How To Use Mint Leaves In Cooking

What Is Mint?

Native to the eastern Mediterranean, mint gets its name from a mythic nymph named Minthe (try maxim that three times fast). Story goes that Minthe had an affair with Persephone'southward husband Hades (god of the underworld, doncha know) and in a jealous rage, turned Minthe into a lowly mint found.

Mint is especially popular in Heart Eastern, Southeast Asian and Greek cooking. In the U.Southward. nosotros often think of mint as a natural partner to fruit, chocolate, and desserts of all kinds, but it's also a terrific flavor to add to savory dishes (Americans also serve up mint jelly with their lamb on the regular). Mint is used in a multifariousness of savory dishes, meats, baked treats, savory sauces, and drinks.

In that location are actually hundreds of varieties of mint. Spearmint and curly mint are probably the most common used in cooking. It likewise comes in varieties similar chocolate, lemon, ginger, orange, apple, Morroccan and Japanese, each with its own distinctive olfactory property and nuanced flavour. Peppermint is as well an extremely popular mint but it's pretty strong, so nigh frequently used in cooking either dried or made into an oil or extract.

What Does Mint Look Like?

Fresh mint leaves are unremarkably a fairly bright light-green, and have tiny hairs that make them feel somewhat silky on your fingertips. Information technology is a perennial with very fragrant, "toothed" leaves and sometimes tiny purple, pink, or white flowers. Depending on the multifariousness, it tin can also have leaves that are either shiny or fuzzy, smooth or crinkled, dark-green or variegated, frequently with ruby-red or purplish streaks.

Sparkling Mint Pomegranate Champagne Cocktail

What Does Mint Gustation Like?

Mint tastes sweet with a fresh, fruity, aromatic taste. Information technology produces a lingering cool and tingling outcome on the natural language. Peppermint has a stronger fiery and menthol flavor while spearmint tends to be sweeter, cooler and subtler.

Substituting Stale Mint for Fresh Mint

Dried mint tin be substituted for fresh in some recipes, especially any recipes that are cooked. Just every bit with well-nigh dried herbs dried mint does non quite have the aforementioned gustatory modality as fresh. Fresh mint tastes bright and clean, while the flavor of dried mint tin can exist rather biting and tiresome. I'g not a big fan of fried mint – this is i case where for me it's fresh mint, or no mint.

Simply if you want to apply dried mint, use 1 teaspoon of stale mint for 1 tablespoon fresh, so a 1:3 ratio of dried to fresh mint. If a recipe calls for fresh mint and that dish is not cooked, I would steer clear of dried mint. Even so, if the mint is beingness used in something cooked, like in a soup, or used in a marinade for meat, dried is probably fine. If y'all are using it in a salad though, pick another fresh herb if you don't have fresh mint, or go out it out.

In some recipes where fresh mint is called for (especially desserts), and depending on how the mint is intended to exist used, peppermint extract can be used as a substitute (for each tablespoon of chopped mint leaves in your recipe, use four drops of peppermint extract; the extract is very strong).

Substituting Other Herbs for Mint

Mint'due south closest cousin is basil. Basil has similar refreshing flavors to mint, simply it also has a flake more pepperiness to it, along with a bit more sweetness. Yous can utilize basil in many of the savory dishes that require mint and it tin can be an interesting alternative in some of the sweeter recipes every bit well. In more sophisticated restaurants or nutrient products you lot will see mint or basil used in everything from cocktails to water ice foam to fruit salads.

Another member of the mint family that's used in lots of Italian dishes and can be used as a substitute is marjoram. You can sub fresh or dried marjoram for fresh or dried mint. Other possibilities for alternatives to dried mint are oregano, tarragon, thyme, and savory.

How to Cook with Mint: Everything yous demand to know nigh how to purchase, store, prepare, and cook with mint. Plus 10 recipes using mint!
Tweet This

Where To Find Mint

Fresh mint can exist institute in the fresh produce department of supermarkets, particularly in the jump and summer months. In the summertime, you can find fresh big bunches of mint in the grocery stores and farmers' markets. Mint is very easy to grow and becomes arable in warm months.

Dried mint is establish in the baking aisle with the other dried herbs and spices.

How to Cull Fresh Mint

Fresh mint may be sold in bunches (particularly at farmers' markets) or in pocket-sized plastic clamshell containers. Sometimes it might be sold growing in a pot, and you can keep that going with water and sunlight for a god long fourth dimension. See below for how to store it in one case you bring it home. Avoid bunches with browned leaves or leaves that look shriveled, stale or damp.

How To Prepare and Melt with Mint

In the simplest of ways, fresh mint leaves (on stalk or off) can exist added to hot or cold beverages, fifty-fifty "muddled" (crushed) to release more flavor.

Mint can be chopped, roughly or finely or cut in thin ribbons (chiffonade). Add mint to vegetable salads, pestos, salsas, sauces, marinades, and grain or pasta salads of all kinds. Sprinkle fresh mint over sliced garden vegetables like tomatoes and cucumbers, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with kosher common salt.

Dried mint leaves can be added to a sauce or stew every bit it simmers. Add together dried mint early on when cooking a dish and then that the herbs have time to release their flavor, merely add together fresh mint at the end so the flavor stays bright.

How to Store Mint

Fresh mint volition concluding for at least a week if you wrap it in a slightly damp paper towel and then place the packet in a sealable plastic bag or container. Store it in the crisper drawer which has a temperature and moisture level that will encourage it to stay fresh for a bit longer.

Dried mint, like all dried herbs, should exist stored in a sealed container in a cool dry place.

Besides See How to Cook Other Fresh Herbs!

Parsley
Thyme
Oregano

Other Recipes with Fresh Herbs:

Easiest Herb Dip Always
Radishes with Herb Butter
Herbed Mayonnaise
Herb Mashed Potatoes
Herbed Salmon Salad
Orange and Herb Orzo

10 Fresh Mint Recipes

gin and tonic with mint and cucumber

Cucumber Mint Gin and Tonic

This was made for those hot summer nights (tell me more, tell me more….). And no muddler, no trouble – check out the trivial cocktail hack in this recipe!

Herb Orzo Salad