Mint Herb And Its Many Uses

Several mints, such as peppermint and spearmint, have become so entrenched in day-to-day living that many people never associate the zesty flavors in their favorite toothpastes and chewing gums with these free-spirited herbs. Mints come in lots of other flavors too, such as orange, lemon, grapefruit, lime, ginger, chocolate, apple, and spice.

Mint needs little care if you don't mind it taking over your garden; otherwise, you'll need to separate it frequently for transplanting or sharing with friends. To do this, just cut through the mint in a waffle pattern and the mint will fill in the spaces. Most mints adapt well to wherever they're planted — full sun or shade. Just be careful not to plant different varieties too close or they'll cross-pollinate. (If your garden space is limited, you can plant them in buckets and pinch off the blooms to prevent the flavors from mixing.)

Peppermint’s cousins need the same growing conditions as peppermint. All can be used in recipes calling for peppermint.

Corsican Mint - tiny, highly aromatic leaves containing lots of menthol. This is the favorite mint of many Italian cooks.

Pineapple Mint - aroma like peppermint with a touch of pineapple. The leaves are a pretty variegation of cream and green.

Spearmint - smooth leaves with a milder flavor than peppermint.

Apple Mint - woolly leaves that smell like slightly fruity mint.

Curly Mint - heart shaped curly leaves that taste like gently peppermint.

Orange Mint - pretty purple edged heart shaped leaves that have a slightly citrus edge.

Harvest the leaves before the plant blooms if you plan to use it in a culinary project; for craft projects, the leaves and blooms can be harvested at any time during the growth cycle. Mint dries well by hanging, screen drying, and pressing. Expect the leaves to curl, shrink, and become fairly fragile as they dry, although much of the characteristic fragrance remains.

Mint teas are simple to make — just steep a few leaves in boiling water until the tea reaches a satisfactory strength. The leaves also add a decorative touch to mixed drinks and a nice flavor to salt-free spice blends.

Mint leaves and blooms look and smell wonderful in wreaths, small bouquets, potpourris, and bath blends. Since the leaves can be so delicate when dry, you may have more success arranging them in wreaths and bouquets when they're fresh-cut and then allowing them to dry in place.