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There is no other herb that refreshes like mint. Popping a few leaves into drinks and meals adds a fragrance and flavour that stimulates the senses and lifts your mood. A sprig of mint happily swimming in an icy glass of your favorite beverage makes you really feel like you are on holiday.

Mint is used as flavouring for everything from toothpaste and chewing gums to alcoholic beverages and herbal teas.

Mint belongs to the family Lamiaceae a very large family in the herb world including other common herbs such as rosemary, sage, thyme, basil and oregano.

The name mint comes from the Latin word menthe and Greek word minthe. In Greek mythology it is said that Persephone, jealous of the love her husband Pluto had for the beautiful nymph Minthe turned her into a low growing mint. Pluto unable to undo the spell gave mint its wonderful smell, so that when walked upon she would not be forgotten.

DESCRIPTION

Mint is an aromatic perennial herb, there are many different varieties, most having underground stolons that spread easily through the garden. They have branched square stems, with leaves arranged in opposite pairs. The oblong through to lance shaped leaves, range from smooth to crinkly and some downy, the margins can be smooth or serrate. Colours also vary from pale yellow green to deep dark green through to blue grey. The flowers are white to purple and produced in false whorls.

The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and flavors are menthol the main aroma of Peppermint and Japanese menthol mint and pulegone in pennyroyal and Corsican mint. The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of spearmint is R-carvone.

GROWTH

Mint is easy to grow, it likes a medium to rich soil, moist but not wet. While most information suggests growing in shade to part shade, I find the flavour and aroma is much more pronounced in plants that get more sun. If growing mint in full sun you do need to make sure you water regularly.

Mint can be invasive, the strong willed runners can extend far and wide through the garden, for this reason many people prefer to grow mint in pots. Add compost to the potting mix when planting your mint in pots to help the mix retain moisture.

You can also sink a large bottomless container or pot into the garden to plant your mint in, although you will still need to keep an eye on it to ensure it does not jump over the top.

Propagation of mint is best done by cuttings; this ensures that the mint will be the same as the plant you are cutting from. Mint seed can be variable, some mint seeds are sterile and some do not resemble the plant you thought you were getting and it can be very disappointing when the result is a mint with no flavour.

As mint is such a vigorous grower regular feeding with a liquid fertilizer will keep the plant healthy.

Towards the end of winter you can divide plants in pots and give them fresh mix, they do get tired, like a mother who constantly gives to others, but never receives the nourishment to keep up such a vigorous routine.

I find mint tends to grow really well where you don’t want it to, I have a patch under the chaste tree, the more I pull it out the better it grows. Pots of mint that look a little tired can be cut back and slash the roots to encourage better growth.

Plant mint along walkways, so it can be brushed against and release its refreshing aroma.

Mints are supposed to make good companion plants repelling pest insects and attracting beneficial ones.

CULINARY

The leaves have a pleasant warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste. Mint leaves are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams.

Mint is commonly used with peas, carrots, potatoes, eggplant, beans, and corn to pep up the flavor.

To sweeten pineapple, add some fresh torn mint leaves. Try a Mint and watermelon salad with feta and black olives, mint leaves add a real freshness to salads.

Add chopped mint leaves to scrambled eggs, and omelets. Mint jelly is a traditional condiment served with lamb dishes. Mint can be frozen in ice cube trays.

Add a couple of dried mint leaves to the sugar bowl to add flavor to the sugar, for serving to guests with iced tea.” Or add a couple of fresh mint leaves in the filter with the freshly ground coffee as it brews in the morning for a very pleasant cup of coffee.

Offer bright green sprigs of fragrant, fresh mint to nibble on after a meal to freshen the breath and help digestion.

The Mojito, a traditional Cuban cocktail said to be a favorite of the writer Ernest Hemingway, is made with rum, powdered sugar, lime juice, club soda and a mint unique to Cuba.

MEDICNAL

Peppermint leaf tea is used to treat indigestion, nausea, diarrhea, colds, headache and cramps. Mint leaves are known for their ability to calm a nervous stomach. They soothe the digestive tract and can help relieve stomachaches as well.

Peppermint is part of a popular tea blend for colds and flu, Known as YEP tea it also contains yarrow and elder flower.

Studies have shown mint leaves may slow down some of the most harmful bacteria and fungi that are introduced into our bodies.

OTHER

Mint was strewn across floors to cover the smell of the hard-packed soil. Stepping on the mint helped to spread its scent through the room. I love this idea and have strewn mint and scented geraniums on the ground when having a BBQ to keep the mosquitoes away and the smell of the crushed herbs when being walked on is delightful on a balmy summers night. I have also made mint vinegar for adding to my bucket of water when mopping the floors.

Place fresh mint in bowls when going away to help keep the air fresh.

There are so many different varieties of mint to choose from, some of the varieties we have had include – old fashioned mint/garden mint(this is my favourite), spearmint, peppermint, curly mint, ginger mint, apple mint, pineapple mint, eau de cologne mint, water mint, pennyroyal, Corsican mint, rust free mint, Japanese menthol mint, lemon mint, hung cay mint, native mint, chocolate mint, Egyptian mint, Moroccan mint, pennyroyal, basil mint, white peppermint, variegated ginger mint.

Then there are the impersonators, which are known as mint, but are not from the Genus ‘Mentha’ these include Vietnamese mint, stone mint, calamint and mountain mint.

I have been busy this last weekend making tinctures to press off in the tincture class on the 8th of October.

I got a little carried away with Elderberries, making 3 tinctures each using different alcohol. One with brandy 37.1%, one with vodka 37.5%, and one with 92.7% Ethanol (neutral spirit). I used dried berries from Sambuccus nigra, I used these as the plant is very slow growing here in SEQld unlike its American cousin Sambuccus canadensis, which grows a little too well suckering up through the garden. It is flowering beautifully at the moment – I must make some elderflower champagne.

With calculations done to discover the amount of water to add to give me an alcohol percentage of 25%, I pounded the berries in my mortar and pestle before putting into glass amber jars with wide necks and filling with the alcohol/water mix, a good shake and off to the shelf in my laundry. These will need to be given a shake every day, before being pressed off in 2 weeks time.

I also made a tincture of elderberries with vinegar, it will be interesting to taste the different tinctures, I have a feeling I might like the brandy one the best.

Tinctures done, I still had 200g of elderberries left, these I made into sweet syrup.

I put these into a saucepan with 400ml of pure water, brought them to the boil and simmered for 20min. I then strained it through a sieve and ended up with around 250ml of liquid.

To this I added 1 cup of sugar and brought it up to the boil. I then took the mix of the heat and poured it into sterilised glass bottles.

So all this Elderberry medicine, how shall I use it – Elderberry is extremely useful for fighting the flu. It contains compounds that keep the flu virus from attaching to the cell, so it can shorten the duration of your illness and possibly lesson the severity. Elderberries are also a good source of anthocyanins, powerful antioxidants which are responsible for giving many red and purple fruits their colour.

And it tastes pretty good as well!

Now is the time to plant Borage.

Borage normally self seeds prolifically in our garden, but the wet weather after last year’s crop set seed, really slowed down the self sown crop this year. It gave us the opportunity to plant some in a few different Read the rest of this entry »

Its pumpkin season, we are picking heaps of pumpkins, the pumpkin vine took over the whole bank beside our driveway this year. It has grown with wild abandon, scrambling over gardens and the bottom Read the rest of this entry »

Comfrey is such a great healing herb, the roots and leaves contain Allantoin, a substance that promotes wound healing and tissue regeneration. A poultice of the leaves and or root can be used to heal wounds, burns, bruises, ulcers, dry irritated skin conditions and Read the rest of this entry »

We have been picking heaps of cucumbers from our garden lately; we have a variety called crystal salad. They are a round shape with firm creamy-yellow skin and white flesh. The crop was slow to start, I think the rain scared all the bees away, but eventually we were picking bucket loads of tasty cucumbers. The sweet basil and mint that are growing so well at the moment are calling to be partnered with these refreshing round fruits. The last of our pomegranates are picked and the seeds that are like little jewels will add a sparkle of red to top off a tasty salad.

Salad

4 round shaped cucumbers

1 shallot finely chopped

¼ cup mint

¼ cup basil

¼ cup of Lebanese cress

1 tbsp toasted sesame seeds

I pomegranate

Dressing

1 tbsp Pomegranate molasses

1 tbsp lime juice

2 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp fresh grated ginger

1 tsp sesame oil

salt to taste

Method

First prepare the dressing, place all of the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well, taste and add salt. Set aside.

Cut the cucumbers in half and scoop out the flesh; be careful to keep the skin intact. (Discard the seeds)

Dice the cucumber flesh and put into a bowl. Add the shallots.

Roughly tear the herbs – mint, basil and Lebanese cress and add to the bowl, stir through the toasted sesame seeds.

Just before serving stir through the dressing, then spoon the salad into the cucumber halves for serving.

Top with the pomegranate seeds and serve.

Angelica is growing fantastically in the garden at the moment, a biennial in cooler climates, it often flowers and produces seed in the first year here in south east Queensland. Angelica archangelica is from the Apiaceae family, it is a stunning plant reaching 2m in height when in flower and about 1.5m in width.

The stems can be used when cooking tart fruits in particular rhubarb. It neutralises the acidity, reducing the amount of sugar needed to produce a delicious sweet dessert. The candied stems are used as an edible garnish for desserts and cakes. Read the rest of this entry »

We had a family get together on Saturday to farewell one of our sons and his girlfriend, they are off to Peru to open a restaurant and continue their love of food in the land of the Incas. I busied myself making some dishes to go with the BBQ, Chicken marinated in toasted cumin seed, parsley, garlic, paprika and olive oil, hummus with thyme infused pita crisps, chickpea and kale with bread picada, and a huge salad of herbs from the garden. Our son made a delicious salad of rainbow chard, with fennel seed, red onion, sultanas, parsley, goat feta and toasted pine nuts, Yum. But what will we have for dessert??? Read the rest of this entry »