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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 suppose.

I remember a few years later, after the dairy closed, when we bought a tub of ‘all-natural’ ice cream at the supermarket and I lifted the lid off the tub of mint chip ice cream, I was 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, 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 loved writing my ice cream book, The Perfect Scoop because when I worked in the restaurant kitchen, my very favorite thing 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.

chocolatescribble

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, vendors sell huge bunches of fresh mint, which folks use to make mint tea and tabbouleh. They’re cheap, too; normally about 50 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 (which 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.

The Perfect Scoop

Mint Chip Ice Cream

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. Types of mint can vary and if you find the ice cream could use a little more mint flavor, feel free to add a dash of mint extract or oil, or crème de menthe, to the custard before churning.

For the mint ice cream:

  • 1 cup (250ml) whole milk
  • 3/4 cup (150g) sugar
  • 2 cups (500ml) heavy cream
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 cups (80g) packed fresh mint leaves
  • 5 large egg yolks

For the chocolate chips:

  • 5 ounces (140g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate,, chopped
  • In a medium saucepan, warm the milk, sugar, 1 cup (250 ml) heavy cream, salt, and mint.
  • Once the mixture is hot and steaming, remove from heat, cover, and let stand for an hour to infuse the mint flavor.
  • 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.
  • Pour the remaining heavy cream into a large bowl and set the strainer over the top.
  • 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.
  • 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).
  • Immediately strain the mixture into the cream, then stir the mixture over an ice bath until cool.
  • 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.
  • 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.

mintchipiceblogheader

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The Perfect Scoop: Now in Softcover!

Ice Cream Making FAQs

Recipes for Using Leftover Egg Whites

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127 comments

    • Nicole

    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!

    • Jessica

    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!

    • David

    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.)

    • Barbara

    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 …

    • Merisi

    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*).

    • Della D. Marinis

    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.

    • Meg

    My life is now complete. Thank you, David!

    • Leland Paul

    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.

    • Lore

    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!

    • Dani

    Mint chip–my ALL TIME favorite ice cream. This may break the camel’s back and push me to buy an ice cream maker…

    • Hannah

    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…

    • jobeth_b

    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.

    • Emily

    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!

    • Noah

    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.

    • Gaby von Oppenheim

    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

    • David

    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.

    • Julie

    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!

    • Delia

    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.

    • Susan

    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…

    • Margaret

    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!

    • Sweet Harvest

    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!

    • Nick

    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!

    • My Kitchen in the Rockies

    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.

    • The French

    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?!

    • Grapefruit

    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!

    • Colleen

    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!

    • Sam Breach

    Yay! finally. The recipe that is missing from the perfect scoop. Thanks for this.

    • dharmagirl

    i just ate some electric green mint chocolate chip ice cream yesterday–a childhood favorite–and dreamed of churning a batch of homemade. i love your methods here, and can’t wait to experiment.

    also, i just returned from my first trip to paris, and have to thank you for your recommendations. my fondest moments of the trip are food related, and much of that food happiness is due to suggestions from you, dorie, and clothilde (edible adventures in paris). i have a wicked craving for a falafel special sandwich that will send me to the kitchen to chop and dice and play. and all the fruit tarts? mmm, perfection. i’ll use my new pans from Mora and E. Dehillerin to recreate that beautiful deliciousness.

    merci:)

    • tom | tall clover

    David, I finished up another batch of a seasonal favorite : rhubarb-vanilla ice cream. Delicious. And I’m off to pick up The Perfect Scoop today to learn more. You can never have too much ice cream.

    • krysalia

    this subtile tone of green is g-o-r-g-e-o-u-s.

    • nina

    I remember green ice-dream as a child, but I somehow think the green was superficial. I want to make this ice-cream, even if it is just to sit on the porch and take a trip down memory lane. Thank you!

    • ap269

    My mint plants in the backyard are taking over the whole bed so I guess I have to make this ice cream to use some of it up. It’s Moroccan mint btw, which is awesome in mint tea. Thanks for posting this recipe!

    • La Rêveuse

    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!

    • Michael Procopio

    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.

    • Lydia (The Perfect Pantry)

    For as long as I can remember, mint chip ice cream has been my absolute favorite. When I’m feeling indulgent, a bit of hot fudge sauce on top tastes pretty darned good, too.

    • The Purple Foodie

    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!

    • Jaime

    Off the mint chip ice cream subject, but had to be said.
    I made your Dulce de Leche brownies last night. Mon Dieu et Merci.

    • hannah @ thepastrykook

    i love how real stuff is used and not mint essence!

    • Dawn (KitchenTravels)

    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!

    • Caffettiera

    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.

    • Francheska

    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 KitchenAid ice cream attachment ASAP!

    • Design Wine and Dine

    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.

    • Kati

    Advice: the Ciao Bella mint chip tastes like sewage. Avoid at all costs.

    • Jill in Atlanta

    This brought back a funny memory: Toward the end of summer, after my parents had had a very successful summer in their garden, they made mint chocolate chip ice cream. Upon seeing something green in my ice cream, I accused them of putting zucchini in it. After all, it had been in everything else I’d eaten that summer!

    I have made your recipe before, and my own kids devoured it without complaint! The mint was so refreshing I couldn’t even compare it to the “natural” made by Breyers. We’d better get it on the menu soon this summer too!

    • Emily

    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.

    • Salpy Kabaklian

    Thanks so much for this post, David! I just made mint straciatella using your book the other day and was frustrated with my ice cream’s lack of green and tweeted about it. To be perfectly honest, the frustration lasted only until I dipped a spoon into the custard and assured myself that though it may not look it, it was bursting with mint flavor and no one would doubt that it was MINT ice cream. This is the third or fourth time I’ve made it, and I keep playing with various types of mint. The first time I used straight mint and it was so surprising and strong. Once, I found chocolate mint and it was amazing. I’m on the lookout now for another bunch that I could grow on my balcony (just so I have it on hand whenever I want this ice cream, really). This latest batch was a combination of peppermint and regular mint. It came out really nice. Next up, coffee ice cream!

    • Kelly-Jane

    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!

    • Wendy

    Mmmm…mint chip is one of my favorite ice cream flavors. I’m currently working my way through The Perfect Scoop (in fact, I’m eating Malted Milk Ball ice cream right now…fabulous!) and mint chip is high on my list of recipes to try. Thanks for the reminder!

    • Nina

    I woke up yesterday wanting to make homemade ice cream so I bought an ice cream maker and the Perfect Scoop. Today I came across this post…it was meant to be! I can’t wait to make my own mint chocolate chip ice cream!!

    • V Bagatti

    As one who is continually surprised when something I cook or bake turns out well,
    I’m in awe when people develop their own recipes. Now I know what to do with the mint growing in my backyard! Here’s something you might like from Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates…..click on frozen treats…http://gingerelizabeth.com/

    • Laurie Pfalzer

    I’ve made mint-chip ice cream before using cheesecloth inside my strainer. Then you can gather the cheesecloth together and squeeze the heck out of the mint which really brings out the flavor and gives the color that you’re all talking about. Careful – it is very hot, but gloved or double gloved hands works well for this. (Remember that once you spin the ice cream and put some air into it, the color will lighten. Sometimes it will darken again after sitting for a day in the freezer.)

    Also, the mint that David is using is the standard peppermint variety that you’ll find in most grocery stores and a lot of gardens (at least in the Pacific Northwest). I’ve found that it has the best true flavor.

    • Evelyn

    I love this idea of the chocolate swirl/scribble. I’m not a fan of super chunky ice cream (complete opposite of DH) but I do like having chocolate in some of my ice creams. This looks great and seems to ensure you’ll get more even amounts of chocolate per bite of ice cream.

    • Jean Marie

    People seem to take everything too seriously these days! The cooking blogs that I follow (all 4 of them) are lovely because everyone plays nice. And if someone doesn’t, they get verbally smacked around by the regular fans. Our mint patch has gone insane and we’ve needed more ways to chop at it so thanks for sharing this recipe. I do love mint chocolate chip ice cream.

    • marlis kuhlmann

    I just love this recipe, where I live we have wild mint growing in the mountains, it´s a litlle different because it´s a dry climate mint which grows at 1000 mtrs., but it´s very fragant. Saludos from Argentina, Marlis

    • naomi

    I made your mint ice cream a while back, and had my beau and neighbor girls puddled at my feet. I’ve been looking at my mint spreading out of the pot, thinking it was time to make some more. But right now I’m typing with one finger, ’cause we’re eating your toasted coconut ice cream, and I’m content. YYYYUUUUMM. Thamks, David.

    • Kirsten

    David, I see you put the mint beside your thyme in the box…do yourself a favor and transfer the mint to its own container, once it has taken root. Otherwise, it will take over your whole box and may strangle your thyme :D just in case you have not yet experienced the power of mint…that stuff grows like crazy. Good luck with the mini rooftop garden!

    And I completely agree with you regarding the seriousness with which some people approach cooking and eating. I just embrace the uncertainty and accept that I may not be able to recreate something exactly. Each time, it may be slightly different, but it will be delicious and MINE. And also: the famed Grandmother’s recipes people try to recreate so meticulously…I believe they tasted so good precisely because Granny did not measure everything down to the last grain of salt, but instead relied on the quality of her ingredients and her own skill and taste.

    Thanks for the ice cream recipe, I will absolutely try it! Your recipes have never failed me. Thanks for sharing.

    • Mary

    My God David – I am craving a dish of it now!!!! Right now and it’s not going to happen!

    • Michelle H

    I used to work for a restaurant that made small batch ice cream. We would muddle the mint while steeping to bring out the vibrant green color. Although the variety and quality of the mint will result in varying shades of green, this method helps to nudge the color out. I think that Laurie Pfaizer’s method of using cheese cloth would work well too. Thanks for the post and perfect timing for the season!

    • bunkycooks

    I so agree that ice cream is one of the best things to make from scratch! It cannot be much simpler, but the taste is so unlike anything in a container. Mint chocolate chip has always been one of my favorite flavors. Just might have to make a batch this weekend!

    • Bernadette

    David, what do you store your ice cream in, regular Rubbermaid/plastic containers?

    • Carrie @ Deliciously Organic

    Yes! Now I know what to do with the huge bunch of chocolate mint I received in my CSA box this week. Thanks!

    • jam

    oh, this is my (one of many) favorite ice cream. We make it for the restaurant ( a Thai restaurant here in Austin, TX) and it’s one of the most popular ones. People are blown away by it. They are so used to mint ice cream that is minty by mint extract. We actually blend in fresh mint at the end before churning and it’s oh so beautiful and delicious. I love love love it. Thank you for a wonderful recipe. I shall try this version too.

    • singingwater

    two other New England favorites are : frozen pudding and maple walnut. looking forward to recipes for those.

    • Linda

    My favorite ice cream-right up there with vanilla ice cream with crushed peppermint candies in it. I like banana ice cream with chocolate chips too (Chunky Monkey style). I’ve got to get myself an ice cream machine.

    • Nancy Singleton Hachisu

    David, thanks for this recipe, I guess I better start cracking open The Perfect Scoop. I was waiting for my grass-fed cow cream delivery…coming on Thursday. Yay. I gave up on mint flavored chocolate desserts in Japan because they associate the flavor with toothpaste here and they never go over big. But I never thought of using fresh mint. Good thing my mother-in-law didn’t rip out my mint this year. Can’t wait to try this. Thanks.

    • David

    Kirsten: Unfortunately it’s likely that everything in that box is going to be history in a few weeks, when the summer heat rolls around. The temperature rises to over 100ºF and it’s in full sun, so I try to use up all the herbs before the blast of summer hits.

    Purple-Foodie: You can certainly add a few drops of pure mint oil (not extract, but pure oil) to the chocolate to make them minty, too!

    Jean-Marie: I think there’s a certain amount of machismo that’s been created about cooking during the last few years. As someone who has cooked in professional kitchens for about 3 decades, I’m not stranger to aggressive behavior (of which I was an active and willing participant…but that’s life in the restaurant kitchen), but people feel egged on by tv chefs and food folks who portray themselves as renegades and fuel the fires online.

    I say we sic Gordon Ramsey on ’em…

    Michelle and Laurie: I generally use my hands (which I wash well beforehand!) Although since some people have an aversion to doing that so I recommend pressing through a sieve. Sometimes with cheesecloth, I feel some of the best parts of things get absorbed into the cloth, and not into the custard.

    Kelly-Jane: The good thing is that when you’re in your own kitchen, you can do what you want! : )

    Bernadette: I use reusable plastic containers that I buy at the restaurant supply shop, Bovida, here in Paris. You can use any plastic container that suitable for food use and ones that are good for freezing usually have a symbol of some sort on the bottom (like a snowflake or something) to indicate they’ll hold up in the freezer.

    • Tim in paris

    David, a compelling entry.

    This will be perfect activity for kids, but am curious about ice cream makers. The Cuisinart ICE20WH you recommend is not avail at amazon.fr. Aside from the big ones, which won’t fit in my Parisian kitchen, is there one like the cuisinart you’d recommend?

    Thanks

    • Gina

    Is the mint in the recipe spearmint or peppermint?

    I’m confused because you talk of the mint for mint tea and tabbouleh in the Paris market, and that’s spearmint, but later you refer to substituting crème de menthe, and that’s peppermint.

    It looks so good I’m not sure I can wait for the answer, so I may try both!

    • David

    Tim: There is a Krups machine that sells for around €50 or so at BHV and Darty that works quite well and isn’t too expensive. I have one. (They sell them on Amazon.fr, too.)

    Also if you have a KitchenAid mixer, there is an attachment, but note that if you have an American model stand mixer, the European ice cream attachment doesn’t work correctly, and vice versa. So you need to get the one for the model according to where you purchased it.

    Gina: One of the previous commenters noted what variety of mint it is, which I bought from my local market. If you want to be sure, print out one of the photos in the post (or from my Flickr page and take it to your local agricultural extension and they can assist you in identifying a similar variety in your area.

    Nancy: They don’t drink Mojitos in Japan?? ; )

    • Jemima

    Thanks for this recipe – I love mint chocolate chip ice cream!
    I actually wanted to ask you what kind of containers you freeze your ice cream in.
    I have been trying out recipes from your book, The Perfect Scoop, on and off for over a year. I have been putting the ice cream in ‘freezable’ plastic containers with lock tops, but I notice that after every use, the containers either get cracked or the snap lid gets broken. Do you (or anyone else) have a better solution?

    Thanks!

    • verna

    I have ginger mint growing in a pot..it makes the best tea! Wonder what it would be like in ice cream. It is very gingery.

    The self-styled foodies….well, I live in the SF bay area, and I work for a caterer. People come into the kitchen where we are obviously very busy and start demanding to know every ingredient in the food, where it came from, etc… it can get to be a bit much!

    • Cheryl Arkison

    Ooh, I love the way of adding the chocolate. I just chop mine up and stir it in, this would give you a much nicer texture. Score for you again. But really, am I surprised?

    • Aline

    David, people in Florida are always nice expecially the clerks from what I have experienced. If you want rude clerks come to Chicago, Illinois, in my neighborhood turned mostly hispanic the clerks refused to answer in English or totally ignore you and talk to the other clerk in Spanish (I do understand few words) but do not answer you. I have lived over 30 years in this neighborhood. and refuse to give up. So, I speak English and Spanish (wish it was French) to get across and won’t leave until I get an answer. This goes for all the hispanic grocery stores.

    I am French and I do find the French clerks including restaurant help rude, I left an American penny (in Paris) as a tip because I don’t use sugar and asked very nicely for milk or cream instead for my cafe. Oh Boy! you can’t believe the problem I had. Thanks for reading this.

    • Frances Mercer

    Cannot wait to make this !!!! Thanks, David !!!!

    • CSC

    Perfect! I made strawberry ice cream last weekend and wanted to make mint this one and – serendipity – here is a recipe.

    How nice when life works out this well.

    Cheers!

    • Janet

    My all-time favourite ice cream flavour! Thanks for the recipe!

    Janet :-)

    • Aline

    David, people in Florida are always nice expecially the clerks from what I have experienced. If you want rude clerks come to Chicago, Illinois, in my neighborhood the clerks refused to answer in English or totally ignore you and talk to the other clerks (I do understand few words) but do not answer you. I have lived over 30 years in this neighborhood. and refuse to give up. So, I speak English and Spanish (wish it was French) to get across and won’t leave until I get an answer.

    I am French and I do find the French clerks including restaurant help rude, I left an american penny (in Paris) as a tip because I don’t use sugar and asked very nicely for milk or cream instead for my cafe. Oh Boy! you can’t believe the problem I had. Thanks for reading this.

    • JON-HENRI

    DAVID
    This sounds yummy. Today in the food section of the Palm Beach Post there was a recipe for Lavender Ice Cream using fresh lavender
    leaves as if Publix or Winn-Dixie would have any. The ice cream itself was a bit complicated for a beginner such as me. Also there is a new food channel Foodchanneltv.com. Last nights “food-ography” show was about new and different ways to make ice cream using liquid nitrogen and cold plates. I would like your comments about these new methods. Ice Cream as an app or popcorn. In the meantime-back to “the perfect scoop”

    • Michele

    What is Aline’s point?

    • Maureen

    Hagen-Daz has a new flavor, dark chocolate mint, boy is it delicious!! I guess you could make a home made dark chocolate ice cream and infuse it with fresh mint. If I have time to try it, I’ll let you know the results.

    • Casey Angelova

    I love a good mint chip ice cream. They have something here in Bulgaria, but it tastes horrible. I ordered it with something completely different in mind and what I received was frozen toothpaste. Yuck! I have had my KA freezer bowl freezing for sometime now and I thing this recipe will help bring it back to action.

    • Sarah

    Israeli’s love mint, they put it in meatballs, cakes, lemonaide, tea, in marinades, everything in fact except ice cream and chocolate. “Taste’s like toothpaste” I am told by my friends (although they don’t object to the mint in other forms). I ate tubs of the breyer’s ice cream as a kid but it isn’t available here, nor is the Haagen Daz, guess I need to take out my ice cream maker.

    • Karin (an alien parisienne)

    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.

    This is why I really, really like you and enjoy your writing so much. Your spirit and approach to life is very authentic and down-to-earth. The above demonstrates this aspect of your character. :)

    I’ve got a ton of mint growing in my Parisian window box, also. Today I added some leaves to a glass of homemade lemonade. Would that I could eat that ice cream!! Milk protein causes too much havoc in me right now. *sigh* But I tasted with my eyes and my memories in reading this post. It looks like scrumptious stuff.

    I remain grateful that mint tastes really good in lemonade, too. ;-)

    • June

    I grew up on a small farm (dairy) and we could always tell when the cows got into the mint patch. It seemed ghastly to me as a kid, but somehow all these years later, it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. Your ice cream looks wonderful and I can’t wait to try it.

    • Sara

    Thank you so much! Personally, I have never liked mint chip ice cream, but it is my husband’s favorite flavor. He jokes that he gets it so I won’t eat his ice cream, in fact. But it’s the perfect thing to make for the upcoming father’s day holiday!

    • Tami

    This is my favourite ice cream tea, especially using fresh mint. Its the only way to go. But I live in an apartment and the mint I buy is nowhere near as cheap as yours and I don’t think its as good as homegrown. So I usually decide to make this when I’m walking around my neighborhood and spy large crops of mint in public areas or on boulevards or on the edge of a yard that I’m certain aren’t using the mint or even know its there. I slyly carry a pair of clippers and take a little here and there until I have enough. I call it foraging. I’ve spied a very large plant around the block and I’m thinking of offering a trade of ice cream for mint. I think they’ll go for it.

    Also is it wrong that I want to add just a drop of green food colouring to the custard…. For nostalgia sake I suppose.

    • Tami

    Oops I meant ice cream to eat, not ice cream tea….sorry

    • Delilah

    oh, yum. perfect way to use some of the mint currently trying to take over the back porch…

    • jess

    i just made this last weekend! i’m so glad you posted this. really only 2 blogs had posted about this recipe and it’s nice to get a reinforcing post from you (my local bookstore ran out of ‘the perfect scoop’ grrr)

    anyway, i feel like i used the wrong mint or maybe i’m just too used to the commercial taste of ice cream. this is my absolute favorite ice cream flavor yet i was a bit disappointed because… it was so freshly minty.

    but… i guess thats the point.

    you are my hero by the way!

    • Jessica

    I’ve never understood how cooking/eating went from being an art to a bloodsport either – and I’m so glad and encouraged to read that not all chefs treat it like that. I like working on my cooking skills because it’s fun and I love food (and, of course, I love hearing compliments).

    I love mint ice cream and I’m anxious to try this recipe out, although something about the lack of exorbitant green food coloring is new to me.

    • Steve Braverman

    Coincidentally, I made mint chocolate chip cream last weekend using the recipes for fresh mint ice cream and stratella from The Perfect Scoop . It was incredible. My wife adores mint chocolate chip ice cream, so with mint overwhelming the garden, I thought it might be nice to indulge her. But I was blown away! I never liked chocolate mint ice before. Far to medicinal tasting. But this was subtle and refreshing. Congratulations.

    I do have a question: Can any ice cream recipe be turned into a southern italian gelato by substituting corn starch for egg yolks? Is there a base recipe with which I can work?

    • Kat

    Ahhhhhhhhhh… Mint chocolate chip is my absolute favorite ice cream. I am a western Massachusetts girl who grew up on Friendly’s mint chocolate chip. You know, the greener the better. The first time I ordered mint chocolate chip and it was not green I almost sent it back. Your recipe looks marvelous and I am going to have to make it even though it is not green :)

    • Georgia

    This is far and away my favorite ice cream flavor of all time. I think because it has savory elements to it that are refreshing to balance out the sweet. Thanks for sharing a recipe!

    • Barbara

    Thank you so much for this recipe. We made it yesterday and it is un-freaking-believably delicious. The flavor from the fresh mint leaves is a revelation.

    • David

    Jessica: In addition to all the “I’m a mean chef who swears and hates people that don’t eat meat” programs, cookbooks, and articles out there (that people are trying to emulate) I think a lot of it has to do with all the ‘competition’ shows on television. Nowadays everything from losing weight to getting married is a competitive activity.

    Kat: I LOVED Friendly’s Ice Cream when I was a kid. The Chocolate Marshmallow Swirl was my favorite. Plus I liked that you could order a side cup of buttered pecans for 5 cents. When Hershey’s bought it, it seemed to change. But it was fun while it lasted…

    Delilah: If you have tons of mint, aside from mojitos (!) you can make mint tea by just steeping a bunch handful of leaves in hot water. It’s wonderful. You can sneak a bit of dried green tea leaves in there, too.

    • Diane@2stews

    I have sooo much mint in my garden, and a son who loves mint ice cream with chocolate chips. I agree, that the freshest and purest ingredients always are reflected in the final outcome of a recipe. Fresh mint is the only option here with it subtle color and real flavor. It sounds wonderful!

    Thanks for this recipe :-))

    • june2

    I’ve made this by putting the churned ice cream in the stand mixer and pouring melted chocolate in while the mixer is on – perfect stracciatella. I discovered this by the way when I did it first by accident with whipped cream. I used it as the best cake topping I’ve ever had!

    • shweta sylvia

    Dear David,

    Thank you for the super recipe of Mint Chip icecream. A perfect way to end the summer blues. Unfortunately in my family we don’t eat eggs, so would you please suggest a substitute for egg yolks used in the icecream. Thanks a lot.

    • Cooking with Kait

    This sounds wonderful. I wish I could have a bowl of it right now. I love your use of fresh mint leaves.

    • David

    Steve: In The Perfect Scoop, there is a recipe for Fleur de Lait ice cream, which uses cornstarch in place of eggs. So if you have the book, you could use that as a base for this ice cream.

    Schweta: Similar to the advice I gave Steve, you can use a cornstarch base for the ice cream. Or use a Philadelphia-style ice cream without eggs, as a base, using the guidelines I gave previously.

    june2: I often recommend drizzling the chocolate into the ice cream while the machine is churning, but some machines have small openings and the chocolate tends to clump on the dasher. But I do that if using a machine that allows that.

    • Tim in paris

    Hello again,

    I found the Krups machine in Darty and have already made two batches of ice cream. One question, pls: I made a straciatella with your vanilla + mixing in the chocolate; it tasted great but had a noticeable amount of ice crystals in the ice cream.

    Is at a common flaw? Any idea why that happens? Will scalding the milk stop the crystals? Thank you for the comments!

    PS the seond recipe was simple vanilla with melted choc added to hot milk. No ice crystals and delish.

    • Tammy

    Sigh, I’m not the only with this insane weakness for mint ice cream (with or without chocolate). I love mint ice cream with a goodly dose of vanilla…This year, I’ve planted apple mint, orange mint, spearmint, peppermint, and pineapple mint. All I’m missing is chocolate mint (yes! and it really, honestly, truly smells like chocolate). Bring on the heat, let the churning begin! (and thank, Thank You for those gorgeous images.)

    • Susan

    Your post reminded me of college study breaks fueled with Friendly’s green-mint chip. It also reminded me of how fabulous this recipe was when I made it last summer. Yesterday’s overdue garden clean-up yielded a huge bunch of mint, and the pale green custard base awaits the churn. Tonight another college student will be initiated into the delights of (pale-green) mint chip ice cream.

    The rest of the mint will go into faux-jitos…

    • Anna

    FINALLY, something to use my mint for besides mojitos!

    I hear there’s a chocolate mint herb out there somewhere too?

    • Cookie

    Mint chocolate chip is my favorite ice cream flavor, so of course I had to try this recipe. I used the usual USA-supermarket variety of mint. Oh. Holy. Cow. Definitely the best mint ice cream I’ve had. The herbal note from the fresh mint (and a little stem because I’m an impatient person) was absolutely lovely! Now you’ve spoiled me. Thank you so much, David!

    • Agnes

    I made it already two times, that was divine! The first time it was light green! Thanks for the recipe!

    • biscuitsmom

    I made this the other day and on first bite, I tasted some woodsy notes. After inhaling a few more bites, the woodsy-ness went away. This happened every time I went back in the tub for more.

    I took it to a dinner party and my friends informed me that the “woodsy” flavor I was getting tasted more like WEED. For someone who never smoked the stuff before, I was quite taken aback.

    I had also brought the pistachio gelato as well but at the end of the night everyone said they preferred the Weed Ice Cream best. :1

    • BrideXIII

    Anna: I made some two days ago with chocolate mint from my garden, the taste was awesome, and the colour was a lovely green too, no artificial colouring needed.
    I have some Apple mint at the allotment that I intend to try on the next batch, although the leaves on that are a variegated green and yellow, so I am not expecting such a strong colour.

    • Jane Bonacci

    Hi David,

    I would like to make ice cream sandwiches for an upcoming party. Your chocolate chip mint ice cream would be perfect, but I’m not sure what kind of cookie would be the right accompaniment. What do you think of using Flo’s Chocolate Snaps?

    Thanks for your help!
    Jane

    • David

    Jane: Yes, those work great. You can also use the recipe in The Perfect Scoop, which is a variation, but is scaled for ice cream sandwiches. Happy churning!

    • Jane Bonacci

    Thanks David! That’s a great idea!

    • Jane Bonacci

    Thanks David – great idea!

    • Bonnie

    ROFLMBO!!! I feel the same exact way about some the dissections I see on the various food forums and blogs. Egad! Its food, people, get over yourselves! On top of it you posted Mint chip Ice Cream! My hubby’s favorite! I do belive you are one of my newest favorite sites! Thanks so very much!

    • Heidi

    Nice one! Seeing the chocolate drizzle trick instantly made me want to try this recipe. So much that I picked up a large bouquet of mint leaves on my way home from work and made it the same evening. It turned out really minty and pale green – not quite like the crazy green colour I remembered from my grand parents’ freezer in Australia, but very good. The only thing is, that using purely cream tends to make the ice cream a little too runny and leaves one with a kind of greasy feeling in spite of the mint. Would you recommend a mixture of milk and cream perhaps, and if so – what would be the ratio?

    • Russell

    peppermint for food (especially ice cream)
    spearmint for toothpaste and chewing gum

    • Kay

    David, I’ve been looking all over for “heavy cream” in France, have written to Americans based in France and by all accounts, heavy cream supposedly doesn’t exist here.

    I’ve not yet found it at Leclerc or at Monoprix. Can you let me know what brand you’re using, where you bough it, and the percentage of milkfat?

    I’d really love to make ice cream homemade here and am at a loss as to how to proceed. :o(

    • David

    Kay: You can find crème liquide or crème fluide, or sometimes it’s called crème entiere (whole cream) at most supermarkets in the dairy case, either in plastic bottles or in the case of the Elle et Vire brand (which is thick but works the same of regular heavy cream in ice cream making). You can also get UHT heavy cream, usually sold in packs for 3 small boxes, at most supermarkets, although I prefer fresh cream.

    If you like the taste, you can use crème fraîche in ice cream making, although I’ve found that if you let the mixture sit too long, the whole batch of ice cream is in danger of ‘taking’. So it should be added not too long before churning.

    • Kay

    Thanks, David. I’ve seen cream at the grocery, but nothing with 36 to 40% milkfat. The ones I’ve seen at Monoprix and Leclerc were all 22 percent milkfat and under. Is there a version or brand here with the 36 to 40 percent milkfat?

    • Heidi

    Hi David! Sorry about the confusing note I left on June 22nd – looked like there was only cream in your recipe, which of course there wasn’t. Since then I’ve tried a different version with 2/3 milk and only 1/3 cream and that was just the right mixture for my taste – so there you go. Thanks anyway for a delicious recipe that I want to try anew now that we finally have abundant mint leaves in our summer garden.

    • ec

    For as long as I can remember, mint chip ice cream has been my absolute favorite. When I’m feeling indulgent, a bit of hot fudge sauce on top tastes pretty darned good, too.

    • Janelle

    Hi! Loved this recipe! It definitely beats any of the store bought stuff (although I wouldn’t turn it down). Was surprised at the green-tinge I ended up with from the mint I got at the farmer’s market. Thanks for the recipe!

    • Susan

    David, I bookmarked this recipe when I saw this post and made it a few days ago. Even though I messed up melting the chocolate so it was kind of a blob, I was able to crumble it into the ice cream and mix everything together. May I just say, yum. Absolutely no need for mint extract or God forbid, green food coloring. I used mint I grow outside my door and got a very faint greenish hue. The flavor is just amazing. Gotta get your ice cream book. My cousin has it and loves it. Thank you for sharing.

    • Rachelino

    You have now given my rampantly overgrown backyard mint patch a renewed sense of purpose. Thanks.

    • Nurit – 1 family. friendly. food.

    I made this a week ago. Was really good.
    However, I find the taste of cooked mint to be not so bright as when it’s “raw”, so I added lemon zest and squeezed some lemon juice on the prepared ice cream when just before I served it. Lemon adds soooo much.

    • Bracha

    I love cooking with melted chocolate and I look forward to making your minty ice cream — thank you for sharing. I always melt choc in the oven on low heat — it’s so easy I don’t understand why everyone uses a double boiler or microwave.

    • anne

    hey david,
    i tried this recipe out (loved it) and i was inspired by the idea of infusing milk. i tried making carrot ice cream (i know it sounds strange) with the same method and it turned out so well. you should think about it sometime.

    -anne

    • Hester Robson

    MMMM-so excited to find this recipe. Mint choc ice cream is my favourite and I’ve just bought an ice cream maker, have hens merrily producing eggs, and a small forest of peppermint growing in my garden, that I was wondering what to do with.
    Can’t wait to try the recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it.

A

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