An all-time favorite, mint is wonderful in everything from sauces, drinks, meat dishes, candies, and more! Mint is a fast spreading plant that is easy to grow once established! Perfect for any garden! Best picked right before the flowers blossom with slender spikes of white and pink flowers!
Mint leaves can be used whole, chopped, dried and ground, frozen, preserved in salt, sugar, sugar syrup, alcohol, oil, or dried. The leaves lose their aromatic appeal after the plant flowers. It can be dried by cutting it just before, or right (at peak) as the flowers open, about 1/2 to 3/4ths the way down the sock (leaving smaller shoots room to grow).
Both the essential oil and the leaves are used for culinary purposes. The oil is used as a flavoring for toothpaste, confectionery, chewing gum, shaving cream, liqueurs, and medicines, and is sometimes added to shampoos and soaps. Mint leaves are used to flavor teas, soups, and stews, with the dried leaves used to season meat (such as lamb), fish, and vegetable dishes. Needless to say, it is an incredibly versatile herb!