Due to their speedy growth, one plant of each desired mint, along with a little care, will provide more than enough mint for home use.
Fresh mint leaves should be used immediately or stored up to a couple of days in plastic bags within a refrigerator.
Mint is a necessary ingredient in Touareg tea, a popular tea in northern African and Arab countries.
Mint leaves, without a qualifier like peppermint or apple mint, often refers to spearmint leaves.
Spearmint has green or gray-green leaves, lacks a leafstalk, and has a milder flavor and fragrance (Herbst 2001).
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All mints prefer, and thrive, in cool, moist spots in partial shade (Bradley 1992).
Due to the tendency to spread unchecked, mints are considered invasive in various environments (Brickell and Cole 2002).
The Miori?a is ancient ballad that is an important part of Moldovan folk culture.
Mints will grow 10–120 centimeters tall and can spread over an indeterminate sized area.
Two of the most well-known and widely available species are Mentha piperita, known as peppermint, and M. spicata, or spearmint.
In Central and South America, mint is known as hierbabuena (literally, "good herb").
The mints provide a unique flavor and aroma, which has delighted people for centuries.
Mint descends from the Latin word mentha, which is rooted in the Greek word minthe, mentioned in Greek mythology as Minthe or Mentha, a nymph.
Many elements of the mint plant, which are so essential to the plant's reproduction and survival, also provide a larger value for the ecosystem and humans.
The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of spearmint is L-carvone.
Below is a selection of what are considered to be pure species of mints.
Menthol and mint essential oil are also much used in medicine as a component of many drugs, and are very popular in aromatherapy.
Mint may be used fresh, dried, as an extract, or as an essential oil (oil of peppermint, oil of spearmint) (Herbst 2001).
Mint was originally used as a medicinal herb to treat stomach ache and chest pains.
Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem.
The most common and popular mints for cultivation are peppermint (Mentha Ч piperita), spearmint (Mentha spicata), and (more recently) pineapple mint (Mentha suaveolens).
Peppermint (Mentha piperita) and spearmint (Mentha spicata) are two of the most important commercial species.
Dried mint leaves should be stored in an airtight container placed in a cool, dark, dry area (Ortiz 1992).
Like menthol, L-carvone, a key component in making the scent and taste of spearmint, also acts as an insect repellent.
Mints are supposed to make good companion plants, repelling pest insects and attracting beneficial ones.
Vietnamese mint, commonly used in Southeast Asian cuisine, is not a member of the mint family Lamiaceae.
A bunch of mint also can be refrigerated for up to a week, stems down, in a glass of water covered by a plastic bag, with water changed every two days (Herbst 2001).
Menthol is an organic compound extracted from peppermint or other mint oils (and also made synthetically).
To control mints in an open environment, mints should be planted in deep, bottomless containers sunk in the ground, or planted above ground in tubs and barrels (Bradley 1992).
Many people also believe the strong, sharp flavor and scent of mint can be used as a mild decongestant for illnesses such as the common cold.
Mentha (mint) is a genus of about 25 species (and many hundreds of varieties) (Davidson 1999).
Mint is cultivated in Europe, Asia, and the United States, with peppermint and spearmint the most important commercial species (Herbst 2001).
Methyl salicylate, commonly called "oil of wintergreen," is often used as a mint flavoring for foods and candies due to its mint-like flavor.
According to Greek mythology, Mentha angered Persephone, wife of the king of the underworld, and Persephone turned her into the pungently sweet-smelling mint (Herbst 2001).
The substances that give the mints their characteristic aromas and flavors are menthol (the main aroma of peppermint and Japanese peppermint) and pulegone (in pennyroyal and Corsican mint).
On the other hand, mint plants are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species including Buff Ermine.
Mint grows wild throughout the world (Herbst 2001), and peppermint and spearmint, which are European plants, now grow wild in North America.
Peppermint has bright green leaves, and stems that are purple tinged; it has a peppery flavor and is more pungent than spearmint (Herbst 2001).
Crиme de menthe is a mint-flavored liqueur used in drinks such as the grasshopper.
Mint oil also is used as an environmentally-friendly insecticide for its ability to kill some common pests like wasps, hornets, ants, and cockroaches.
To cure stomach aches, dried mint leaves are put in boiling water, which one drinks when it cools.
Lamiaceae plants are frequently aromatic in all parts and include many widely used culinary and medicinal herbs in addition to true mints, such as oregano, rosemary, sage, savory, marjoram, basil, thyme, and lavender.
True mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial, rarely annual, herbs.