Fresh Mint Ice Cream

A creamy refreshing summer treat that you will make over and over again straight from your herb garden: Homemade fresh mint ice cream! With dark chocolate chips, of course.

Fresh mint ice cream. My absolute favorite ice cream flavor. I used real mint leaves from the garden, and a combination of vanilla extract, and dark chocolate chips. No artificial green food coloring was used, this green ice cream is all thanks to the fresh mint leaves, which created this beautiful natural and earthy green hue.

There is something so wonderful about making homemade ice cream from the greens in your garden. It truly beats anything you could find in grocery stores. And the fresh mint taste? All directly from the fresh mint leaves. I could not find any peppermint extract here in Oman, and to be honest I preferred the natural herbaceous fresh mint flavor, vs the overwhelming spearmint flavor you may get when using peppermint oil.

This recipe is written for an ice cream maker, but not to worry. If you don't have an ice cream maker you can still make this ice cream. See recipe notes below!

OTHER GOURMET ICE CREAMS FROM THE HERB GARDEN/FLOWER GARDEN: 

• Basil ice cream
• Rosemary ice cream
• Lavender honey ice cream
• Homemade rose ice cream

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE CREAM:

Making ice cream with a perfect texture requires a great custard base, so it's a good idea to make a slow reduction. The idea is you want your egg yolks to thicken, and you want all of the sugar you add to dissolve into the cream. You achieve this by simmering your cream, yolk mixture, mint milk, sugar, vanilla and salt in a saucepan for twenty minutes. 

INGREDIENTS:

• Heavy whipping cream / heavy cream
• Whole milk
• Granulated sugar
• Egg yolks - For the creamy custard / perfect ice cream base
• Salt
• Vanilla extract (you can substitute peppermint extract or one drop of peppermint oil, if preferred)
• Fresh mint leaves
• Chocolate chips or chunks of chocolate

Quantities in recipe card below.

TOOLS NEEDED:

• Quart ice cream maker - We use this simple, affordable cuisine art ice cream maker to make our ice cream recipes (more than I'd like to admit) if you don't have one - don't worry, you can still make this ice cream. See notes below
• Sauce pan
• Whisk
• Large wooden spoon
• Measuring cups and spoons
• High speed blender or food processor

STEP BY STEP FOR MAKING FRESH MINT ICE CREAM IN AN ICE CREAM MAKER

Along the way I've found my base for the creamiest ice cream that is sure to please!

• Place your mint and milk in a high speed blender and process until fully blended. Strain mixture and discard any pieces of mint, keeping only the fresh mint milk. Set aside.
• Crack your egg yolks into medium or large mixing bowl and whisk vigorously. Feel free to save the whites for macaroons or an omelet.
• Combine sugar, your mint milk, cream, egg yolks, vanilla, and salt in a medium sauce pan.
• Stir over low heat for 10-15 minutes to get a slow reduction, to thicken egg yolk and melt the sugars down. Be sure not to overheat or else you'll curdle your milks and cook your eggs. Stir consistently.
• Let sit for two hours to chill.
• When ready to make your ice cream, pour chilled mixture into the freezer bowl of your ice cream maker. 
• Turn your ice cream maker on and let it churn based on manufacture's recommendations. For me, it usually takes 20 - 30 minutes. While it's churning, add in your chocolate chips. Once it's done churning, it will have the consistency of soft serve ice cream.
• Transfer the ice cream into an air tight container and let it chill in the freezer for at least six hours. From here you should have perfect, scoopable ice cream!

HOW TO MAKE NO CHURN FRESSH MINT ICE CREAM WITHOUT AN ICE CREAM MAKER:

The good news is even if you don't have an ice cream maker, you can still make this recipe. I do recommend using an ice cream maker for best results.

Additional tools you'll need:

• 8x8 metal baking dish
• Spoon for scraping

Step by step:

• Place your mint and milk in a high speed blender and process until fully blended. Strain mixture and discard any pieces of mint, keeping only the fresh mint milk.
• Crack your egg yolks into medium or large mixing bowl and whisk vigorously. Feel free to save the whites for macaroons or an omelet.
• Combine sugar, your mint milk, cream, egg yolks, vanilla, and salt in a medium sauce pan.
• Stir over low heat for 10-15 minutes to get a slow reduction, to thicken egg yolk and melt the sugars down. Be sure not to overheat or else you'll curdle your milks and cook your eggs. Stir consistently.
• Pour mixture into your baking dish.
• Place it in the freezer for 90 minutes.
• Remove from the freezer and whisk the mixture, scraping the sides of the pan well. Use a sturdy whisk or hand mixer to whip the mixture a bit as it begins to freeze.
• Return to the freezer. 
• Continue to freeze, checking on ice cream mixture every hour. Break up large ice pieces with your mixer, scraping the sides each time, and then return to freezer.
• After a couple of hours, it should begin thickening to a slushy soft-serve consistency. Once it reaches that stage, you can serve it or cover it with a lid and return to the freeze until firm and scoop able.

Note: Ice cream made without a machine will freeze to a very firm consistency after a day or so in the freezer. However, it will thaw nicely at room temperature after 10-15 minutes and will be perfectly scoop-able.