sister herb
Official TTI Chef
wild mint (Mentha arvensis)
mint (Mentha spicata)
peppermint (Mentha piperita)
chocolate mint (Mentha x piperita ‘Chocolate’)
Mentha (also known as mint, from Greek míntha) is a genus of plants in the family Lamiaceae (mint family). The species are not clearly distinct and estimates of the number of species varies from 13 to 18. Hybridization between some of the species occurs naturally. Many other hybrids, as well as numerous cultivars, are known in cultivation.
The genus has a subcosmopolitan distribution across Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia, and North America.
Mints are aromatic, almost exclusively perennial, rarely annual, herbs. They have wide-spreading underground and overground stolons and erect, square, branched stems. The leaves are arranged in opposite pairs, from oblong to lanceolate, often downy, and with a serrated margin. Leaf colors range from dark green and gray-green to purple, blue, and sometimes pale yellow. The flowers are white to purple and produced in false whorls called verticillasters. The corolla is two-lipped with four subequal lobes, the upper lobe usually the largest. The fruit is a nutlet, containing one to four seeds.
Culinary
The leaf, fresh or dried, is the culinary source of mint. Fresh mint is usually preferred over dried mint when storage of the mint is not a problem. The leaves have a warm, fresh, aromatic, sweet flavor with a cool aftertaste, and are used in teas, beverages, jellies, syrups, candies, and ice creams. In Middle Eastern cuisine, mint is used on lamb dishes, while in British cuisine and American cuisine, mint sauce and mint jelly are used, respectively.
Mint is a necessary ingredient in Touareg tea, a popular tea in northern African and Arab countries.
Mint essential oil and menthol are extensively used as flavorings in breath fresheners, drinks, antiseptic mouth rinses, toothpaste, chewing gum, desserts, and candies, such as mint (candy) and mint chocolate. 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). The compound primarily responsible for the aroma and flavor of spearmint is L-carvone.
Mints are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including buff ermine moths.
Medicinal and cosmetic
Mint was originally used as a medicinal herb to treat stomachache and chest pains. In Rome, Pliny recommended a wreath of mint for students to wear since it was thought to "exhilarate their minds". During the Middle Ages, powdered mint leaves were used to whiten teeth.
Mint leaves are commonly steeped with water to make tea used as a home remedy to help alleviate stomach pain and as a sleeping aid. Mint tea is a diuretic. A common use is as an antipruritic, especially in insect bite treatments (often along with camphor). The strong, sharp flavor and scent of mint is sometimes used as a mild decongestant for illnesses such as the common cold. Mint is also used in some shampoo products.
Menthol from mint essential oil (40–90%) is an ingredient of many cosmetics and some perfumes. Menthol and mint essential oil are also much used in medicine as a component of many drugs, and are very popular in aromatherapy. Menthol is also used in cigarettes as an additive, because it blocks out the bitter taste of tobacco and soothes the throat.
Allergic Reaction
Although it is used to treat many symptoms, mint can also cause allergic reactions to some people. Although rare, these can induce painful symptoms, including abdominal cramps and diarrhea, headaches, tingling or numbing around the mouth, nasal congestion, clogging of the sinuses, nausea, etc. It can be a reaction to salycilates or linalol contained in the mint, or to some of the proteins inside the plant. It is possible to have high intolerance to one type of mint such as spearmint, yet have no reaction to other types, such as peppermint and menthol, and the symptoms may get worse over time. Because it is uncommon, the people who suffer from mint allergies can find it hard to deal with it on a daily basis. Most of the problems arise from the need to find special toothpaste or dental products, but can also be reactions to the smell of somebody consuming mint candy or gum in a public or work place. In some cases, it can be a minor disturbance, but sometimes a severe reaction; because it is potent, inhaling the mint can trigger by itself breathing problems, nausea, and dizziness, separately or all together. Depending on whether the allergy is to a protein or some other chemical inside the plant, it may or may not extend to other Lamiaceae.
The American Allergy and Asthma Foundation is claimed to have tracked an increasing amount of mint allergies as with allergies in general.
Insecticides
Mint oil is also used as an environmentally friendly insecticide for its ability to kill some common pests such as wasps, hornets, ants, and cockroaches.
More about mints: https://www.botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/m/mints-39.html