McCormick's Peppermint Extract

With the hot months of Summer comes the cooled off refreshment of home-made ice cream. I have been experimenting with new flavors, many of them based on specialty flavors I have seen at the store or on television. One of my favorite ice cream flavors is Haagen Dazs' seasonal peppermint flavor. The combination of peppermint and chocolate is refreshing and satisfying.

In order to recreate this flavor when it went out of season, I purchased a small bag of peppermint candy, a package of Nestle's Milk Chocolate chips and a one ounce bottle of McCormick's Pure Peppermint Extract. McCormick sells both "pure" and "imitation" flavors, the quality of which varies greatly. I did not find the imitation banana to be to my liking, but the Pure Peppermint is fantastic.

The concentrated nature of the McCormick's Pure Peppermint Extract allows a little bit to go a long way. One gallon of ice cream normally calls for approximately one tablespoon of flavoring. That is equal to one half fluid ounce (or half the bottle). That may seem like a lot, but considering that one tablespoon is providing the foundation for an entire gallon of ice cream, the intensity of the extract becomes obvious. I found the peppermint provided an exceptionally clean and refreshing flavor. Combined with the crushed peppermints and chocolate, the combination was almost as good as Haagen Dazs' original (which is phenomenal). I used two teaspoons instead of the full tablespoon because I was adding peppermint candies. This reduction was not evident in the flavor.

An ounce serving of McCormick's Pure Peppermint Extract will set you back around three to four dollars at Wal-Mart...more at the grocery store. The price may seem a bit steep, but considering it will flavor two gallons of ice cream, the cost seems a little more reasonable. If you were to extrapolate the cost of an equal amount of Haagen Dazs to the cost of a gallon of homemade ice cream, you will probably find that actually come out ahead in the end.

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