Another in a series of catching up since New Year's posts (not really that far back).

Another in a series of catching up since New Year's posts (not really that far back). Homemade peppermint straciatella ice cream.

In theory, you could do this without adding any oil to the melted chocolate. Since it was the first time I tried it, I went ahead and did the tiny bit of oil thing. What it does is keep the chocolate from ever completely hardening without messing up the taste. I don't know if you could still get the broken up shards as you mix it in, but I kind of like the texture of chocolate "chips", so if I ever did this again, I think I would experiment to see if it works without the oil.

Otherwise, I used peppermint oil not extract, and worried myself about not making it too harsh, so I also added vanilla. It works very well to soften the mint without losing the peppermint flavor, so if you don't like strong peppermint, that is one option. Otoh, I thought it was almost too soft, since I wanted the sensation of a cool breeze billowing through my hair (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HItVDGs49o) a pretty sharp peppermint taste.

The other thing I'd like to do if I did this again is find a way to add peppermint oil to the chocolate itself, because I think that is also a lot of the typical taste of mint chocolate chip ice cream. It's certainly why Thin Mints used to taste so good, but I digress.

Otherwise, it's just a nice, rich, egg yolk, cream, whole milk base. Would make again.