Scoop (utensil) explained

In common usage, a scoop is any specialized spoon used to serve food.[1]

In the technical terms used by the food service industry and in the retail and wholesale food utensil industries, there is a clear distinction between three types of scoop: the disher, which is used to measure a portion e.g. cookie dough, to make melon balls, and often to serve ice cream (although manufacturers frequently advise against using dishers for ice cream and other frozen foods); the ice cream scoop, and the transfer scoop which is used to measure or to transfer an unspecified amount of a bulk dry foodstuff such as rice, flour, or sugar.

Disher

Dishers are usually hemispherical like an ice cream scoop, while measuring scoops are usually cylindrical, and transfer scoops are usually shovel-shaped. Some dishers have mechanical levers which help expel the disher's contents. Traditionally dishers are sized by the number of scoops per quart but may also be sized by ounces, the diameter of the bowl, or the number of tablespoons they hold.

Ice cream scoop

Some higher-end ice cream scoops have a thermally conductive liquid in the handle to help keep the ice cream from freezing to the scoop's metal.

History

Alfred L. Cralle, a porter in a drug store and at a hotel in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[2] [3] noticed that servers at the hotel had trouble with ice cream sticking to serving spoons, and he developed an ice cream scoop.[4] On June 10, 1896, Cralle applied for a patent on his invention. He was awarded patent 576,395 on February 2, 1897.[5] The patented "Ice Cream Mold and Disher" was an ice cream scoop with a built-in scraper to allow for one-handed operation.[6] [7] Cralle's functional design is reflected in modern ice cream scoops.[8]

Transfer scoop

Transfer scoops (a.k.a. utility scoops) are used to transfer bulk foods from large storage containers to smaller containers, and generally do not have any measurement markings, as their purpose is to transfer, and taking time to adjust the amount in a scoop would slow the transfer rate.

Other types

Standard sizes

The table below is the standard definition in the U.S. food industry, but actual capacity varies by manufacturer.[9]

Scoops per quart!! Typical use[10] !! scope="col" style="width: 50px;"
U.S. fluid ounces (fl. oz.) !Spoon equivalent
[11]
Metric Diameter (inches)
4 8.0 (1 cup) 236.6 3
5 6.4 (cup) 189.3 3
6 5.3 (cup) 158 3
8 Ice cream, jumbo cupcakes, mashed potatoes 4.0 (cup) 118 2
10 Texas-size muffins, popovers 3.2 (cup) 95 2
12 Ice cream, standard muffins 2.7 (cup) 80 2 or 2
14 2.4 (cup) 71 2
16 Pancakes 2.0 (cup) 59 2
20 Ice cream, giant cookies 1.6 (cup) 472
24 Regular cupcakes, sorbet, mashed potatoes 1.3 (cup) 382
30 Silver-dollar pancakes, candies 1.1 (cup) 33 1
36 0.94 (cup)27.8 1
40 Mini muffins 0.8 (cup) 24 1
50 Mini cupcakes, canapés 0.64 (cup) 19
60 Large cookies 0.53 (cup) 16
70 Cookies 0.46 (cup) 14 1
100 Chocolate truffles 0.32 (cup) 9

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Scoop utensil United States Patent 6733056 . Freepatentsonline.com . 2002-06-14 . 2014-03-11.
  2. News: Afro-American Notes . February 14, 1897 . The Pittsburgh Press . May 28, 2018.
  3. Web site: The Gifts of African American Innovation . February 12, 2014 . Desmond Tutu Foundation USA . May 28, 2018 . May 29, 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180529053734/http://www.tutufoundationusa.org/tag/alfred-cralle/ . dead .
  4. Web site: Alfred L. Cralle (1866–1920). www.blackpast.org. en. 2018-09-05.
  5. Web site: United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) : nombre de brevets délivrés à certains quelques opérateurs de télécommunications. United States Patent and Trademark Office. 2018-09-05.
  6. Web site: History of Ices & Ice Cream. What's Cooking America. May 28, 2018 .
  7. Web site: A. L. Cralle Ice Cream Mold and Disher Patent Number 576395. U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. May 28, 2018.
  8. News: Ice Cream History, Whats Cooking America. Stradley. Linda. 2015-05-14. What's Cooking America. 2018-09-05. en-US.
  9. Web site: Chen. Kit. Disher (aka ice cream scoop) sizes. 30 October 2016.
  10. Web site: Dishers . 30 October 2016 . bot: unknown . https://web.archive.org/web/20070523094518/http://www.kitchenconservatory.com/dishers.htm . 23 May 2007 .
  11. Web site: Table 13: Sizes and Capacities of Scoops (or Dishers) . 2024-03-02 . USDA.