Salt & Straw Mint Stracciatella Ice Cream

1. **Prepare Mint Infusion:** Take individual mint leaves off their stems, then thoroughly rinse and dry them. Add the mint leaves into the whole milk.
2. You have two options for infusing the mint: A) Set the milk with mint in the fridge overnight. OR B) If you don’t want to wait overnight, bring the milk/mint mixture to a simmer and cook on low heat for 10 minutes.
3. After infusion (either method), use an immersion blender to quickly blend the milk and mint just to open up the leaves and bring out the flavor. You can blend until leaves are tiny for a greener, earthier ice cream if desired. Strain the mint-infused milk, discarding the solids.
4. **Prepare Ice Cream Base:** Combine the granulated sugar, dry milk powder, and xanthan gum in a small bowl and stir well.
5. Pour the corn syrup into a medium pot and stir in the mint-infused whole milk. Add the sugar mixture and immediately whisk vigorously until smooth. Set the pot over medium heat and cook, stirring often and adjusting the heat if necessary to prevent a simmer, until the sugar has fully dissolved, about 3 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat.
6. Add the heavy cream and whisk until fully combined. Transfer the mixture to an airtight container and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 6 hours, or for even better texture and flavor, 24 hours. Stir the base back together if it separates during the resting time.
7. Churn the chilled base according to your ice cream machine's directions.
8. Once churned, fold in the heaping cup of quality dark chocolate chips.
9. Transfer the ice cream to an airtight container and freeze for at least 6 hours before eating.