One morning last spring as I was leaving a friend's Rainier Valley house she spontaneously plucked a few stalks of spearmint from a patch growing near her front steps. "Here, take these. See if they'll grow in your yard" she said, pressing them into my hands. Instantly I was enveloped in a minty tang both sweet and fragrant. This plant now flourishes in a corner of our garden, bright as a handful of emeralds and a sweet reminder of my friend.
Mint is the general name for a large family of herbs that includes basil, marjoram, oregano, rosemary, sage, savory and thyme besides the numerous varieties of mint. The best-known mints are peppermint and spearmint, which has spear-shaped leaves and is not as peppery as its relative. Menthol is the chemical compound most responsible for mint's characteristic taste. Fuzzy, hair-like oil glands on both stems and leaves are the source of the menthol in mint.
We enjoy mint in ice cream, chocolates, coffee drinks and iced tea, or perhaps as a jelly served with lamb. However, this versatile herb has many more lives in a culinary sense. Cuisines from beyond our borders make effective use of this refreshing plant.
Often plucked fresh from the garden, mint, spearmint in particular is equally effective in seasoning savories as well as sweets.
Aside from sweet basil, a native of tropical Africa and Asia, the mint family of herbs originates in areas around the Mediterranean Sea. We find oregano and basil in Italian dishes, mint in Middle Eastern and North African food and marjoram and mint in Greek fare. The famous Herbes de Provence of southern France, a combination of dried marjoram, oregano, rosemary, savory and thyme enlivens grilled meats, vegetables and stews.
Mint is also used in Southeast Asia where the whole leaf form is combined with hot, spicy dishes to impart a cooling effect. Salads and accompaniments to meat and fish cookery are popular uses for mint as well.
Mint is easy to grow and thrives in western Washington. This sturdy herb likes a warm, sunny spot or partial shade and appreciates regular watering. Sending out runners mint can spread easily throughout a garden so many people confine mint to pots, planters or boxed areas of their garden. Mint attracts both bees and butterflies so assists in pollinating other plants. It's a perennial which dies back during the winter but puts out new bright-green shoots come spring.
Rose Lee was busy with shoppers at her spot during the Wednesday afternoon Columbia City Farmer's Market. Surrounded by a variety of luscious greenery, Lee had a number of attractive mint plants for sale among the specialty roses, which are the focus of her business, Rosebriar Gardens and Design.
Growing herbs and flowers in the Rainier Valley for 30 years Lee specializes in environmentally friendly growing methods and offers garden consultation. "There are many, many mint varieties; they've all be hybridized and are excellent for attracting honeybees and butterflies. There are three 'basic mints': spearmint, peppermint and bergamot mint" she added. Bergamot mint is also called orange mint because when crushed its leaves impart an orange scent. It's often used, according to the Sunset Western Garden Book in potpourris and in cookery.
"Mint is always sweeter in the spring" Lee went on, "and becomes more pungent later". The best way to capture the essence of mint for cooking is to "use a mortar and pestle" she said "and use mint anywhere you'd use parsley. I just gave a class on cooking with roses and have also given classes on cooking with herbs," Lee continued.
Since over 600 varieties of mint exist, there are many to choose from, whether for cooking, garden spots or decorative floral arrangements.
Wandering among happy shoppers and the riot of colors beckoning from flower vendors I stopped to ask growers of herbs and vegetables for mint. Blia Cha of Lee's Garden happily showed me a crisp display of fresh spearmint ready to go in small, plastic bags. "I have a customer who regularly buys our mint for her restaurant; she buys about thirty bunches at a time". Cha added that she uses fresh mint in her steamed fish cookery as well as in chicken stir-fry.
Beacon Hill writer Georgia Lord Wantanabee may be contacted via Editor@sdistrictjournal.com.
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