Have you ever noticed how many places mint invades our lives? Toothpaste, tea, gum, liqueur, dinner mints, medicine, even flavored floss, and a personal favorite; mint leaves muddled in a mojito. 

Mint has been cultivated for centuries as both cooking and medicine. From Ancient Egypt & China to modern times, mint is used by many people throughout the world as a treatment for various internal and external ailments. It has also been used as a symbol of hospitality in Ancient Rome and Greece, where it is customary to rub tables with it before a guest arrives. In the US, mint was actually brought over on infamous Mayflower.

Varieties

Mint is a very broad category, with around 20 species (although some sources say up to 600 species) that all come from the Mentha Family. Mentha is a genus in the Lamiaceae family, which includes basil, lemon balm, catnip, and lavender.

The 3 most common varieties found in food, medicine, and cosmetics are Japanese mint or field mint, peppermint, and spearmint. Other less common varieties include applemint, catmint, horsemint, orange mint, pineapple mint, pennyroyal*, and watermint.  Menthol is derived from peppermint oil.

*Caution pennyroyal is for external or ornamental use only (bug repellant).  If taken internally it causes severe liver damage in both humans and pets.

How to Choose and Store

When choosing mint, look for leaves that are bright, perky, and unblemished. Peppermint generally has purple-ish stems and pointed, dark green leaves. Spearmint usually has lighter green leaves, with spiky edges and a more ruffled appearance. Fresh mint should be aromatic, so make sure to take a good sniff before you buy!

There are a few ways to store fresh mint. An easy way to store mint is to place it in a cup with water on the counter. This makes it easy to access and it can last up to a week this way. Another way is to roll it up with a damp cloth and place it in a plastic bag or loose plastic wrap in the fridge. It can last up to a week this was as well.

Dried mint is less flavorful but perfect for a cup of tea. Make sure when purchasing and storing dried mint that the packaging is intact and has not been introduced to moisture. Best stored in a dark and dry place.

Nutrition

There’s good reason to use mint; it’s low fat and low in calories, but high in fiber. It is an antioxidant and has been known to inhibit bacteria and fungus. Mint also contains Vitamins A and C, calcium, copper, folate, iron, magnesium, manganese, and zinc.  Mint, and especially the derivative Menthol, has been used topically to help relieve pain, inflammation, skin eruptions, and more. 

Energetics

Mint is a very common herb used in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The mint used mainly in TCM is field mint (Mentha haplocalyx) and is called Bo He (pronounced “bow huh”). It is cool in temperature and pungent/acrid in flavor. Mint enters the Lungs and Liver. Other types of mint have very similar energetics to field mint, although spearmint does have a sweet flavor as well.

Mint’s cooling nature and ability to enter the Lungs help it to disperse wind-heat affecting the head, eyes, and throat. Wind-Heat is the TCM term for an acute heat illness from an external pathogen, such as a cold or flu, that is characterized by more fever than chills, cough, headache, red or swollen eyes, sore throat, etc. In these cases, it is usually aided by Chrysanthemum (Ju Hua), Dandelion (Pu Gong Yin), Honeysuckle (Jin Yin Hua), and other heat-clearing and/or exterior releasing herbs. Its ability to disperse wind-heat and enter the Lungs (commands the skin) also makes it a great herb for venting rashes that are still in the early stages. Venting is a term that means to express the rash or make the rash come to the surface skin to resolve it.

Mint also enters the Liver, which makes it a great herb for releasing constrained Liver Qi. When Liver Qi cannot flow freely it can manifest as pressure or distention in the chest & sides, emotional instability (depressive and maniac emotions), a variety of gynecological issues in women, headache, fatigue, spasmodic pain, and indigestion.

This is an aromatic herb, so when using it for medicinal purposes it should only be cooked for around 5 minutes max. Overcooking (boiling, steaming, baking, etc.) will denature all its best medicinal properties.

Caution: As this herb is very dispersing and moving, people who are very deficient and tend to sweat a lot should not consume mint. Also, those diagnosed with Liver Yang Rising should stay away from mint as its ability to raise energy to the head can worsen symptoms.

Pea, Mozzarella, and Mint Pasta

Ingredients

• 2 leeks

• 60ml (1 1/4 cup) extra virgin olive oil

• 2 x 250g balls buffalo or cow's milk mozzarella

• 1 long red chilli

• 1/2 bunch mint

• 250g frozen baby peas

• 1 lemon

• 350g rotelle (cartwheel) pasta or other short pasta

• 60g piece pecorino or parmesan

Preparation

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil over medium heat. Meanwhile, trim leeks and halve lengthwise. Rinse to remove grit, then thinly slice widthwise. Heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add leeks and 1 teaspoon salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8 minutes or until soft.

2. Meanwhile, cut mozzarella into 1cm pieces and reserve. Halve chilli, discard seeds, then finely chop.

3. Transfer leek mixture to a food processor. Reserve pan. Tear a handful of leaves from mint and add to processor with chilli and peas. Grate over lemon zest. Reserve lemon. Process mixture until peas are roughly crushed.

4. Add pasta to boiling water and cook for 8 minutes or until al dente. Drain, reserving 250ml (1 cup) cooking water.

5. Return pea mixture to reserved pan. Add pasta and reserved cooking water and mozzarella, then squeeze over lemon juice. Toss over medium heat for 3 minutes or until warmed through.

6. Divide pasta among bowls. Grate over a little pecorino. Tear a few extra leaves from mint and scatter over to

Sources

https://foodprint.org/real-food/mint/

https://www.meandqi.com/herb-database/wild-mint

https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/pea-mozzarella-mint-pasta/84569529-123d-48f9-b3fd-495064589d57