Supermarket mint

[ellencho]

Hi all,

Does anyone know about anything about supermarket mint? The kind that they sell in bundles in the produce aisle? Is it spearmint, or peppermint, or some other kind of mint?

And does anyone know of a quick way to distinguish one type from the other?

TIA

[Rachel Perlow]

I always thought it was spearmint, but when I grew my own, I found that peppermint is closer to what I can get in my local markets. Surprisingly, it is milder than spearmint. Spearmint has pointier leaves than peppermint, which I believe is how it was named.

[Fat Guy]

I totally want to know the answer to this question.

[birder53]

I grew several kinds of mint last summer and tried them in various dishes. They looked better than they tasted and I didn't get that real minty spike of flavor I was looking for. What is the best mint to use for cooking? Is there a definitive answer?

[iguana]

I need help here too-- my usual trick is to buy supermarket mint all winter, then go to the farmers market in the summer and discover that I have a choice of different mints. Then I choose wrong and my Vietnamese Chicken Salad (with cilantro and mint) ends up tasting like Doublemint Gum, complete with menthol-type mouthfeel. Blech. I need a mint descriptor wallet card.

[Bicycle Lee]

it's genetically altered super mint....

what I want to know is: Why buy something that is so easy to grow? In fact, once you start growing it, it is damn near impossible to stop.

[iguana]

Why buy something that is so easy to grow? In fact, once you start growing it, it is damn near impossible to stop.

I think you just answered your own question right there!

[TrishCT]

My son has been working for a few weeks at a brand new supermarket and according to him (If you choose to believe an 18 year old college student), supermarket mint is the herb known as Mint. It is not peppermint or spearmint, those are variations of the mint plant.

That's his story anyway....

[jschyun]

here, the packaged supermarket mint is usually spearmint.

Spearmint has pure green, rounded (not all that pointy in my experience) leaves, and peppermint has pointy yet rounded leaves with purplish/reddish stems and leaf veins.

For vietnamese dishes, I think you want neither of these, but if I had to sub, I would probably choose spearmint.

[naguere]

I grew several kinds of mint last summer and tried them in various dishes. They looked better than they tasted and I didn't get that real minty spike of flavor I was looking for. What is the best mint to use for cooking? Is there a definitive answer?

mint is best used uncooked.

My favourite way is to take a dozen mint leave and a teaspoon of suger, macerate the whole thing to a green paste, then add to a normal home-made vinaigrette dressing.

used on Little Gem lettuce it is sensational.

[birder53]

I grew several kinds of mint last summer and tried them in various dishes.  They looked better than they tasted and I didn't get that real minty spike of flavor I was looking for.  What is the best mint to use for cooking?  Is there a definitive answer?

mint is best used uncooked.

I tried Mark Bittman's recipe for pasta with mint. The mint is not cooked, just tossed in with the pasta, oil and cheese at the end.

[Bicycle Lee]

Why buy something that is so easy to grow? In fact, once you start growing it, it is damn near impossible to stop.

I think you just answered your own question right there!

you just gotta clip off the seed pods... then you're fine...

[birder53]

it's genetically altered super mint....

what I want to know is: Why buy something that is so easy to grow? In fact, once you start growing it, it is damn near impossible to stop.

I learned the hard way! Mint goes into pots or planters now. Never again in the flower bed!

[scott123]

Spearmint (mentha spicata) courtesy of the Digital Flora of Texas Vascular Plant Image Library

[iguana]

you just gotta clip off the seed pods... then you're fine...

No offense, but in my experience, mint also reproduces very aggressively by runners (vegetatively). All mint plants and seeds should come with a warning-- plant only in containers! (like Birder53 said!)

[scott123]

Identification for spearmint (mentha spicata)

Identification for peppermint (mentha piperita)

[scott123]

I tried Mark Bittman's recipe for pasta with mint.  The mint is not cooked, just tossed in with the pasta, oil and cheese at the end.

Mint and Basil (Ocimum basilicum) are from the same plant family (Lamiaceae), hence the successful unification with pasta, cheese and oil.

[tsquare]

Spearmint is what they have, organically grown, in the local co-op.

Peppermint is good for tea and dessert, not so good for savories, IMHO.

I was too slow, but Rent's Due, a local herb and vegetable start supplier had some "culinary mint" for sale recently. I want some of that - whatever it is.

They also had peppermint, spearmint, orange mint, and lemon mint.

I have growing peppermint, apple mint - fuzzy leaves, and chocolate mint - great to steam in milk. Problem is that these die back in the winter, no leaves.

Oregano is in the mint family and will take over a garden as well. Basil is too tender.

[ellencho]

Unfortunately I looked at the pics that were either linked or posted, and none of the mint I pick up in the supermarket looks like any of it. The supermarket mint I get has oval leaves and a dark stem, which makes me think it might be peppermint, from jschyun's description.

[scott123]

Unfortunately I looked at the pics that were either linked or posted, and none of the mint I pick up in the supermarket looks like any of it. The supermarket mint I get has oval leaves and a dark stem, which makes me think it might be peppermint, from jschyun's description.

From observing our own mint plants, I've noticed that, depending on conditions, both the leaves and the stem can range from a dark/purplish color to bright green. I would go more by the pointiness/curliness of the leaves rather than the color of the leaves/stem. Are the leaves relatively flat or curved?

Your description of oval seems to point towards peppermint.

[ellencho]

Unfortunately I looked at the pics that were either linked or posted, and none of the mint I pick up in the supermarket looks like any of it. The supermarket mint I get has oval leaves and a dark stem, which makes me think it might be peppermint, from jschyun's description.

From observing our own mint plants, I've noticed that, depending on conditions, both the leaves and the stem can range from a dark/purplish color to bright green. I would go more by the pointiness/curliness of the leaves rather than the color of the leaves/stem. Are the leaves relatively flat or curved?

Your description of oval seems to point towards peppermint.

Not overly curved under, but there's a little bit of downward curving. It's defintely oval, with the edges of the leaves curving downward. I hope I'm not confusing you. But they're definitely not flat and there's very little pointiness at the tips of the leaves.

[jschyun]

It's kind of difficult to really describe the differences between the two. Actually, i have seen a variety of spearmint with roundish leaves and peppermint with pointy leaves!

If you crush a leaf, that's the best test, I think. Peppermint is usually really strong, very minty, a toothpaste like aroma wafting in the air. Spearmint, in my experience, tends not to smell as strongly. That's why I would consider using it for Vietnamese food, but there's a Vietnamese mint that you should use instead, if you can get it.

I have never seen spearmint that has dark stems, and the descriptions I've read suggest others haven't seen it either. But I believe it can happen, because stress and weather changes will do all sorts of things to plants.

If your mint has dark stems, rounded leaves, and a very strong minty aroma (like toothpaste or mint candy), my guess is peppermint.

--the rounded leaf spearmint I've seen was either lebanese or crap I forget. I gotta ask again. The guy I got it from uses it for tabbouleh, and I was told it was spearmint, but it occurred to me that I should have questioned that. It definitely has round leaves. However, spearmint generally does have pointy leaves.

Edited April 16, 2004 by jschyun (log)

[Adam Balic]

It most likely is a number of species, as mints are a very diverse group and are often cross bred and they vary a lot within a particular species. e.g. Spearmint is Mentha spicata, but not all Mentha spicata are spearmint.

Peppermint is mostly a hybrid of Water mint (Mentha aquatica) and spearmint (Mentha spicata). "Green" mint is often a non-spearmint variety of Mentha spicata.

In the UK "Curly" Mint (M. spicata variety crispii) is common, but I as many Supermarket mints are imported from Israel and Africa etc, they are likely to be a number of different things.

Edited April 16, 2004 by Adam Balic (log)

[hwilson41]

I'm not sure this applies to the fresh variety, but I checked my McCormick spice bottle, and they claim they are selling Spearmint. Unfortunately there are no botanical names, but presume it is the Mentha Spicata that's been discussed above.

THW