Mint

Herbs & Spices

Mint.

Cool, bright leaves that awaken every dish with their electric perfume

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3recipes

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9pairings

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13cultivars

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Mint recipes

3 recipes featuring Mint from our community of creators.

Wild Rice, Pear & Arugula Salad with White Balsamic Vinaigrette

by Leslie Haak

Standing Rib Roast with Tamarind-Coconut Gravy and Charred Brassicas

by Laila Bazahm

Fennel Citrus Salad

by Matt Richter

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Before You Cook

Storage, prep & technique

Essential tips for handling Mint.

Gentle Cutting

Use a sharp knife and slice rather than chop to prevent bruising. Torn leaves oxidize quickly, turning black and losing their bright flavor. Cut just before using for best results.

Water Storage

Treat fresh mint like flowers—trim stems and place in water. Cover loosely with plastic and refrigerate. Change water every few days and mint stays fresh for over a week.

Freezing Whole Leaves

Freeze whole leaves on parchment-lined trays, then transfer to containers. Frozen mint works beautifully in drinks and cooking, though the texture changes for fresh applications.

Morning Harvest

Cut mint stems in the morning after dew dries but before heat builds. Essential oils are most concentrated then, giving you the most flavor per leaf.

Drying Technique

Hang small bundles in a warm, dark, well-ventilated space. Properly dried mint retains good color and flavor for months, unlike the dusty store-bought versions.

Muddling Method

Press gently when muddling mint for drinks—you want to release oils, not pulverize leaves into bitter bits. A few firm presses are better than aggressive grinding.

Seasonality & sourcing

Find Mint near you

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Mint Trivia

Things worth knowing about Mint.

Surprising facts, culinary wisdom, and nutritional highlights that make mint a remarkable ingredient.

Why does mint spread so aggressively in gardens?

Mint reproduces through underground runners called stolons that can travel several feet from the parent plant. A single sprig can colonize an entire garden bed in one season, which is why experienced gardeners always contain it in pots or buried barriers.

What gives different mints their distinct flavors?

The essential oil composition varies dramatically between species. Spearmint contains mostly carvone, while peppermint is dominated by menthol. Chocolate mint gets its cocoa notes from compounds like pulegone, creating vastly different culinary personalities.

Which mint variety was worth its weight in gold?

Ancient Romans valued pennyroyal mint so highly they used it as currency for trade. The herb was believed to purify both body and spirit, making it more precious than many precious metals in certain Mediterranean markets.

“Mint is the most aromatic of all herbs, and the most hospitable. It will grow anywhere, and the more you cut it, the more it grows.”

— Alice Waters, Chez Panisse Menu Cookbook, 1982

Why does mint create that cooling sensation?

Menthol doesn't actually lower temperature—it tricks your cold receptors into firing. The compound binds to TRPM8 channels in your mouth, creating the same neural signal as actual cold without any temperature change.

How does mint naturally protect itself from pests?

Mint produces volatile oils that repel ants, rodents, and many insects while attracting beneficial pollinators like bees. This natural pest control makes mint an excellent companion plant for vegetables like tomatoes and cabbage.

Where did mojito mint originally grow wild?

True mojito mint (Mentha × villosa) is native to Cuba and other Caribbean islands, where it grew along stream banks. This variety has a smoother, less aggressive flavor than spearmint, making it perfect for muddling without becoming bitter.

About

The story

The first bruised leaf between your fingers releases a rush of summer—green, bright, and impossibly fresh. This is mint in its truest form, not the synthetic echo found in toothpaste or gum, but the living herb that has perfumed gardens and kitchens for millennia. Walk through any small farm in July and you'll likely find it growing with abandon, contained (hopefully) in old galvanized buckets or sprawling along irrigation ditches where the farmers gave up trying to control it.

Mint arrives as one of the season's most reliable gifts, asking little and giving much. Local growers know its value—a few plants provide abundant harvests from late spring through the first hard frost. The best varieties come from farmers who've learned to work with mint's aggressive nature, channeling its energy into thick, aromatic stands that can be cut repeatedly. These aren't the wan, bruised leaves of the grocery store, but robust stems heavy with essential oils that burst at the slightest touch. In kitchens where seasonality matters, mint bridges the gap between ingredient and inspiration. It transforms simple fruit into revelatory salads, turns basic lamb into something worthy of celebration, and makes even tap water taste like luxury. The herb carries stories in its DNA—spearmint from grandmother's garden, chocolate mint that actually smells like dessert, and the sacred apple mint that Middle Eastern cooks guard like treasure.

Ancient Hybrid Origins

Most culinary mints are natural hybrids that occurred spontaneously in the wild. Peppermint, spearmint, and apple mint are all crosses between ancient parent species.

Peak Essential Oil Time

Mint contains the highest concentration of flavorful essential oils just before flowering. This is when commercial producers and smart home gardeners harvest for drying.

Invasive by Design

Mint's aggressive spreading habit made it valuable to ancient civilizations for naturalizing around settlements. One plant could establish a permanent aromatic resource.

Heat Destroys Magic

Mint's volatile oils evaporate rapidly when heated. For maximum impact, add fresh mint at the very end of cooking or use it raw in applications.

Cultivars