From grilling a favorite seafood dish to preparing a refreshing mint julep, the addition of mint creates a splendid and unique flavor and aroma.
Mint can be used for flavoring almost anything. Growing mint at home is easy. It can often grow prolifically, if not properly tended to or container-grown. Mints are perennial herbs that will come back each year with little to no care needed. They thrive under moist soil and partial sun exposure and are quite drought-tolerant, which makes them an ideal herb to endure the hot Mississippi summers. Some of the mints and other members of the mint family that I grow around Beane Farm include orange mint, chocolate mint, spearmint, lemon balm and catnip. All of these flowers are sought out by my honeybees, and I enjoy harvesting the herbs to enhance food dishes, make herbal tea and cause the indoor cats to go berserk over fresh catnip from time to time.
Mints can also be incorporated into homebrew. And, while I haven’t ventured down that path, the appeal of a mint chocolate chip stout certainly is one I should add to my bucket list of beers to create. Harvested mint sprigs can be hung up and air-dried or the leaves dehydrated for extended storage.
Additionally, tinctures extracting the oils from the leaves using vodka or a similarly strong alcohol are a breeze to create. The possibilities are endless. If you have any questions on how to grow mint at home or wish to share your favorite use of mint grown around your place, email me at outside@thesipmag.com.