Mint to be
Back in the first century, our pal Pliny the Rascal, philosopher and observer of nature, claimed in his Naturalis Historia that massaging the sides of your head with a mint broth would ease a headache. He made it sound easy. Even earlier, Egyptian texts written on papyrus extolled mint as a digestive aid, and this morning I brushed my teeth with mint-flavored toothpaste.
There are at least 25 species of mints in the genus Mentha. Spearmint and peppermint are the best-known species, but locations around the world have mints of their own. Corsican mint, for example, grows wild on only three Mediterranean islands, and instead of developing upright stems it spreads horizontally like a carpet. If you’ve consumed Creme de Menthe liqueur, you’ve tasted Corsican mint.
Mint plants have square stems, and many species can survive cold weather and regenerate each spring. They spread by underground rhizomes, and some species are aggressive. In my experience, spearmint will run wild if allowed. Its cagy rhizomes find their way from bed to bed with zealous intent.
Downy wood mint, however, gets better grades for its deportment. It abides shade and even neglect, and it is not much of a spreading nuisance. When tasted, it leaves a piquant minty aftertaste on the tip of your tongue. Like with other mints, butterflies and bees visit its flowers, but different mint species have their differences just like everybody at a church or bar.
Water mint (M. aquatica) – you guessed it – prefers damp environments like the banks of creeks and nearby woods or soggy meadows. It might get two feet tall by the end of summer. Plant scientists tell us peppermint is a natural hybrid from water mint and spearmint, but who figured that out and why? Archaeologists found peppermint leaves from 3000 years ago in Egyptian pyramids, so the hybridizing had already occurred. Good work, plant scientists who figured that out. Now I suppose they have to figure out something else.
Peppermint does not taste like pepper. It has a pungent minty taste and might be the most widely consumed herb on Planet Earth. Ancient Egyptians wanted to take peppermint oil with them to the afterlife, and Romans used the oil to flavor wine. Records indicate peppermint has followed humans for at least 3000 years because most of the varieties are easy to grow and they have medicinal benefits. Remember Nicholas Culpeper – known in his lawn bowling league as Mr. Pepper-Upper? He recommended medicinal use of mint plants for 40 afflictions. Recent research has suggested the refined antioxidants in spearmint might improve memory, so don’t forget to add it to your tabouli.
Pennyroyal resembles peppermint and was used like other mints through history, but folks have learned in fairly recent times it can be toxic to the liver in anything but very moderate doses. Pregnant folks should avoid it completely. However, pennyroyal oil deters insects, and it has an enchanting aroma.
Mojito mint is a mildly aggressive spreader with purple blooms that pollinators like. It has a sweet minty flavor, and the leaves are used as flavoring in cocktails and drinks.
Speaking of flavors, just like ice cream, mints come in flavors. Apple mint smells and tastes like apples. What a coincidence! It grows one meter high and spreads like crazy. Pineapple mint is not an aggressive spreader, and its deep green leaves have cream-colored edges. Guess what it tastes like.
Chocolate mint has brown stems and tastes a bit chocolaty. Strawberry mint looks like spearmint, spreads with a vengeance and its aroma and taste are like strawberries with a hint of mint. There is even a mint in France that smells like bananas.
Toothpaste, headache relief, stomach settler, and carminative all from mints, plus the essential oils from mints contain menthol which is effective at soothing sore muscles – yet one more reason we have kept mints close at hand for millennia. Don’t forget mint ice cream.