In Defense of Mint Ice Cream

REFRESHING! A scooper scoops a scoop of ice cream, ready to go in a cone or cup. Mint and chocolate make for an interesting and pleasant combination for your mouth. Photo courtesy of simplestacy.net.

Since the debut of this flavor, it has been subjected to extremely unnecessary hatred and scrutiny. Many of you already know which flavor of ice cream or treat I’m talking about. The infamous mint chocolate chip, my favorite ice cream flavor or just favorite flavor in general when it comes to grabbing a bite of something sweet. I can already hear the crowds roaring that it tastes like toothpaste as I write this article at 8:27 AM, and yes, it does taste like toothpaste, but riddle me this– what if I like the taste of toothpaste? Who are you to tell me that toothpaste doesn’t taste good? Do you just gag every time you brush your teeth in the morning? Obviously, big disclaimer alert, don’t eat toothpaste, that’s not healthy, but it tastes good, and I’m tired of pretending it doesn’t!

Mint chocolate chip, mint moose tracks, mint fudge, mint mint chocolate chocolate chip (real flavor at Cold Stone BTW), I just love mint chocolate ice cream in all forms, and to see it misrepresented and disgraced by the masses hurts my immortal soul. It’s a love or hate flavor. Unfortunately, not many have a neutral stance on it where they can say ‘oh it’s not my taste but it’s fine’ like one could for something like plain vanilla or chocolate. However, I believe in second chances and redemption for the non-believers, so let me convince you to at least try a sample next time you’re at a Cold Stone or Baskin-Robbins.

First off, chocolate makes everything better, even chocolate can make chocolate better. The rich flavor combined with the cool, refreshing mint is an absolutely exquisite combination, and is why many mint products you see in grocery stores have some form of chocolate with them. There’s York Peppermint patties, Junior Mints, Andes, mint Oreos, mint flavored m&m’s, and my personal favorite, Signature Select fudge mint cookies. It may be oddly specific, but I grew up with those fudge cookies, often eating them on weekend nights after dinner with ice cream, which is likely why I enjoy mint chocolate flavors today, especially in ice cream. 

Though I may seem like I was raised to like this flavor, it wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, I was a die hard Cookies ‘n Cream gal. Oh yeah, I was actively enjoying the Hersey’s Cookies ‘n Cream chocolate bar back in the day. I have seen the depths of white chocolate hell and come out alive, so I know a thing or two about more than questionable or just straight up bad choices in flavors. However, in my heart, I know for a fact that mint chocolate should be nowhere near that list for anyone, because it at least uses a valid form of chocolate. Mint is a staple flavor and should be given the respect it has more than earned over the years. Maybe I’m biased because I have a pin board dedicated to the flavor, but maybe you should be a little kinder to the refreshing treat. Oh, and also declare mint ice cream as objectively supreme.