Value for money: Scoops

This week Value for Money compares five ice cream scoops

ZEAL PERFECT SCOOP €3.50

We were deeply suspicious of this product which we sourced in the quirky but wonderful Stock shop in Dublin, not least because of its surely over-the-top claim to perfection.

At only €3.50, it is the cheapest product we tried this week and is also the most lightweight, and we had to wonder how something so cheap and light was going to make much of an impression on rock-solid ice cream. Well, it does. It made light work of our dessert and delivered (almost) perfect scoops in a heartbeat. It is a good size too and because it is plastic, it will never tarnish or rust.

Verdict: Nearly perfect

Star rating: * * * * *

KITCHEN AID €13

This is a great scoop which is both functional and funky. It comes in a nice range of colours and has a faintly American feel to it.

Aesthetics aside, it is incredibly solid and ploughs through even the most perma-frosted ice cream without any bother. It is, however, a bit on the big and clunky side and will take up a lot of real estate in your drawer. If the scoop from Klumn was on the big side, this one is slightly on the large side and could, if left to its own devices, encourage gluttony.

Verdict: Very solid

Star rating: * * *

KLUMN ICE CREAM SCOOP €21

There are two things wrong with this ice-cream scoop. The price, which is, we think, ridiculous, and the size of the scooper which we also think is a little on the ridiculous side. It had us wondering if this was an ice-cream scoop or a melon baller and we would be concerned about portion sizes if we saw our host produce the utensil at a dinner party. Having said that, it is actually a fine product. It is solid, has a nice springiness to it and the non-slip handles are, well, non-slip. While it is grand for a dessert which has been left to soften, it struggled to cut through ice cream which had just come out of the freezer.

Verdict: Overpriced

Star rating: * *

OXO GOOD GRIPS BEAK SCOOP €19.50

Okay, so, again, we think spending the guts of 20 quid on an ice-cream scoop is wildly excessive, particularly when you consider that the end result can, by and large, be delivered by a spoon at no cost to you, but we found ourselves liking this despite ourselves. It has a sharp edge which makes light work of the hardest of desserts and a button on the handle which is connected to a leave which expels the ice cream out of the scoop. The rubberised handle is good and solid too. So far so positive, then. It was only when we realised that this product is not dishwasher safe that we lost interest in it. If we spend €19.50 on something so frivolous we want to be able to wash it however we see fit.

Verdict: Good, but ultimately disappointing

Star rating: * * *

SWIFT ICE CREAM SCOOP €18.50

This is a very old-school method that works well on hard and soft ice cream – and on mashed potatoes too, if you are that way inclined. It has a spring-action device which allows you to separate the ice cream from the scoop, although given that most ice cream comes out of its own accord, that feature is probably unnecessary and it is just something else that could go wrong with this product. It is sturdily made and won't bend under pressure but we would be concerned that it might end up rusting away in our presses.

Verdict: Fussy

Star rating: * *