Those new to the world of growing and cooking with herbs are well advised to start with mint, which is both useful and easy to grow.
If only used to liven drinks, mint would still be well worth the small effort it takes to grow. The most difficult thing about mint, in fact, just may be choosing which mint to buy. There's more to Mentha, as mint is known botanically, than just common peppermint and spearmint.
How about pineapple, lemon, ginger, banana, pear, grapefruit, orange, apple and lime mints? Chocolate mint adds special flavor to baked desserts or hot beverages. For ethnic flavor, there's Swiss, Austrian, English and Vietnamese mints, among others.
Hillary's Sweet Lemon Mint is a patented apple-and-citrus flavored cultivar named for the US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. For the gastronome, there's Julia's Sweet Citrus Mint, named for television's famed French Chef Julia Child.
There are hundreds of different mints because mint hybridizes (crosses with other plants) effortlessly. This also means the only way to ensure you'll get the "flavor" of mint you want is to buy a plant that is propagated by cuttings, stem layering or division, but not by seeds.
Many regional nurseries and farmers markets carry a variety of mint cultivars. Plants may also be purchased from small growers who exhibit at the region's various garden festivals. Harder-to-find varieties, such as Julia's Sweet Citrus, may be obtained from specialty growers who sell plants by mail order and over the Internet.
Historical roots
Mint is an ancient herb believed to have originated in the Mediterranean. The Roman army valued mint as a culinary and a medicinal plant, and is credited with its introduction throughout much of Europe. By the Middle Ages, mint was commonly grown in monastery kitchen and pharmaceutical gardens.
Brought to North America by the colonists, mint had escaped kitchen gardens and was growing wild in New England by 1672, according to the Colonial Dames of America's herb lore.
Mint in the kitchen
Mint is useful for flavoring savory and sweet dishes. Traditionally, mint is used to enhance lamb, peas, jellies, ice cream and candy. A sprig heightens the taste of new potatoes and peas.
It's also wonderful added to vegetable soups, grain-based salads such as tabboleh, and cakes and cookies. Dried and fresh mint makes great iced or hot teas, whether used on its own or together with black tea.
Some cooks find the taste of peppermint (M. x piperita) a bit too sharp for many dishes, although its fresh or dried leaves make an exceptional tea. Popular cultivars include Blue Balsam, Chocolate and Candy.
Milder-tasting spearmint (M. spicata) is a commonly used flavoring for salads, vegetables and soups. Kentucky Colonel, a hybrid of apple mint and spearmint, is a personal favorite in the kitchen.
One of the largest growers, Richters, offers a recipe for Julia's Sweet Citrus Mint Bars. The Herb Companion magazine also has a collection of easy mint recipes at its Web site. And here's a recipe for a Pesto Pasta Salad that gets its delicious flavor by combining basil and mint.
A warning: Pennyroyal, a type of mint that makes a nice groundcover and has value as a flea repellent, is considered dangerous if taken internally and is not recommended for culinary uses.
Growing mint
Most mints are hardy perennials that die back in winter and reappear in early spring. Mint will do well under almost any condition as long as it is watered regularly during the dry spells. Most plants will grow best in full sun with mid-afternoon shade.
Keep the plant tips trimmed back, either through regular harvests or by pinching the ends. This will prevent them from flowering and keep them producing more leaves.
Almost every gardener has a horror story about mint's tendency to dominate the area in which it is grown. There are methods to control its spread, such as planting mint in bottomless containers sunk into the garden bed. For those less-inclined towards excavation, large pots that can be used outside under all weather conditions without cracking and half-barrel planters are good choices, as long as the containers are safe for food crops.
Mint can also be grown inside on the windowsill or in a hanging planter, provided care is taken that it never dries out, and yet never sits in water.
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