This is a forum dedicated to growing herbs... anywhere in the world. ;-) Good luck on your quest for true Peppermint - since most of what is sold is really Spearmint. I happen to have both, but Spearmint is a thug and would like to shove Peppermint out of the pot. I imagine I will need to move one elsewhere.

I return to say thanks to Bejay one more time. My peppermint pot is doing very very well. its growing almost profusely. I guess my plants were too tiny and tender earlier to bear the houston sun, so I moved them to an area which got a little screened sun, and it worked! And all this in a matter of 15-20 days! I am soon going to harvest some leaves for making a cooling and soothing yogurt dish very popular in India, particularly in hot months. Best part is that it can be made in 5 minutes. Works great with bread, pita, tortillas, or rotis. Here are a couple of recipes if anyone is interested: 1. peppermint raita (rye-taa) 1 cup plain (not sweet or flaovred, that is) beaten yogurt 5-6 fresh peppermint (or more if you are big fan like me) or spearmint leaves- washed and mashed in a mortar finely chopped - 1/4 cup each of tomatoes and cucumber and onions(if you like) Salt, pepper and ground cumin to taste Mix all these together in a bowl, and garnish with a sprig of corriander (cilantro). Serve cool with hot chapatis, pita bread or tortillas. 2. peppermint buttermilk for 1 person: 1 cup plain buttermilk (not sweet or flaovred) ground fresh peppermint leaves (3-4/per cup) salt and ground cumin to taste Stir peppermint, salt and cumin in buttermilk in a glass, serve cool. Makes a great cooling and soothing drink in summers. Peppermint is considered good for digestion in ayurveda.

I think peppermint is stronger, and I very much prefer spearmint, but the difference in flavor is not just in strength. I think spearmint has a more complex flavor. I went to a Greek restaurant near our house and had some stuffed cabbage leaves (stuffed with beef and rice) with an avgolemono sauce, and the stuffing had a bit of mint in it, which I really liked. The restaurant owner thought it had dill in it instead of mint, but when she asked the chef, he told her that he had put mint in it. Then the owner said, "Well, what do I know?" I went back to that restaurant yesterday for brunch and had moussaka, which was excellent. They buy their vegetables from farmers' markets, and the moussaka was very light and not greasy. Lars

kswl2, I made the chocolate peppermint cheesecake today for my bridge group's Christmas luncheon tomorrow. However, since my oven tends to run about 25 degrees too hot, I lowered the temp and watched it carefully. I set the timer for 40 mins first, then added another 5 mins., then another till it was in 50 mins. The center seems "jiggly" like the recipe said it would but the edges started cracking. I took it out and let it set for about 15 min. I was afraid it wasn't done in the center so when I finished my bread for dinner ( had to let the broiler cool down, I put it back in for 7 more min. It looks set now but I am wondering if the cracked part is going to make it fall apart when I take off the sides tomorrow. It is still cooling. I will make the topping tomorrow to add to it. You don't think it ruined it to put it back in the oven, do you?. It was still warm, not cold by any means. Also, what chocolate wafers did you use? I ended up with chocolate graham crackers as I couldn't find anything else but cookies like Oreo's.