One of my favorite summertime memories was having mint chip ice cream back when I grew up in New England, which we ate outside and had ordered from a window at our local dairy. Even though the ice cream was freshly made, they made sure it bright-bright-green, so we knew we were eating mint, I guess.
I remember a few years later, after the dairy closed, when we bought a tub of Breyers 'all-natural' ice cream at the supermarket and I lifted the lid off the tub of mint chip ice cream only to be surprised to find that mint ice cream wasn't really green at all, but almost pure, snowy white, save for the chunks of chocolate studded about here and there.
When I wanted to come up with my own mint ice cream recipe, I used handfuls of fresh mint leaves for flavor, unlike what the store-bought stuff is made from, so it had a leafy, herbaceous flavor. A few people noted to me at various times that their mint-infused milk didn't get the delicate green hue that mine has, but mint is a plant and most plants aren't standardized—at least not the ones I want to eat.
So, naturally there will be variations in strength and color depending on the mint that you use. If you'd prefer to have absolute certain, 100% standardized results, you could simply make a plain vanilla ice cream and add mint extract or crème de menthe in lieu of the vanilla, but I'll stick to using only fresh mint in my ice cream.
I cook and bake—and make ice cream, because I like to do it. And it's interesting reading lately around the internet that eating and cooking has become a bloodsport to some degree. I was reading a few sites where people talk about food and saw how analytical people are when it comes to picking apart recipes and techniques: detailed spreadsheets, line-by-line comparisons, and heated debates of various proportions, down to the last ¼ teaspoon, are dissected.
The whole mélange of everyone adding their two cents makes things interesting, I suppose, but reading through some of that stuff gives me brain freeze. I love talking about food, and writing about it. But I'm happiest when I pull up to the table with friends, and enjoy a good meal or a dish of ice cream. The reason I enjoyed working in professional kitchens, especially at Chez Panisse, was because the cooks I worked with were just interested in serving the best food we could. That, I think, is the objective of every cook, whether they're cooking at home, or professionally.
I loved writing my ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop, because when I worked in the restaurant kitchen, my very favorite things to do was to make ice cream. I found ice cream to be a perfect backdrop for playing around with a whole bunch of flavors, not just chocolate and vanilla. And it seems everyone loves ice cream, including me.
Mint Chip is truly one of my fondest flavors, to this day, and this batch I recently churned up at home reconfirmed that. I could barely stop myself from taking copious samples as I was folding in the melted chocolate to make the crunchy little chocolate chips.
The French don't have many chocolate-mint desserts in their repertoire (maybe we need a few Girl Scouts peddling cookies!) but at the outdoor markets, Arabic vendors sell huge bunches of fresh mint, which folks use to make mint tea and tabbouli. They're cheap, too; normally just 30 or 40 centimes per bunch. Of course, you have to put up with being jostled by the remarkably resilient women who are certain there is a better bunch located somewhere near the bottom of the stack (and always seem to be right where I happen to be standing...), that has an additional branch or a few more mint leaves on them, than the forty-nine bunches of mint on top of the pile.
Feel free to improvise and fold in any kind of chocolate chips you want, or go a little wild and add about two cups of chopped thin mints or crumbled brownies instead of making the chocolate chips with melted chocolate. One tip: When you melt the chocolate, make sure the bowl is clean and dry; any moisture or water will cause the chocolate to seize and harden. And if that happens, you'll miss out on the fun of drizzling the chocolate and stirring them to make the homemade chips.
Mint Chip Ice CreamMakes about 1 quart (1l)
Adapted from The Perfect Scoop (Ten Speed Press)
The bright taste of fresh mint is marvelous with the little bits of bittersweet chocolate. If you are unsure of the quantity of mint leaves, weigh them to the get the exact amount. I just stuck a few mint springs in my rooftop garden box and within a week, they took root and are thriving nicely. It's not enough to make a batch of mint ice cream quite yet, so for now, I'm buying my mint at the market. Depending on where you shop, you might want to buy two bunches, to make sure you have enough.
For the mint ice cream:
1 cup (250 ml) whole milk3/4 cup (150 g) sugar
2 cups (500 ml) heavy cream
pinch of salt
2 cups packed (80 gr) fresh mint leaves
5 large egg yolks
For the chocolate chips:
5 ounces (140 gr) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
1. In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream, salt, and mint.
2. Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the mint flavor.
3. Remove the mint with a strainer, then press down with a spatula firmly to extract as much mint flavor and color as possible. (You can also use well-washed hands to do it as well, making sure the mixture isn't too hot to safely handle.) Once the flavor is squeezed out, discard the mint.
4. Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.
5. Rewarm the infused milk. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, then slowly pour some of the warm mint mixture into the yolks, whisking constantly, then scrape the warmed yolks back into the saucepan.
6. Cook the custard, stirring constantly with a heatproof spatula, until the mixture thickens and coats the spatula. If using an instant read thermometer, it should read around 170ºF (77ºC).
7. Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool.
8. Refrigerate the mixture thoroughly, preferably overnight, then freeze it in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.
While the mixture is freezing, melt the chocolate in a small bowl over a pot of simmering water, or in a microwave oven on low power, stirring until smooth. Place a storage container in the freezer.
9. When the ice cream in the machine is ready, scribble some of the chocolate into the container, then add a layer of the just-churned ice cream to the container. Scribble melted chocolate over the top of the ice cream, then quickly stir it in, breaking up the chocolate into irregular pieces. Continue layering the ice cream, scribbling more chocolate and stirring as you go.
When finished, cover and freeze until firm.
Related Posts and Recipes
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The Easiest Chocolate Ice Cream Recipe...Ever
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The Perfect Scoop: Now in Softcover!
Recipes for Using Leftover Egg Whites
hello! david I made mint chip ice cream too! this weekend. Well...technically it's a mint chip sorbet. I got the mint sorbet recipe from your new book and instead of adding what the books called for I used finely chopped chocolates instead.
For my next mint/chocolate craving though I would definitely try making a mint chip ice cream for the ultimate indulgence! Looks Yummy!
Would you recommend a certain type of mint, or is the recipe workable with whatever mint I have available to me? Thanks for the recipe, what a perfect way to wake up to June!
Jessica: There are a lot of different types of mint, and I used the variety shown in the post, which is the most commonly available here. Some are stronger than others, and this one is pretty fragrant.
I don't know if people have the choice of many different types of mint (if you do, you're lucky!) so for the majority of people, I'd recommend using what's available.
(Some recipes recommend adding a dash of mint extract, to boost the flavor, but I've not found that necessary. Plus it changes the fresh flavor, taking it in a different direction. But folks could certainly add some, judiciously, if they want.)
Awesome! Definitely having cravings for some as it's a fave of mine as well! Your recipe is mouth watering ... but a tease since my Paree kitchen is not equiped with an ice cream maker ! Some things will have to wait. I did score some awesome mint bunches for centimes, as you mention, in a great Indian epicerie called Velan in the Passage Brady right off rue Faubourg St. Denis. All that said, it hasn't been an easy find (yet) for some premade goodness on a cone. I thought the Swiss brand Movenpick might be worth a try. Any suggestions ...
It is 9.57am and I am craving Mint Chip Ice Cream!
Can I be helped?
Have you ever tried to use Lemon Balm, Melissa officinalis?
It is my favorite mint variety, the lemony taste is not as pronounced as it may seem reading the name, and it has a nice strong mint flavour without the bitterness some other mint varieties have.
Your description of the jostling at your market sounds exactly like one out of Naschmarkt here. On Saturdays you may even get stuck for a minute or two, when too many tourists join the fun.
Btw, I did find Sumac there but I keep forgetting to buy dried Cannolini beans!
I added a bit of Sumac to my chickpea soup yesterday and found that it rounded out the flavours nicely. I paid 1.50 Euros for 100 grams (and yes, it has "Sumac" stamped on its label - no one understood my mangled German translation *g*).
The mint chip ice cream looks fantastic, I miss it here in Berlin. Just a comment about food becoming a "blood sport," – SO true, and though I appreciate surfing the many interesting food weblogs, I like to focus on the ones which handle the subject with a certain joy, wonder and even humor (like yours!). There is so much frightful competition in everything else, it's nice to come home to something that simply tastes good.
My life is now complete. Thank you, David!
One problem with owning an ice-cream maker while in college is that you're generally separated from it during the summer... Can't wait to get back to try this.
Mint-chip has always been a favorite of mine, as well. When I was little, the rarity of white mint ice-cream (and the special branding it recieves) definitiely had me convinced that it's color was the result of it being extra-minty! Not sure how that worked.
I use fresh peppermint that we grow on our balcony for my mint chocolate chip ice cream. The stuff grows like weeds!
David, you may already know this, but Jacques Génin in the 3rd makes a fresh mint chocolate ganache that is just to die for!
Mint chip--my ALL TIME favorite ice cream. This may break the camel's back and push me to buy an ice cream maker...
I'm still waiting for the magical cooking fairy to drop an ice cream maker on my doorstep (darn poor student lifestyle), but once it happens (surely it'll happen. Right? Right?) I'm going to make this. With crumbled brownies. Sigh...
I overdosed dreadfully on choc-mint icecream as a child and now have a serious aversion to cream-mint combos (as well as fruit and cream - blurgh)! Perhaps this is a way to get over it! I really want to and fresh mint, farm fresh cream and maybe some non-white sugar might bring me back.
This looks divine, and my mint is coming up like a weed, so it's a timely post!
Do you have any suggestions for making this recipe with an ice cream base that doesn't use eggs? My home is egg-free because of my son's serious allergy, but that doesn't mean we should be deprived of this delicious treat! I have "The Perfect Scoop," so please feel free to direct me to another recipe from the book.
Many thanks!
Nice to see the shout-out for Breyers.
It's what I grew up with, and remains my favorite brand of ice cream, 'premium' brands included.
Dear David.
if your recipe works out to be as delicious as it looks, I will be forever grateful to you.
You might have just ended a life long quest for the perfect Mint chocolate chip Ice cream recipe!!!!! I will try it as soon as the sun is giving summer in germany a chance!
Merci
Gaby
Emily: You could use the Vanilla Ice Cream recipe in the book, Philadelphia-style, and steep the mint in all of the milk/cream called for in the recipe, then infuse it for an hour, and use that.
Noah: I actually like Breyer's all-natural, too. I don't mind that slightly-icy taste that it has. (But I still prefer homemade!)
Delia: I had a realization the other day, when surfing around reading things, how all these heated discussions turn mean or nasty. It's certainly fine to disagree or to discuss recipes, restaurants, etc, but it's just odd that people get vindictive and aggressive when talking about something so enjoyable as food. I guess it means different things to different people (and I've been known to over-analyze a recipe in my time, too), but cooking and baking—and eating, should be a pleasure, and it's unfortunate that some folks lose sight of that.
Lore: I love Jacques, although last time I went in, he tried to strangle me, which I think (or hope) is his way of showing affection. And yes, his mint chocolates are excellent. So are the Zagora ones from La Maison du Chocolat, too.
David, I made this last year using The Perfect Scoop and the mint that had overgrown my grandmother's garden, and it was outstanding! I'll have to do it again this week, because your photos remind me of how much I loved that batch of ice cream. Thanks!
I was saving my Kitchen-aid ice cream bowl for the peaches I'm going to pick on Thursday, but I may need to break it out early for this! Or, perhaps I need two ice-cream attachments. I think this ice cream will be brilliant with the chocolate wafer cookies I made. Thanks for all the inspiration, my cellulite is most thankful.
I do understand some of the nit-picking that gets carried away with on some of the food sites. Not the mean ones..just the recipe nit-picking. When you are trying to recreate a flavor of something from your past that (you think) MUST be perfected, it's hard not to go OCD over what that quarter teaspoon of whatever might be doing to keep you from your goal! I don't actually argue with other people about it because taste is subjective, but if it's all about my preference, talking about it with others may lead me by a their insight to make it work. Take Shortbread, for instance; Oh, how I've struggled with 3-4 ingredients...
Thank you for posting this recipe! For me it is extra timely because I just got a new ice cream maker as a birthday present from a beloved relative. She loves ice cream and we both love mint chocolate chip. (For many years, she's had a license plate that reads "CH-CHIP"!) I was just thinking about finding a recipe for mint chocolate chip to make for her in the next few weeks. I love Perfect Scoop and just inaugurated the new ice cream maker with your lovely vanilla ice cream!
Outstanding! My heart skipped a beat when I saw the title of the post. Mint Chip ice cream is without a doubt my favourite ice cream. Whenever we visit the ice cream shop I am always trying to force myself into trying a different flavour but I always seem to leave the shop with my old standby. I will be trying this recipe this weekend!
Wow. One of my favorite ice creams by far. I'm so happy to see fresh mint instead of mint extract or something.
I can see how this would be very refreshing on a hot summer day!
We also had some this weekend. It is my kids favorite ice cream. Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I will give it a try. It looks very yummy. Thanks.
Well, I knew my dairy cleanse would eventually come to an end and I think this is the recipe that will do it! And the one that will get my off my butt to finally purchase an ice cream maker. What's taken me so long?!
Oh wow, my favorite ice-cream flavor! Thanks so much for sharing.
And now I feel like I'll die if I don't make this today!
I completely agree with you about the "foodie" phenomenon becoming a little too over the top! It's supposed to be FUN and people are taking all of the fun out of cooking and eating with this silliness. It's FOOD, people! It's meant to be enjoyed and shared, not analyzed and picked over.
Mint chip ice cream is one of my favorite things in the WORLD. EVER!
Yay! finally. The recipe that is missing from the perfect scoop. Thanks for this.
this subtile tone of green is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s.
David, could you intensify the mint flavor and color by chopping or bruising the mint first? Just a thought.
This looks great! The mint I stuck in the ground last year after frost is spreading like a weed, so this might just have to be on the docket for this summer. Thanks!
David,
What's weird to me about this post is that I was actually finishing up the last bits of Breyer's Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream that a friend brought over just before reading this post.
Honest to g-d.
I'm glad I didn't eat it after.
What? Mint xchip ice cream doesn't have green mint chips? You just burst my bubble. And so much for lugging packs of mint chips all the way from the USA! I love the look of roughly chopped chocolate in the ice cream. Lovely!
i love how real stuff is used and not mint essence!
I made fresh mint ice cream from your Perfect Scoop recently. Since it didn't turn green, I thought I had done something wrong, so I added MORE mint and let it steep a little longer. I should have trusted the original recipe! The mixture didn't turn any greener, but it did turn really, really minty. That was okay, though. We all agreed the fresh-tasting mint, while a bit strong, was still delicious. I used your straciatella method to add dark chocolate, and everyone loved it. I am loving your ice cream book, David. You can check out how your chocolate-coconut sorbet recipe turned out on my blog (I hope it's okay that I blogged about it, I linked back to you and to your book). :) Thanks so much for writing such a beautiful and easy-to-follow compilation of recipes!
I wish so much I did not give my ice cream maker back to my mum (ok, HER ice cream maker) when I moved! I am drooling over the pictures.
I am totally with you on food analysis craziness: I know a precise recipe is important, but you'll never have great food if you don't adapt it to the ingredients you have, and as you say, they won't be the best ones, if they always tasted the same!
On a side note, my vendors here in Germany -all Arabics of various origins - always make sure I get the best bunch of mint or coriander in the pile. And that is not because it is me. They do it for every client: first come, better served. And they'd always advise you about what is really good and fresh today. It is a always a pleasure and a surprise.
This was the one I served myself the most when I worked at Baskin Robbins, this one and chocolate almond, oh how I miss all that free ice cream
I need that kitchen aid attachment ASAP!
So beautiful, there's nothing better! Mint Chocolate Chip is hands down my favorite flavor (coffee a close second) - Also...I think when you make ice cream yourself at home, if it comes out looking like that, it simply CAN NOT be bad for you! Lovely.
Thanks so much, David!
By the way, before my son and his allergy were factors, I made the black pepper ice cream from your book and served it atop vanilla poundcake and caramelized peaches. It was sublime. "Black pepper?!" our guests kept asking, but after one bite all the doubters were convinced.
I love mint choc chip ice cream. I'm going to give yours a go with the fresh mint, as I'm sure that'd be lovely, must dig out The Perfect Scoop again. You must forgive me though, I'll add a small blob of green colouring, my lot were scandalised last time I made white mint choc chip ice cream!