My Entry for My Thursday Favourites #24 Contest

Well, it so happens that ginger, onions, and garlic are ROOT and BULBS, except when the onions and garlic sprout... but that doesn't count... cinnamon is a TREE BARK... cloves and cardamom are FRUIT and SEEDS...

So, what does that leave?

Source

Mint. That leaves mint as my favorite herb, and it is a worthy favorite.

Not until adulthood did I encounter the powers of the REAL mint family, first in a tea situation in a restaurant when they were serving Moroccan Mint tea. That was an entirely new experience -- it was a very hot day, and it came HOT, and yet, that cooled me right down. That was when the idea of mint separated forever from just sweets; there was complexity of flavor and REAL power.

Speaking of real power -- half the rubs our elders have BEEN using for pain for more than a century contain menthol, and that comes from mint. So indeed, the plant has a LOT of power, cooling inside and out. Mint has been part of poultices and and other topical remedies since the plant was discovered, for good reason!

In adulthood I noticed mint garnishes showing up on desserts, but also in savory food: I love Indian food and deeply appreciate raita, the mint-yogurt sauce that comes with many excellent and spicy dishes. Mint relish on lamb is also delightful.

And then there was the time I was at a bar, ordering a VIRGIN mojito... basically a big, minty lemonade at alcohol price, but I enjoyed it. This is also the point in which mint became accessible to me in terms of my own cooking at home, because who doesn't know how to make lemonade? This is also the place at which it is necessary to know what member of the mint family you are working with.

1. Peppermint: probably the most common known and the most forward in flavor. When people think of mint, particularly in everyday sweet applications, this is the taste most have in mind. Taken in the fresh leaf, it can be almost pungent in strength.

2. Spearmint: Second most common mint, famously applied to chewing gum, not as often encountered alone. To me it has a sweeter, more subtle taste to it than peppermint, and may be what Andes mints and mint chip ice cream are both aiming for.

3. "Garden Mint" -- I encountered this one a few years ago, and I wonder if it was really apple mint because of its pleasant, fruity notes.

Occasionally at home I will buy mint tea in the bag just to enjoy different people's creativity... pure peppermint is common and because tea is concentrated, this is a great thing to make double or triple strong and then cool down. I like to do two quarts of water and 9-12 tea bags for this. Add stevia, and NEVER drink soda with doctors and peppers again. You will not be able to do it; once you KNOW what the soda folks were aiming to do cheaply, you will never go back! Also, this is keto-friendly for those who need that!

Peppermint and spearmint are a popular and tasty combination for teas, and spearmint and chamomile is a combination everyone should drink before bed at least once. Peppermint and lemon balm are also nice together, and add the juice of a whole sweet orange to any mint tea to sweeten it for a special taste treat. Every now and again I encounter a mint mix that has a fair amount of apple mint... add honey or orange juice and just be happy if you catch fruity notes with your mint.

But what I prefer now above all things is to just buy whatever bunch of mint is freshest at the store -- often spearmint -- boil two quarts of water, turn the heat off, put the WHOLE BUNCH of mint in there, cover it, and then wait until the whole house smells like mint. That's how you know it's ready. Add honey, stevia, brown sugar, lemons, limes, oranges, or NOTHING ... it's good either way, and will help with digestion, circulation, temperature regulation, anxiety, and sleep. It is also a wonderful anti-inflammatory, which also helps with healing and pain control.

Or, I just throw that whole bunch of mint in at the end of making my big two quarts of ginger-clove tea, making a green-gold elixir of power that you will literally FEEL working all its benefits ... pain will RUN and tight muscles will relax and sleep will be EASY! Mint also lowers blood pressure!

(My fellow young ladies: for at least ONE week of the month, mint tea is a good substitute for ginger-clove, because ginger-clove is a mild blood thinner and the mint is NOT, and spearmint in particular helps balance hormones!)

So, all of the above is why mint is my favorite herb -- delicious, versatile, powerful!

Photo Credit: nrd on Unsplash

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