Mint
Eat Well|Issue #39, 2021
Mint has been a popular culinary and medicinal herb since Roman times and the possibilities for its use in your kitchen are endless.
Mint

Mint has been a popular herb with humans since at least Roman times. Its first use was probably for its odour, which is very pleasant. The Romans would strew fresh leaves on the floor of rooms to freshen them and also repel pests such as mice. In addition to being pleasing, the aroma of mint has healing effects on the airways, digestion and the mind. Taken internally, mint has distinct medicinal effects as we will see later, but it was the Romans who first really embraced the culinary possibilities that mint offers, probably beginning with a nice mint sauce.

There are more than 600 varieties of mint but by far the most common are spearmint (Mentha cardiaca) and peppermint (Mentha x piperita). Peppermint has rounded leaves with sharptoothed edges and an intense, clear flavour that has earned it its "peppery" name. By contrast, spearmint leaves are named for their long, spear-like shape and have a smoother taste.

Growing mint

This story is from the Issue #39, 2021 edition of Eat Well.

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This story is from the Issue #39, 2021 edition of Eat Well.

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