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Favorite mint plant

24 years ago

I am starting a mint collection and I would like to know what kinds of mint there is out there. I grew up in a family that cusred the lone mint plant growing in the yard. Now I find that people acually like mint. I find that I like the citrus scented mints the best.

So, here's the question, what's your favorite kind of mint and why?

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Comments (14)

Chris - 6
24 years ago
I like the strong, minty mints best. The cultivars such as "Black Peppermint" and "Chocolate peppermint". My least favorite are the ones which have a lot of perfume in the smell. For looks, the variegated cultivars are extremely beautiful.
amber - 6
24 years ago
i'm predisposed toward native mints. i love blue curls (trichostema dichotomum) and monardas. blue curls because of the wonderful flowers, and because of the longevity of their scent; monardas for the flowers and their pungency.
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Hello I'm interested in all your mints, but I'm REALLY interested in the apple mint (will this be a division??). I have spearmint and peppermint. Also may have some catnip, will have to check. I also have some scented geraniums I could send cuttings of. Please send me an e-mail at someguy00273952@yahoo.com if interested. Thanks!
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I just used some Kentucky Colonel mint this evening (strong spearmint flavor) mixed with some salad greens. I did a chiffonade, and sprinkled it on top, and it's a wonderful addition to a salad. Some lime mints can also be fabulous in salsas along with your cilantro. And don't forget the Mint Julep! and Mojito! Also, mints are great for infusing simple syrups for cold or hot teas later. My recipe is a ratio of 2 to 1. Two cups of sugar, to one cup of water. Slowly bring to a boil til clear. Remove from heat, bruise the mint to release the oil and place the whole leaves in the syrup. Let set til cool. I remove the leaves and store the syrup in a bottle in the refrigerator for up to a week (though it never lasts that long!). Wonderful also if infused with some lemon rind also. So good to sweeten a nice summer iced tea or a nice hot, herbal tea, or green tea. Especially great for cold teas because there's none of that trying to dissolve sugar in a cold medium. It's already a syrup! Some of the better restaurants here bring simple syrup to your table when you order hot or cold tea so you can sweeten to your liking. It's a very elegant presentation. Some will make simple syrup on a ratio of 1 to 1. One cup of water to one cup of sugar. I call this simple water. If you want that intense syrup, you need a 2 to 1 ratio. It will work with the 1 to 1 though. But as a cook it's one of my pet peeves....1 to 1 is SIMPLE WATER, not syrup. I've also made a rosemary simple syrup (YUM!) and a cinnamon basil simple syrup. There are SO many different types of mint out there now, you have such freedom to express yourself with flavor!
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Hermann Rachlinger
23 years ago
I dont understand English but I hope you can understand me.I collect mint ( Mentha ) in Austria. I like all my 100 mints.
adriana AL
23 years ago
Gold and Esmerald mint is pretty and so is Pineaple Mint, a variegated variety. Chocolate is a good all-purpose mint.

Hermann, hw do you keep the mints from crossing?
sherri 6
22 years ago
Mmmmm-catmint! Smells great, looks beautiful!
Dianna_in_WA
21 years ago
Corsican Mint! I love it as a ground cover and between stepping stones in shady areas. It gives me a lift any time I brush my hands over it and sniff. Also has tiny little blooms that are so pretty.

Dianna
Nancy5050
21 years ago
MAYBEchocolate mint
Violet_Girl
20 years ago
I want as many as I can get. I like my spearmint most, I think.
jakkom
20 years ago
My favorite mint plant is one carefully confined to a pot, LOL!

I like pineapple mint the best -- so far. Some of the ones mentioned above I haven't tried so will have to run out and find some...
alison
20 years ago
Mmmm....chocolate mint....ginger mint....Rpbert Mitchum peppermint...spearmint....

I've got them all over in different spots in the yard. But my favorite is prbably the big, gangly, scraggly looking apple mint. I can't get enough of that smell!
MeMyselfAndI
20 years ago
I LOVE chocolate mint and I tried to start some plugs in my lawn once because I thought it would smell WONDERFUL when I mowed, but a dry spell killed the plugs. I always heard about mints being so invasive, and I know spearmint sure is!! So it never occurred to me to check on it while the grass was still green. I think I'll try again with cuttings of this year's plant.
tallohiofarmboy
15 years ago
I recently found a recipe for mint sherbet floating around on the internet. So, I picked the young leaves from some Korean Mint I have growing in a pot and made a batch.

Let me tell you; it's amazingly good!! Even people who don't like mint went crazy for this sherbet! Maybe it's so good because it's so hot outside, or, maybe the eggwhites keep it light and airy compared to heavier icecream. I don't know, but now I'm wondering if other varietal mint plants would work even better for this recipe. I'm interested in trying applemint, but understand that it doesn't taste like it smells (it's said to taste like Wintergreen).

What about other mints like the orange mint, lemon mint, pineapple mint, chocolate mint... or would regular spearmint work well for this sherbet? Anyone experienced with the actual flavors of different mint varieties?

Thanks,

Mark.
helenh
15 years ago
I haven't tried a lot of mints but I like apple mint for the minty smell with no harshness. I like cat mint and red monarda for appearance.
beegood_gw
15 years ago
My favourite mint grows wild in my pasture in a low damp spot.

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