Wild Mint Sorbet and Wild Mint Ice Cream Recipes

Round leaved apple mint (Mentha suaveolens)

Freshly made ice cream with wild mint from a foraging course in Cornwall

I remember opening my car door on a steaming hot day and being hit by the sweet scent of apple mint leaves drying on my car dashboard. Hmmm, mint is such a refreshing summer scent for me!

Here I share an apple mint sorbet recipe. It is so refreshing, so simple, so summer, such light-relief and a wonderful way to bring wild into your home. The second recipe is a quirky recipe using mint and yoghurt ice cream with a surprising additional ingredient!

Foraging apple mint by a stream in Cornwall

Apple Mint Sorbet Recipe

I remember opening my car door on a steaming hot day and being hit by the sweet scent of apple mint leaves drying on my car dashboard. I’d been pottering by a river earlier in the day and bumped into a sprawling patch of it. There was enough, I decided, to take a few stems so my heart could sing with this wonderfully light and revitalising sorbet.

You can use a different mint for this, but I find Apple Mint to be the most refreshing for this recipe.

Serves 4

Ingredients

40-50 apple mint leaves
100 g unrefined caster sugar
1 egg white

Roughly chop the mint leaves and place in a medium saucepan with 400 ml (1 ⅘ cups) water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes with the lid on. Take off the heat and leave to steep for half an hour. Strain, squeezing all the liquid out of the mint leaves and add back to the pan along with the sugar. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Measure the liquid (there should be about 350 ml (1 ½ cups, plus 1-2 tbsp), top up with water if needed.

Foraging for wild mint by a stream in Cornwall

Allow to cool before placing in an ice cream maker and following the instructions. Alternatively, place in a 750 ml lidded container and freeze for three hours, then take out and mash. Just before the three-hour mark, in a clean, dry bowl, whisk the egg white until it forms stiff peaks and gradually stir into the sorbet mixture and combine thoroughly. Return to the freezer until needed and remove five minutes before serving.

Mint, Yoghurt and Avocado Ice Cream recipe

A quirky, easy-peasy, green ice cream. I had a lot of fun researching different combinations for this, and the creaminess of avocado combined with fresh mint makes a surprisingly pleasant flavour and texture.

The yoghurt gives a tiny bit of sourness and takes away some of the heaviness of cream. You can use any mint for this recipe, though I prefer spearmint or peppermint.

Serves 6

Ingredients

4 ripe avocados, peeled and stone removed
40 to 50 mint leaves (depending on type of mint and preference)
125 g (cup) golden caster sugar
125 ml (½ cup) Greek (full-fat, creamy) yoghurt
125 ml (½ cup) double cream
3 tbsp lemon juice

Place all the ingredients in a blender and pulse until smooth. Place in an ice cream maker and follow the instructions. Alternatively, place in a container and freeze for a couple of hours, take out of the freezer, mash and re-freeze. Use within one month.