I wanted to make a mint salad dressing a few days ago, and went to hunt down a patch of plants I knew about. I did find it, but then I found a huge patch of peppermint, Mentha piperita, that was much easier to get to, along the riverbank.
It was already in bloom.
However, it was still fine to use the leaves. The flavor might be a little fresher before it blooms, but I picked a handful anyway.
Most of the wild mints have purple clusters of flowers in the stem axils, but peppermint blooms are at the ends of the stems. I just learned that peppermint is actually a hybrid between Watermint and Spearmint.
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7 comments:
You have your garden in the wild.
not familiar with mints and loving what I learned here today...and smelling the mint from the photos...almost :-)
I love mint but my experience with it is mainly in cocktails like mint juleps and mojitos.
I had no idea.
For most of our married life, we've grown mint near the back door. We kept it handy and it reminded us of Sylvia's family who a few generations ago introduced it as a farm crop in Clinton County. Some of the family (2nd cousins) are still in the business.
we used to have some kind of mint growing in our yard when I was a kid. Love the smell
rainfield- I have to- the deer and rabbits would finish off anything I planted
kulasa- you really could smell the mint as you walked by
Carmen- I know you love your drinks!
vanilla- of what? maybe that it was a hybrid. I'm sure you know what mint is!
Chuck- now that is interesting. Commercial mint grower. I suppose someone has (had) to- peppermint oil is in demand. Maybe it's all synthetic now.
Ann- did you use it for anything?
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