Chocolate Mint Ice Cream

AE Todd said:

I went to a party where we churned ice cream, one of which was
chocolate mint. The mint part reminded me of a toothpaste flavor, not
the mint flavor of ice cream in the store. How do you get a better
mint flavor?

Buy the Edy's/Dreyer's.

Quoted message said:

Did we use the wrong extract (peppermint or spearmint)?

Home-made ice cream never has a decent texture.

Actually Haagen-Dazs makes a Mint Chip. There is no way on Earth that
anyone is going to make better ice cream than Haagen-Dazs.
Their Black Raspberry Chip is the best ice cream ever.

--Bryan

AE Todd said:

I went to a party where we churned ice cream, one of which was
chocolate mint. The mint part reminded me of a toothpaste flavor, not
the mint flavor of ice cream in the store. How do you get a better
mint flavor? Did we use the wrong extract (peppermint or spearmint)?

Rather than using an extract, maybe you could try a chocolate chip
that has a mint flavor and churn that into your ice cream? Or maybe
you can mash up some fresh mint into a fine pulp and put that into
your ice cream?

"hc" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

AE Todd said:

I went to a party where we churned ice cream, one of which was
chocolate mint. The mint part reminded me of a toothpaste flavor, not
the mint flavor of ice cream in the store. How do you get a better
mint flavor? Did we use the wrong extract (peppermint or spearmint)?

Rather than using an extract, maybe you could try a chocolate chip
that has a mint flavor and churn that into your ice cream? Or maybe
you can mash up some fresh mint into a fine pulp and put that into
your ice cream?

There are recipes for chocolate mint that use peppermint or spearmint. But
IMO, peppermint is the prevalent flavor. Some recipes even use those
candy-canes broken up which is peppermint. Is the the flavor you are
familiar with, and like?

Perhaps there was too much mint extract added. A little of it really goes a
long way.
Not asked, but I will add, that I don't use chocolate chips in my chocolate
mint ice cream, I use good chocolate shaved and add it after churning and
before placing it in the freezer for hardning-up.

This is an alternative, too: some will add a little vanilla as well as the
mint; to my mind this softens up the taste of mint.

For another poster that mentioned that homemade ice cream doesn't have a
decent texture; the ice cream recipe that I use (Alton Brown's recipe that
calls for eggs) has a better texture than any ice cream I've ever bought at
any price.
Dee Dee

On Mon, 13 Aug 2007 07:07:58 -0700, AE Todd <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

I went to a party where we churned ice cream, one of which was
chocolate mint. The mint part reminded me of a toothpaste flavor, not
the mint flavor of ice cream in the store. How do you get a better
mint flavor? Did we use the wrong extract (peppermint or spearmint)?

The toothpaste flavor is spearmint. Give peppermint a try the next
time, and you should be a lot happier with the results.

Carol

George said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

AE Todd said:

I went to a party where we churned ice cream, one of which was
chocolate mint. The mint part reminded me of a toothpaste flavor, not
the mint flavor of ice cream in the store. How do you get a better
mint flavor?

Quoted message said:

Buy the Edy's/Dreyer's.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Did we use the wrong extract (peppermint or spearmint)?

Quoted message said:

Home-made ice cream never has a decent texture.

Quoted message said:

Actually Haagen-Dazs makes a Mint Chip. There is no way on Earth that
anyone is going to make better ice cream than Haagen-Dazs.
Their Black Raspberry Chip is the best ice cream ever.

Quoted message said:

--Bryan

Why not?

Say you are in NYC and want something better. Just go to the Chinatown
Ice cream factory on Bayard St. There is a Hagan-Das only 1/2 block away
from it. The Hagan-Das has barely any customers and there is always a
continuous stream of customers going into the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

And you're suggesting that that implies that the ice cream is better?

Quoted message said:

If you were in my area and wanted to do better than Hagan-Das you could
go to one of the two family owned dairies in the area. The cows are
behind the fence in the pasture and the processing is done in the
buildings right behind the dairy bar.

They may use ingredients that are as good as Haagen-Dasz. Then again,
maybe they do not.

--Bryan

The Truthful Assh0le said:

George said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

On Aug 13, 9:07 am, AE Todd <[email hidden]> wrote:
> I went to a party where we churned ice cream, one of which was
> chocolate mint. The mint part reminded me of a toothpaste flavor, not
> the mint flavor of ice cream in the store. How do you get a better
> mint flavor?
Buy the Edy's/Dreyer's.
> Did we use the wrong extract (peppermint or spearmint)?
Home-made ice cream never has a decent texture.
Actually Haagen-Dazs makes a Mint Chip. There is no way on Earth that
anyone is going to make better ice cream than Haagen-Dazs.
Their Black Raspberry Chip is the best ice cream ever.
--Bryan

Why not?

Say you are in NYC and want something better. Just go to the Chinatown
Ice cream factory on Bayard St. There is a Hagan-Das only 1/2 block away
from it. The Hagan-Das has barely any customers and there is always a
continuous stream of customers going into the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

Quoted message said:

And you're suggesting that that implies that the ice cream is better?

Yes, the place I mentioned doesn't do any marketing and hasn't invented
some fake meaningless name to make themselves sound exotic. Everyone who
I have ever brought there raves about how good it is. The place doesn't
compete on price so that isn't the reason people go there. It simply
depends on word of mouth from people who know a quality product.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you were in my area and wanted to do better than Hagan-Das you could
go to one of the two family owned dairies in the area. The cows are
behind the fence in the pasture and the processing is done in the
buildings right behind the dairy bar.

They may use ingredients that are as good as Haagen-Dasz. Then again,
maybe they do not.

--Bryan

Hagan-Das is better than what you might find at Walmart but they can
only hope to be as good and as fresh as the places I mentioned. Those
places were making quality ice cream generations before Hagan-Das
appeared and they have a quality product.

George said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

George said:

The Truthful Assh0le wrote:
> On Aug 13, 9:07 am, AE Todd <[email hidden]> wrote:
>> I went to a party where we churned ice cream, one of which was
>> chocolate mint. The mint part reminded me of a toothpaste flavor, not
>> the mint flavor of ice cream in the store. How do you get a better
>> mint flavor?
> Buy the Edy's/Dreyer's.
>> Did we use the wrong extract (peppermint or spearmint)?
> Home-made ice cream never has a decent texture.
> Actually Haagen-Dazs makes a Mint Chip. There is no way on Earth that
> anyone is going to make better ice cream than Haagen-Dazs.
> Their Black Raspberry Chip is the best ice cream ever.
> --Bryan
Why not?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Say you are in NYC and want something better. Just go to the Chinatown
Ice cream factory on Bayard St. There is a Hagan-Das only 1/2 block away
from it. The Hagan-Das has barely any customers and there is always a
continuous stream of customers going into the Chinatown Ice Cream Factory.

Quoted message said:

And you're suggesting that that implies that the ice cream is better?

Yes, the place I mentioned doesn't do any marketing and hasn't invented
some fake meaningless name to make themselves sound exotic. Everyone who
I have ever brought there raves about how good it is. The place doesn't
compete on price so that isn't the reason people go there. It simply
depends on word of mouth from people who know a quality product.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

If you were in my area and wanted to do better than Hagan-Das you could
go to one of the two family owned dairies in the area. The cows are
behind the fence in the pasture and the processing is done in the
buildings right behind the dairy bar.

Quoted message said:

They may use ingredients that are as good as Haagen-Dasz. Then again,
maybe they do not.

Quoted message said:

--Bryan

Hagan-Das is better than what you might find at Walmart but they can
only hope to be as good and as fresh as the places I mentioned. Those
places were making quality ice cream generations before Hagan-Das
appeared and they have a quality product.

Haagen-Dasz is wonderful. These places might be just as good, but the
only way that I can imagine them being BETTER than H-D is if they used
raw milk, and I'd bet they don't. One dairy in Oklahoma made raw milk
cheese, but I doubt that anyone makes raw milk ice cream.

--Bryan

Bryan said:

Haagen-Dasz is wonderful. These places might be just as good, but the
only way that I can imagine them being BETTER than H-D is if they used
raw milk, and I'd bet they don't.

Remember Frusen Gladje? They were demonstrably better than Haagen-Dasz. My
mother was a complete fanatic about Haagen-Dasz until I got her to try a
sample of Haagen-Dasz side-by-side with Frusen Gladje. The Haagen-Dasz was
clearly watery by comparison.

Unable to compete in terms of quality, Haagen-Dasz fought back by
threatening to pull its wares from the shelves of grocers who carried Frusen
Gladje, and drove Frusen Gladje out of business. They tried that same tactic
with Ben & Jerry's, but B&J successfully sued them for it.

To *my* tastes, homemade ice cream is the best available, followed by Dr.
Bob's, then by Ben & Jerry's.

To the OP: Rather than using a mint extract, see if you can find peppermint
oil, and follow this recipe:

www.foodnetwork.com/food/recipes/recipe/0,1977,FOOD_9936_31229,00.html

Bob

On Aug 13, 8:45 pm, "Bob Terwilliger" <virtualgoth@die_spammer.biz>

Quoted message said:

Bryan said:

Haagen-Dasz is wonderful. These places might be just as good, but the
only way that I can imagine them being BETTER than H-D is if they used
raw milk, and I'd bet they don't.

Remember Frusen Gladje? They were demonstrably better than Haagen-Dasz. My
mother was a complete fanatic about Haagen-Dasz until I got her to try a
sample of Haagen-Dasz side-by-side with Frusen Gladje. The Haagen-Dasz was
clearly watery by comparison.

Ice cream even higher in butterfat than Haagen-Dasz? I assume that's
what you mean by "watery."

Quoted message said:

Unable to compete in terms of quality, Haagen-Dasz fought back by
threatening to pull its wares from the shelves of grocers who carried Frusen
Gladje, and drove Frusen Gladje out of business. They tried that same tactic
with Ben & Jerry's, but B&J successfully sued them for it.

To *my* tastes, homemade ice cream is the best available, followed by Dr.
Bob's, then by Ben & Jerry's.

B&J's is drastically inferior. Look at their ingredients. Look at
their calories from fat.
Seriously, compare the labels side-by-side and you'll see.

Quoted message said:

Bob

--Bryan

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Actually Haagen-Dazs makes a Mint Chip. There is no way on Earth that
anyone is going to make better ice cream than Haagen-Dazs.

Besides just about everyone.

Quoted message said:

Their Black Raspberry Chip is the best ice cream ever.

Anecdotal.

You've never had Ben & Jerry's Dastardly Mash.

--Blair

Blair P. Houghton said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Actually Haagen-Dazs makes a Mint Chip. There is no way on Earth that
anyone is going to make better ice cream than Haagen-Dazs.

Besides just about everyone.

And YOU are going to back that up with a nice list, aren't you?

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Their Black Raspberry Chip is the best ice cream ever.

Anecdotal.

Of course. There is no objective "best" of anything, right?

Quoted message said:

You've never had Ben & Jerry's Dastardly Mash.

Of course I have, though not in a long time. I've also recently had
Breyer's and Edy's, and even a couple of Klondike bars.
Truth is, B&J's standards are low enough that they put VEGETABLE
SHORTENING in at least one of their flavors. Thanks, Unilever!

Quoted message said:

--Blair

--Bryan

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Blair P. Houghton said:

Haagen Dazs is a made up name for an ice cream that was
developed by marketing formulists back before there were any
premium ice creams.

Then people who knew what ice cream really was got
themselves some marketing geeks to help sell their stuff.

But unlike B&J, they haven't started putting in [censored] to save on
ingredient costs.

http://www.haagen-dazs.com/reserve/

What's "reserve" about mix-ins?

HD is a pretentious pile of marketing dreck.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now HD is probably the 5th or 6th best ice cream in any
case it appears in.

Boy, you must shop at stores with huge varieties of ice cream brands.
So tell me, what nationally known brand is better? How about Edy's/
Dreyer's, who put in "chocolate" chips made with vegetable
shortening? Breyer's, thickened with tara gum to avoid using as much
expensive butterfat? You tell me. Back up your claim. Name 5 or 6.

Breyer's has always been icy [censored].

Dreyer's is better, and I don't buy their chocolate chip.
Ben and Jerry's is better by a ton.
Bluebell is definitely better.
The stuff in the Dove bars is better.
There are several small gelato companies stocking locally.

There's never any need to stoop to buying Haagen Dazs.

--Blair

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Blair P. Houghton said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Actually Haagen-Dazs makes a Mint Chip. There is no way on Earth that
anyone is going to make better ice cream than Haagen-Dazs.

Besides just about everyone.

And YOU are going to back that up with a nice list, aren't you?

Did it.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Their Black Raspberry Chip is the best ice cream ever.

Anecdotal.

Of course. There is no objective "best" of anything, right?

Wrong. Your teachers taught you wrong if you believe that.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

You've never had Ben & Jerry's Dastardly Mash.

Of course I have, though not in a long time. I've also recently had
Breyer's and Edy's, and even a couple of Klondike bars.
Truth is, B&J's standards are low enough that they put VEGETABLE
SHORTENING in at least one of their flavors. Thanks, Unilever!

And Haagen Dazs chocolate tastes like motor oil

--Blair

Blair P. Houghton said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Blair P. Houghton said:

Haagen Dazs is a made up name for an ice cream that was
developed by marketing formulists back before there were any
premium ice creams.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Then people who knew what ice cream really was got
themselves some marketing geeks to help sell their stuff.

Quoted message said:

But unlike B&J, they haven't started putting in [censored] to save on
ingredient costs.

http://www.haagen-dazs.com/reserve/

What's "reserve" about mix-ins?

A desperate attempt to change the subject to Haagen-Dazs' "marketing"
because you can't win the quality argument?

Quoted message said:

HD is a pretentious pile of marketing dreck.

This argument could go on for a long time, but you're arguing the
losing side.
This isn't about rhetorical skills. If we switched positions, I could
never defend your position. You are so completely wrong that anyone
else who is still reading this thread is probably shaking their head,
thinking, "I thought that Blair was one of the smart people on
r.f.cooking. Why is he just digging himself in deeper?"

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Now HD is probably the 5th or 6th best ice cream in any
case it appears in.

Quoted message said:

Boy, you must shop at stores with huge varieties of ice cream brands.
So tell me, what nationally known brand is better? How about Edy's/
Dreyer's, who put in "chocolate" chips made with vegetable
shortening? Breyer's, thickened with tara gum to avoid using as much
expensive butterfat? You tell me. Back up your claim. Name 5 or 6.

Breyer's has always been icy [censored].

Breyer's has an "All Natural" line. B&J doesn't, maybe because it
would call attention to the fact that some of their ice creams ARE NOT
all natural, whereas Haagen-Dasz is all natural.

Quoted message said:

Dreyer's is better, and I don't buy their chocolate chip.

Edy's/Dreyer's, which I buy because it's cheap, is not first rate ice
cream. It isn't in the same league with Haagen-Dazs. Breyer's (icy
[censored]) Chocolate Chip is all natural. Too bad Dreyer's can't make the
same claim. Breyer's (icy [censored]) Chocolate Chip sounds good right now,
and we have some in the freezer.

Quoted message said:

Ben and Jerry's is better by a ton.

They're coasting on a reputation they earned in the past, back when
they used all natural ingredients. Read this:
"Ben & Jerry's misleads customers by falsely claiming that some of its
ice cream and frozen yogurt products are 'All Natural,' when they
contain artificial flavors, hydrogenated oils, or other factory-made
substances, according to a complaint filed today by the nonprofit
Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). The group wants the
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to take enforcement action against
the company, a unit of the multinational food conglomerate Unilever."
source-- http://www.cspinet.org/new/200207301.html

If you don't recognize the domain, it's the Center for Science in the
Public Interest's own website.

Quoted message said:

Bluebell is definitely better.

Are you on drugs? The following is for their Butterscotch Nut flavor:
Ingredients: Milk, cream, sugar, skim milk, roasted almonds (almonds,
partially hydrogenated soybean oil, salt), corn syrup, high fructose
corn syrup, brown sugar, coconut oil, modified food starch, natural
and artificial flavor, salt, cellulose gum, vegetable gums (guar,
carrageenan, carob bean), soy mono- and diglycerides, artificial color
(includes Red 40).
source-- http://www.allbusiness.com/agriculture-forestry/animal-production-cattle/602646-1.html

Haagen-Dazs doesn't put [censored] like that in their products.

Quoted message said:

The stuff in the Dove bars is better.

Let's look at the ice cream in the Dove bars:
Ingredients:
Ice Cream: Cream, Skim Milk, Milk, Sugar, Corn Syrup, Natural Flavor,
Mono And Diglycerides, Carob Bean Gum, Guar Gum, Egg Yolks,
Carrageenan, Beta Carotene.
source-- http://www.supercow.com/products/icecream/dove.html

Let's see? What do they need the Mono And Diglycerides, Carob Bean
Gum, Guar Gum and Carrageenan for? Hmmm?

I like Dove bars, but the ice cream inside is not Haagen-Dazs quality.

Quoted message said:

There are several small gelato companies stocking locally.

But you wrote, "Now HD is probably the 5th or 6th best ice cream in
any
case it appears in." You throw in a few nameless "gelato" companies,
and insist, I guess, that there are the requisite number "in any case
[HD] appears in."
Besides, isn't traditional gelato that diet (reduced fat) ice cream
(ice milk)?

Quoted message said:

There's never any need to stoop to buying Haagen Dazs.

More for the rest of us. Haagen-Dazs sets the standard for
commercially available ice cream. B&J used to have high standards as
well, but after selling out to Unilever, they have dropped into the
next tier.

Quoted message said:

--Blair

--Bryan

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Haagen-Dasz has made the business decision not to cut their quality to
save a few pennies.

You are pissing into the wind. It matters not which is best, but what
one likes. As a hard core ice cream fanatic for over 50 yrs, I agee
with you about haagen-dazs. It's my fave, too. In fact, I woudn't
eat B&J even if you gave it to me free. They don't make a single
flavor I like. But, that's me. Obviously, a whole buncha people like
B&J at some level. Billions LOVE McDonalds. Whatchya gonna do.

nb

notbob said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Haagen-Dasz has made the business decision not to cut their quality to
save a few pennies.

You are pissing into the wind. It matters not which is best, but what
one likes. As a hard core ice cream fanatic for over 50 yrs, I agee
with you about haagen-dazs. It's my fave, too. In fact, I woudn't
eat B&J even if you gave it to me free. They don't make a single
flavor I like. But, that's me. Obviously, a whole buncha people like
B&J at some level. Billions LOVE McDonalds. Whatchya gonna do.

nb

Ya like great peach ice cream? I have two ice cream makers..and I
plan to make ice cream for the cook-in. Is that inducement enough to
get you to show up here? 😉

Christine

notbob said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Haagen-Dasz has made the business decision not to cut their quality to
save a few pennies.

You are pissing into the wind.

I disagree with Blair, but I'm not to the point of calling him a wind
bag 🙂

Quoted message said:

nb

--Bryan

Christine Dabney said:

Ya like great peach ice cream? I have two ice cream makers..and I
plan to make ice cream for the cook-in. Is that inducement enough to
get you to show up here? 😉

You are making me crazy, Chris.

nb

notbob said:

The Truthful Assh0le said:

Haagen-Dasz has made the business decision not to cut their quality to
save a few pennies.

You are pissing into the wind. It matters not which is best, but what
one likes. As a hard core ice cream fanatic for over 50 yrs, I agee
with you about haagen-dazs. It's my fave, too. In fact, I woudn't
eat B&J even if you gave it to me free. They don't make a single
flavor I like. But, that's me. Obviously, a whole buncha people like
B&J at some level. Billions LOVE McDonalds. Whatchya gonna do.'

It's a damned shame. I used to buy Haagen-Sasz because it was so good. Real
ice cream is much more satisfying and a small serving is all you need. I
would rather have a small amount of something good than a lot of the crappy
stuff. I was willing to pay the extra for the quality product. I wouldn't
pay extra for it is it wasn't so much better.

I guess it doesn't really matter. I have had an ice cream maker for about 4
years now and have not bought any ice cream since I got the thing. I make
all my own.

The other day I finally got my wife to try making a batch. She had never
made one despite my urging. She was afraid that she would ruin it. I
supervised while she did it. We cooled it and then I froze it in the
morning. She had some last night for dinner and commented that it was the
best batch that I had ever made, forgetting that, other than the freezing,
it was her effort. Maybe now she will start making it more often. It seems
only fair to me. She eats most of it.