# Bad Peppermint Ice Cream **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 21, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782 "2014-12-21T00:25:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/1 "2014-12-21T00:25:31Z")
Restaurant self-serve soft ice cream machine, with a pink peppermint-flavored gunk. It tastes as if they just mixed peppermint oil right into plain (vanilla?) ice cream (plus pink food coloring.) What is the technical term for “buffering” or “distributing” or “breaking down” the peppermint oil, so that it mixes (“homogenizes?”) into the ice cream, so you get a real, good, yummy peppermint ice cream? There’s a term in chemistry… Hydrolizing? I got no chemistry… Anyway, what should they have done? Is there some third ingredient they could have used to integrate the peppermint oil more smoothly into the ice cream? ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/2 "2014-12-21T00:45:23Z")
Were there any peppermint candy bits in the ice cream? That’s the most important ingredient. If not, then it truly was a rip-off. As for your main question, I can’t think of the term. (“Blending” perhaps?) However, I used to make peppermint ice cream with a homemake ice cream maker and remember that the peppermint extract was added to the cream base after the sugar just before you starting freezing it. I think what might’ve happened in your case is the peppermint flavoring was added _after_ the cream base started to freeze and solidify so it didn’t blend in and instead coagulated. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/3 "2014-12-21T01:10:04Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > However, I used to make peppermint ice cream with a homemake ice cream maker and remember that the peppermint extract was added to the cream base after the sugar just before you starting freezing it. I think what might’ve happened in your case is the peppermint flavoring was added _after_ the cream base started to freeze and solidify so it didn’t blend in and instead coagulated. My wife occasionally makes peppermint ice cream, as it’s her favorite flavor but is hard to find. Her recipe involves taking a bag of starlite mints and setting them overnight in a bowl of milk and cream. By morning the mints have all dissolved, with the pink dye and the sugar and the flavor, and there’s your ice cream mixture. Could not be easier. It’s a no-egg recipe, which makes it a little bit icier than a lot of homemade ice creams, but that’s okay. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/4 "2014-12-21T01:23:12Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Were there any peppermint candy bits in the ice cream? That’s the most important ingredient. If not, then it truly was a rip-off. I don’t think I’ve ever seen soft-serve with “bits” of any kind. ETA: “Bad Peppermint Ice Cream” = album name! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 1:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/5 "2014-12-21T01:26:44Z")
We break the peppermint up using a hammer. (put the bag of candy in a 2nd bag to avoid a mess) Stir candy into softened ice cream. Put back in freezer. learned this from Take Home Chef with Curtis Stone. He did this several times. Softening vanilla ice cream, stir in nuts or another ingredient and refreeze. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 2:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/6 "2014-12-21T02:09:19Z")
Peppermint is not peppermint candy. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/7 "2014-12-21T03:32:41Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Were there any peppermint candy bits in the ice cream? That’s the most important ingredient. If not, then it truly was a rip-off. Nah, just a cheap self-serve soft-ice cream vending machine. > [@](#): > > As for your main question, I can’t think of the term. (“Blending” perhaps?) However, I used to make peppermint ice cream with a homemake ice cream maker and remember that the peppermint extract was added to the cream base after the sugar just before you starting freezing it. I think what might’ve happened in your case is the peppermint flavoring was added _after_ the cream base started to freeze and solidify so it didn’t blend in and instead coagulated. I suspect you’re right. It really wasn’t bad bad, just not good. You could taste the peppermint oil, rather than just taste the peppermint flavor. > [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > My wife occasionally makes peppermint ice cream, as it’s her favorite flavor but is hard to find. Her recipe involves taking a bag of starlite mints and setting them overnight in a bowl of milk and cream. By morning the mints have all dissolved, with the pink dye and the sugar and the flavor, and there’s your ice cream mixture. Could not be easier. It’s a no-egg recipe, which makes it a little bit icier than a lot of homemade ice creams, but that’s okay. Would egg maybe help? I am thinking of a chemistry lesson where they explained the “amphiphilic” nature of egg white, in mayonnaise: the molecule attracts water (or vinegar) at one end, and attracts oil at the other. You can mix oil and water if you have this kind of molecule as a helper. Maybe the ice cream I had would have been better blended with egg white to “marry” the molecules? I like your wife’s approach! That’s a wicked clever way of obtaining the flavoring, and sounds a lot tastier than just mixing in extracts or oils or the like. A friend told me about working at McDonalds, and mixing the seasonal mint milkshakes with the regular chocolate milkshakes, to get a chocolate-mint shake. Not for sale to customers, only for the employees! He said it tasted really good, but looked ugly, as it turned grey! ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/8 "2014-12-21T04:52:07Z")
They probably used cheaper peppermint extract, as opposed to actual peppermint oil. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/9 "2014-12-21T05:59:52Z")
That makes sense: I didn’t know there was a difference, and was barking up the wrong tree, imagining it was a failure of…um…whatever chemical term I’m still fishing for. Dispersant? Detergent? Um? Didn’t stop me from going back for a second helping… ---
**Author:** ![NDP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ndp/32/55_2.png) [@NDP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NDP)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 9:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/10 "2014-12-21T09:51:32Z")
> [@Labrador\_Deceiver](#): > > They probably used cheaper peppermint extract, as opposed to actual peppermint oil. Is there a significant difference in price (and taste) between the two? ---
**Author:** ![Labrador\_Deceiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Labrador\_Deceiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labrador_Deceiver)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/11 "2014-12-21T15:37:09Z")
> [@NDP](#): > > Is there a significant difference in price (and taste) between the two? Oil is about 2 to 3 times as expensive as extract, but neither are really going to break the bank. If someone is making huge quantities, I can see why they might skimp. There can be a significant taste difference, yes. I’m not a peppermint expert, but I know a couple of pastry chefs who insist on using oil. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/12 "2014-12-21T15:48:08Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Maybe the ice cream I had would have been better blended with egg white to “marry” the molecules? > > I like your wife’s approach! That’s a wicked clever way of obtaining the flavoring, and sounds a lot tastier than just mixing in extracts or oils or the like. She specifically doesn’t care for custard-based ice cream, doesn’t like the texture of it. I can go either way. And the candy approach doesn’t make a gourmet natural mint flavor ice cream; sometimes you want something that tastes like childhood :). ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2014, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/13 "2014-12-21T22:39:51Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > . . . sometimes you want something that tastes like childhood :). And Christmas is certainly a good season for it, as a great many of us have strong emotional associations. A plate of molasses cookies…and I’m seven again! ---
**Author:** ![boffking](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/858c86/32.png) [@boffking](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boffking)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/14 "2014-12-22T00:35:37Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > That makes sense: I didn’t know there was a difference, and was barking up the wrong tree, imagining it was a failure of…um…whatever chemical term I’m still fishing for. Dispersant? Detergent? Um? > > Didn’t stop me from going back for a second helping… Emulsifier. The word is emulsifier. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2014, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bad-peppermint-ice-cream/707782/15 "2014-12-22T01:15:46Z")
Thank you! I was certain there was a technical term for it!