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What kind of mint for recipes

post #1 of 5
8/16/09 at 3:05pm
Thread Starter 
There is a number of different kinds of mint and I would like to raise the kind that they sell in the grocery stores so I can use it in recipes. I bought a mint plant that is growing marvelously and makes a really attractive landscaping plant but it doesn't taste as good as the kind that they have in the grocery stores which has a broader, shorter and darker green leaf. Can anybody inform me on this?
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post #2 of 5
8/16/09 at 3:46pm
Take a look at Mint Origin Uses Recipes for some basic guidance...
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post #3 of 5
8/16/09 at 3:53pm
While there are many different kinds of mint, the 2 you really need to deal with are spearmint and peppermint. Peppermint is most often used in dessert applications while spearmint is more often used in beverages and savory type dishes. Of course this is a major simplification. All the other mints have various uses, depending on their flavor profile, but for now just stick with the 2 kinds.

Beware of planting mint. It will very easily take over an area in just a year or 2. It spreads through underground runners and once established is hard to get rid of. Consider either growing in a container or in area where you don't mind if it spreads.
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post #4 of 5
8/16/09 at 4:16pm
Thread Starter 
Oooooo! Thanks for that advice; I'll grow it in a container.
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post #5 of 5
8/16/09 at 4:30pm
And, if you'd prefer, you can cut out the bottom of a plastic container and sink it part-way into an existing bed. Then fill the rest of the pot with soil from the bed and plant the mint in that. It won't completely stop the mint's wandering ways, but it slows it down.
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