can come in handy.

What do you keep stashed in your freezer for busy nights and quick meals? Personally, I stock up on frozen vegetables during the winter — but sometimes I forget about the last bag of frozen spinach or broccoli in the back corner. Well, let’s shop our freezers together this week and discover some of the ways that these frozen vegetables can help us a little more. Today’s pick: corn! I live in the heart of sweet corn country, and I gorge on fresh corn all summer.

My farmers market closed months ago and it won’t reopen until the end of April. What’s a vegetable-loving girl to do? There are plenty of fruits and vegetables in the grocery store, but they’re not always at the peak of freshness. This time of year, I often opt for frozen vegetables which, although they sometimes lack the virtues of the summer-fresh stuff, carry other benefits, like convenience.

Every sweet treat has a story. We often tell the stories of home kitchens and cooks here at The Kitchn, but we’re also curious about how professional kitchens work and how entrepreneurs build their businesses. Our Maker Tours tell these stories, and today we’re looking back at 10 of our favorites. Each of these tours is a sweet treat in its own way, from a visit to Jeni’s Ice Creams a few years back, to Kim Boyce’s whole grain-inspired bakery in Portland.

Have you ever noticed how on a warm day, it seems like half the scoop of ice cream will melt before you even get the bowl to the table? I hate that! Here’s how to prevent ice cream puddles from happening.It’s simple really: freeze your dessert plates or bowls. Even just a few minutes in the freezer will chill the your dishes to the point where the ice cream will stay frozen  en route to the table.

With their bright colors and futuristic appeal, Dippin’ Dots are a kid favorite at carnivals and beyond, but we’re much more interested in this adult-friendly update: alcoholic Dippin’ Dots! Gizmodo has the full step-by-step instructions for making your own version at home.Liquid nitrogen is the key ingredient in these flash-frozen ice cream bits, which remain cold enough to stay solid in the spoon, but instantly melt in your mouth.

We’ve explored how helpful xanthan gum is in gluten-free baking, but another place it often shows up, along with other stabilizers like carob bean and guar gum, is in ice cream. Why is xanthan gum in ice cream? And does it belong there? First, a brief definition of xanthan gum. Xanthan gum is produced by the fermentation of glucose, sucrose, or lactose by the Xanthomonas campestris bacterium. It was developed in the United Staes in the early 1960s and approved for use in food in 1968.

I have big plans for boozy popsicles this summer. Big. Plans. As far as I’m concerned, there is a whole wide world of cocktails out there just waiting to be made into popsicles. The only question is how?Alcohol has a lower freezing point than fruit juice and other pop ingredients, much lower than our home freezers can manage. Even a little booze will interfere with the way popsicles freeze and too much actually keeps them in a permanent state of slush.

One of the best ways to capture the pure taste of summer fruit is by turning it into sorbet. But hitting the perfect balance between overly sweetened and not sweet enough when making the base can be tricky — unless you use the egg test.We first spotted this trick on Jill Silverman Hough’s website, where she outlined her step-by-step method for making fruit sorbets. After pureeing the fruit, she adds simple syrup to taste.

Ice cream bombes are retro yet fancy, and definitely impressive enough to be the star of the table at a celebration. Here are five fresh takes on this Victorian-era dessert:&bull 1 Banana Split Bombe from Martha Stewart: Layers of chocolate, vanilla and pistachio ice cream over banana cake, drizzled in chocolate? You had me at “banana split.”• 2 Watermelon Bombe from Martha Stewart: The most famous bombe of the bunch.

And not just any waffle cone, but one with a chocolate rim and definite ice cream drumstick possibilities. Bring on the warm weather. With this tutorial from Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams, we’re ready for ice cream cones!The key to this whole operation really seems to be the chocolate. A little goes inside the cone to seal the tip and then the rim of the cone gets its own dunk. After you add the ice cream, another quick dip gives the cone a crunchy chocolate shell.

Some of us looked long and hard to find the perfect pint containersThe tip came from Serious Eats—it was #8 on a list of 10 tips for making homemade ice cream. Apparently, storing ice cream in shallow containers helps it keep its creamy consistency longer.• Read the list at Serious Eats.I actually store my ice cream in shallow containers.

Yes, occasionally we try to have our cake (er…ice cream) and eat it too by making a low-sugar, low-fat ice cream. Our biggest problem with these recipes is actually not so much the flavor but rather the fact that the ice cream usually ends up rock hard and full of ice crystals. Not so appealing.Besides making ice cream taste rich and delicious, sugar, egg yolks, and full-fat cream all help make ice cream creamy and soft by interfering with the formation of ice crystals.