Mint

I wonder why I love food so much.

I guess I must have been really hungry in one of my past lives.

Or what.

This strong attraction to food comprises mostly cooking and MUNCHING (!!!) on the stuff I’ve prepared.

I love cooking because people are happy when you serve them nice food.

I love eating because… hm… I LOVE eating.

And I love growing my own food because that brings one of the best feelings there are – the feeling of being self sufficient.

Okay, so far I’ve grown one edible plant only – and that’s MINT, to be precise… and I’ve been growing that for one week now but I think that would make a great start to my plant-growing experience and my collection of plants will grow bigger and bigger.

As you already might know, my brain would break if I didn’t share the stuff I’ve learned with you, so here are some very interesting facts about mint:
 
 

Once upon a time, there was one Mint Family and that had many, many children – Mentha being one of them.

Beautiful, luscious Mentha.

Mentha herself had 25 children (no wonder – she was really something) – Spearmint and Peppermint being some of them.

The End.

The moral of this story: ‘You think there’s just one and then you find out there are many.

Did you like the story?

I hope you did.
 
 

To make things easier, let’s just call everyone from the huge Mint Family simply ‘mint‘.

  • Mint is a fast growing plant – one plant, along with a little care, will provide more than enough mint for home use.
  • Mints are perennial which means they keep coming back every year.
  • Since mints do not come true from seed, propagate them by rhizome (roots) cuttings in early spring, by softwood cuttings in summer, or by dividing in the fall.
  • If you want your mint to thrive and enjoy its life to the fullest then you should keep it in semi-shaded position and keep the soil moist (though not waterlogged).
  • Also, mints are very invasive plants and spread like wildfire. So it is always wise to grow them within a container which can be buried in the earth.
  • The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint.
  • Harvesting of mint leaves can be done at any time. Fresh mint leaves should be used immediately or stored up to a couple of days in plastic bags within a refrigerator. Optionally, mint can be frozen. Dried mint leaves should be stored in an airtight container placed in a cool, dark, dry area.
  • There are various ways to use mint – most common uses being culinary, medicinal, cosmetic, as insecticides (to repel mosquitoes) or in aromatherapy.
  • In the kitchen, mint works perfectly with teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, chocolate (After Eight – oh my!) and ice creams. Minted peas and minted new potatoes are firm favorites in England. 



 
 

I like garnishing my sweet desserts with mint leaves.

Also, I love drinking my iced tea with addition of fresh mint.

It’s beyond refreshing!

Oh, you want to know about the ice cubes?

Why they are so strange in color?

Well, that is another obsession of mine – I am currently experimenting with ice… I’ll write more about that in one of my next posts.
 
 

All in all, mint is gorgeous and very much appreciated all over the world.

As I was writing this post I’ve become definitely convinced that I am a huge mint fan.

Do you like mint too?

And if so, then what’s your favorite way to enjoy it?

I’d really like to know…
 
 

12 thoughts on “Mint

  1. 1
    Joy says:

    I totally share your love for mint. In fact, one of my favorite varieties includes Corsican Mint. It has cute delicate leaves, smells great and provides fabulous ground cover as it will even grow in rocky areas.

    I did however learn the hard way when I first decided to try my hand at growing some mint as it quickly took over my entire flower bed. Oops! I didn’t plant it in containers and after I decided to remove the mint from that location I found myself finding the plant’s wayward offspring shooting up in the most outrageous places in the bed for about a year later.

  2. 2

    As always, your photos are spectacular! I grew mint one year, and it cheerfully pretty much took over the whole garden. But it was a really good variety, so I just looked the other way….

  3. 3

    as soon as seattle weather realizes that it’s summer, i’m starting an herb garden and i can’t wait! the mint will be perfect for mojitos! speaking of which, have any good drink recipes for mojitos? i just had a cranberry one last week and it was delicious!

    • 3.1
      zoomyummy says:

      Oh, mojitos, a HUGE love of mine! True love. I might post a recipe sometime. Though I never had a cranberry one – but I can imagine the wonderful contrasts in flavors. 🙂

  4. 4
    Tes says:

    I’m not kidding when I say I use mint everyday in my cooking. They grow really fast in my garden every season. I love the story 🙂

  5. 5
    Jun Belen says:

    Great post and lovely photos. We recently started growing mint in our tiny herb garden and, oh boy, they grow so rapidly!

  6. 6

    Great post! I love your mint info. Some other mint-points that others may find interesting:
    -to help it grow you have to use it – by pinching off little clusters of it with your fingers
    -mint helps curve nausea
    -mint tea helps relieve an upset stomach (cooling feeling)
    -mint, in any form, will decrease the flow of milk in nursing moms
    -mint is too strong for babies and can cause extremely violent coughing

    I love adding dry mint to creamy soups!

  7. 7
    ApplesandOnions says:

    Beautiful pictures! I just made zucchini bread with mint and it was delicious. Definitely one of my fave herbs. This time of year, I’m always tossing it with fresh watermelon and cherry tomatoes for a light salad.

  8. 8
    Sandra G. says:

    I love mint, I use it a lot specially in the Peruvian food that I make for my husband Marco!

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