The Easiest Way to Plug a Dripping Ice Cream Cone

Walking outdoors with an ice cream cone in hand is one of the most pleasurable parts of summer. That is, until your perfectly scooped ice cream starts to melt. When that happens, it doesn't take long for your relaxing stroll to turn into a race to stop your hand from becoming a sticky mess.

Drips from the top of your ice cream cone can be caught if your lick them away fast enough, but when your melted ice cream starts to leak from the tiny hole in the bottom of your cone, there's not much you can do. The only way to protect yourself is to plan ahead, and this tip from Ben & Jerry's suggests a pretty ingenious way to do just that.

Before plopping the first scoop of ice cream into your cone, drop a mini-marshmallow inside it. The confections are normally used as ice cream toppings, but if you add one to the cone before scooping your ice cream, you can create a squishy plug that absorbs any liquid ice cream that melts and prevents it from dripping onto your hand. And when you reach the bottom of your cone, you'll have a delicious, ice cream-soaked marshmallow waiting for you as a bonus treat.

Creating an edible seal for melted ice cream isn't a new concept. The bits of solid chocolate you find at the bottom of some ice cream cones, like Nestlé Drumsticks, are added for the same reason. If you're assembling an ice cream cone at home, or ordering one from an ice cream parlor that offers mini marshmallows as a topping, a marshmallow makes a great stand-in for the classic chocolate seal. And if you're looking to go beyond the cone this summer, here are some alternative ways to eat your ice cream.