I recently picked some sprigs of peppermint to add to new peas. I stuck the sprigs in a glass of water to keep them fresh because it was a hot day. I ended up using all but two of the sprigs with the peas, so I set the glass behind the kitchen sink next to the window, to enjoy their dark green leaves.
Every few days I added water to the glass, but I paid the sprigs little attention. Two weeks later, when I filled their glass again, I realized that the sprigs were flowering. Not just that, they’d grown a foot. Not just that, they’d sprouted 6 inches of roots.
Mints are exuberant, to say the least. Give a mint what it wants-rich, moist, well-drained soil in partial shade-and it will overrun every plant nearby. A sure way to restrain mint is to plant it in a container, the bigger the better: A half-barrel is not too large.
Another way to dampen mint’s ardor is to harvest often. Although the delicate whorls of purple, pink, or creamy flowers are also edible, the leaves will be more tender and flavorful if you keep the plant from flowering.
Mint is as ardent about adding to the family as it is in increasing its size. Mints cross-pollinate with glee. Although there are hundreds of mints in the world, only a handful are true mints, mints which you can reproduce from seed, and only a few of these are for cooking.
Apple mint and pineapple mint have fuzzy, pebbled leaves-pineapple is one of the loveliest of mints, marbled green, white and cream. Both hint at fruitiness.
The baby’s-tears leaves of Corsican mint don’t hint-their creme de menthe flavor is enormous. Field mint is spearminty, and its cultivar Japanese mint is an important source of menthol in Japan. The pungent flavor of horsemint turns up in many mint crosses-it’s a prolific parent. Old friend spearmint is the only familiar mint that’s true. Water mint isn’t watery but biting, as is crispy curly mint, its cultivar.
The progeny of these mints offer heavenly flavors for the kitchen and charming plants for the garden. For example, so-called black stem peppermint actually has stems of chocolate-red. The citrusy leaves of orange bergamot mint are edged in Chinese red. Crinkly lemon bergamot mint is a delicious blend. And speaking of chocolate, I was doubtful when I ordered it, but chocolate mint really does taste like the small creamy blocks of chocolate called Russian mints.
Mint’s assertive qualities must also be tempered in the kitchen. Taste as you add leaves-it’s easy to miss the balance point and suddenly you’ll taste mint before the element it’s meant to grace.
Mint is for always. Spring peas and carrots and roasts of lamb must have mint. Summer fruit cups must have mint. Autumn evenings want a sweet finish of something chocolate with mint. And when it’s miserable in winter, fresh mint tea makes everything better.
The tea is subtlest from fresh leaves and I can always find a handful under the snow. Mint is wonderfully hardy-to minus 20 degrees. But if you have none fresh on hand, dried mint reconstitutes handsomely. To dry it, hang stalks in a cool, dark, dry place for a week until the leaves are brittle. Strip leaves from the stalks as whole as possible and pack them in jars. Keep in the usual cool, dark, dry cupboard.
Returning to our rooted peppermint in the glass of water. Peppermint is a fine subject for growing in a sunny window. Most other mints go dormant in winter and look raggedy, but the peppermints hold up in a container. You can root market peppermint now or send for a plant. (Market mint is peppermint if the leaves have 1/4-inch stems-spearmint leaves hug the stalk.) Grow it in a small pot until it fills out, then set it in a 6- to 8-inch pot in your sunniest window. In summer, you can plant it, or keep it potted.
Sources: Fresh peppermint or spearmint from many markets. Plants: The Sandy Mush Herb Nursery, 316 Surrett Cove Rd., Leicester, N.C. 28748-9622; and Companion Plants, 7247 N. Coolville Ridge, Athens, Ohio 45701. Both have extensive mint collections; each offers cultivars the other doesn’t.
I’d never tasted fresh mint jelly until I got curious. It’s honey-colored and extraordinary. A hint of its cousin, sweet basil, gives extra warmth and snap. Don’t wash the leaves unless they’re gritty. I like the clean bright taste of spearmint for this jelly, but every mint lends its lively flavor.
REAL MINT JELLY
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Steeping time: Overnight
Cooking time: 15 minutes
Yield: Three 12-ounce jars
2 cups, packed, mint leaves and stems, preferably spearmint
12 small sprigs sweet basil
3 1/3 cups boiling water
1 package (1 3/4 ounces) powdered fruit pectin
4 cups sugar
3 perfect mint leaves
1. With pestle or back of wooden spoon, rub mint and basil in mortar or bowl until leaves are crushed and juices flow. Add 3 1/3 cups boiling water, cover, and cool.
2. Transfer mixture to food processor or blender; process until it turns into specks. Return to bowl and let steep overnight.
3. Strain, pressing every drop from leaves. Pass juice through damp cloth-do not press or wring. You’ll need 3 cups.
4. Cover 3 clean 12-ounce canning jars, rings and new lids with boiling water. Keep hot.
5. Combine the 3 cups mint tea and pectin in large kettle. Heat to boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Blend in sugar and stir until mixture comes to rolling boil that can’t be stirred down. Stop stirring and boil hard 2 minutes. Remove from heat and skim off foam.
6. Meanwhile, empty jars and place 1 leaf in each. When jelly is ready, immediately pour into jars, leaving 1/4-inch head space. Wipe rims, position lids and screw rings on hand tight.
7. Set jars in kettle and cover with hot water by 1 inch. Cover, bring to boil and boil 5 minutes. Lift out jars and set away from draft to cool undisturbed overnight.
8. Next morning, check seal: Center of lid should not wobble when pressed. If it does, replace lid with new one and boil jar as before or keep refrigerated. Store in cool dry place.
PHULAN CHANDER’S FRESH MINT CHUTNEY
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Yield: About 3/4 cup
Here’s a fresh Indian chutney recipe given me by Mrs. Phulan Chander, proprietor of Bharat Bazaar in Culver City, a suburb of Los Angeles. Its flavor is brisk and quenching-You’ll eat it by the spoonful long after what you’d dipped in it is gone. Covered and refrigerated, this will hold for a day or two.
1 cup lightly packed fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup lightly packed fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 cup coarsely chopped yellow onion
3 small green onions, including tops, cut up
1/2 jalapeno pepper
3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt to taste
1. Puree mint, cilantro, onion, green onion, jalapeno, water and lemon juice together in blender. Stop motor and stir as needed until blending goes smoothly. Add salt. Serve.
