Â* I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
harvesting some from in the near future .

--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety .
Get off my lawn !

On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:06:37 -0500, Terry Coombs >
wrote:

> * I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
>else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
>probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
>harvesting some from in the near future .

I did an experiment with mint one year, there was no method which had
it maintain it's full flavour enough to make it worthwhile. Offhand,
I tried, drying it, chopping up and pickling in vinegar, freezing it,
chopped and unchopped - none of the results gave that lovely flavour
so now I grow fresh every summer and enjoy it while it lasts but do
not try to preserve it by any method. Just remembered, I also tried
chopping and freezing in ice cubes too.

It's quite difficult here now to get plain old English mint. I asked
the girl in one place why there were so many Orange Mint, Banana Mint
etc. and she said to meet the demand by millennials for sprigs to put
in cocktails - sigh.

Mint cup (nonalcoholic). See here.

https://groups.google.com/forum/#!searchin/rec.food.cooking/%22mint$20cup%22%7Csort:date/rec.food.cooking/z0q6IPx8glM/8QGSTU5gPkQJ

On 6/27/2018 6:19 PM, wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:06:37 -0500, Terry Coombs >
> wrote:
>
>> Â* I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
>> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
>> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
>> harvesting some from in the near future .
> I did an experiment with mint one year, there was no method which had
> it maintain it's full flavour enough to make it worthwhile. Offhand,
> I tried, drying it, chopping up and pickling in vinegar, freezing it,
> chopped and unchopped - none of the results gave that lovely flavour
> so now I grow fresh every summer and enjoy it while it lasts but do
> not try to preserve it by any method. Just remembered, I also tried
> chopping and freezing in ice cubes too.
>
> It's quite difficult here now to get plain old English mint. I asked
> the girl in one place why there were so many Orange Mint, Banana Mint
> etc. and she said to meet the demand by millennials for sprigs to put
> in cocktails - sigh.

Did you try vacuum bagging and freezing it ? I think the key to flavor
retention is going to be keeping the volatile oils from evaporating . I
cut this stuff down a week or so ago to get access to my outdoor faucet
for replacement . Kinda spread it out on a piece of plywood that's
laying on my table saw and forgot it ... Crunched a couple of leaves
earlier today while hanging up laundry and the aroma was enticing . So I
stripped the leaves and bagged them .

--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety .
Get off my lawn !

Terry Coombs wrote:
....
> Did you try vacuum bagging and freezing it ? I think the key to flavor
> retention is going to be keeping the volatile oils from evaporating . I
> cut this stuff down a week or so ago to get access to my outdoor faucet
> for replacement . Kinda spread it out on a piece of plywood that's
> laying on my table saw and forgot it ... Crunched a couple of leaves
> earlier today while hanging up laundry and the aroma was enticing . So I
> stripped the leaves and bagged them .

it's good enough that ways for making tea if the
variety is ok for that. it varies so much though,
some are not very good at all when dried.

we used to grow about a dozen different kinds here
and now the only ones left are those that escaped and
are growing in some of the grassy spaces we still mow.
those will eventually be gone too.

the bees love all of them.

if you really want to get into it look up the process
for extracting the oils and then if you have your own
blends that can be fun for making other things during
the off season.


songbird

"Terry Coombs" wrote in message news
I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
harvesting some from in the near future .


Snag

==

I grow a lot of the spearmint type. It is my favourite

I don't often use it for anything but I love the scent when I go outside.

On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 19:22:20 -0500, Terry Coombs >
wrote:

>On 6/27/2018 6:19 PM, wrote:
>> On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:06:37 -0500, Terry Coombs >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> * I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
>>> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
>>> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
>>> harvesting some from in the near future .
>> I did an experiment with mint one year, there was no method which had
>> it maintain it's full flavour enough to make it worthwhile. Offhand,
>> I tried, drying it, chopping up and pickling in vinegar, freezing it,
>> chopped and unchopped - none of the results gave that lovely flavour
>> so now I grow fresh every summer and enjoy it while it lasts but do
>> not try to preserve it by any method. Just remembered, I also tried
>> chopping and freezing in ice cubes too.
>>
>> It's quite difficult here now to get plain old English mint. I asked
>> the girl in one place why there were so many Orange Mint, Banana Mint
>> etc. and she said to meet the demand by millennials for sprigs to put
>> in cocktails - sigh.
>
>Did you try vacuum bagging and freezing it ? I think the key to flavor
>retention is going to be keeping the volatile oils from evaporating . I
>cut this stuff down a week or so ago to get access to my outdoor faucet
>for replacement . Kinda spread it out on a piece of plywood that's
>laying on my table saw and forgot it ... Crunched a couple of leaves
>earlier today while hanging up laundry and the aroma was enticing . So I
>stripped the leaves and bagged them .

Yes, in the end I gave up. I imagine the same would apply to
spearmint, perhaps its the delicacy of the flavour. If you find a way
that can help it retain it's flavour into the winter, pls let us know
here. I'd be willing to give it one more try

"Terry Coombs" > wrote in message
news
> I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what else ?
> This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is probably
> closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be harvesting
> some from in the near future .

Sachets to repel bugs.

On Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 7:06:29 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
> Â* I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
> harvesting some from in the near future .

I like just a pinch in tabouli. Not enough to overshadow the
other flavors--just enough to say "this tabouli has a certain,
ineffable something..."

Cindy Hamilton

On 2018-06-28 3:34 AM, wrote:
> On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 19:22:20 -0500, Terry Coombs >
> wrote:
>
>> On 6/27/2018 6:19 PM, wrote:
>>> On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:06:37 -0500, Terry Coombs >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Â* I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
>>>> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
>>>> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
>>>> harvesting some from in the near future .
>>> I did an experiment with mint one year, there was no method which had
>>> it maintain it's full flavour enough to make it worthwhile. Offhand,
>>> I tried, drying it, chopping up and pickling in vinegar, freezing it,
>>> chopped and unchopped - none of the results gave that lovely flavour
>>> so now I grow fresh every summer and enjoy it while it lasts but do
>>> not try to preserve it by any method. Just remembered, I also tried
>>> chopping and freezing in ice cubes too.
>>>
>>> It's quite difficult here now to get plain old English mint. I asked
>>> the girl in one place why there were so many Orange Mint, Banana Mint
>>> etc. and she said to meet the demand by millennials for sprigs to put
>>> in cocktails - sigh.
>>
>> Did you try vacuum bagging and freezing it ? I think the key to flavor
>> retention is going to be keeping the volatile oils from evaporating . I
>> cut this stuff down a week or so ago to get access to my outdoor faucet
>> for replacement . Kinda spread it out on a piece of plywood that's
>> laying on my table saw and forgot it ... Crunched a couple of leaves
>> earlier today while hanging up laundry and the aroma was enticing . So I
>> stripped the leaves and bagged them .
>
> Yes, in the end I gave up. I imagine the same would apply to
> spearmint, perhaps its the delicacy of the flavour. If you find a way
> that can help it retain it's flavour into the winter, pls let us know
> here. I'd be willing to give it one more try
>
I freeze tarragon by putting a bunch in a small ziplock with water to
cover. When thawed out, it looks and tastes fresh.

On 2018-06-28 9:00 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 7:06:29 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
>> Â* I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
>> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
>> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
>> harvesting some from in the near future .
>
> I like just a pinch in tabouli. Not enough to overshadow the
> other flavors--just enough to say "this tabouli has a certain,
> ineffable something..."


I prefer fresh mint for stuff like that. Last night I made some raita to
have with my lamb sausage. I used one small clove of finely minced
garlic in about 2 cups yogurt with about 4" of an English cucumber very
thinly sliced and 3 mint leaves also sliced very thin.

On Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 9:57:28 AM UTC-4, Dave Smith wrote:
> On 2018-06-28 9:00 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> > On Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 7:06:29 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
> >> Â* I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
> >> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
> >> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
> >> harvesting some from in the near future .
> >
> > I like just a pinch in tabouli. Not enough to overshadow the
> > other flavors--just enough to say "this tabouli has a certain,
> > ineffable something..."
>
>
> I prefer fresh mint for stuff like that. Last night I made some raita to
> have with my lamb sausage. I used one small clove of finely minced
> garlic in about 2 cups yogurt with about 4" of an English cucumber very
> thinly sliced and 3 mint leaves also sliced very thin.

Sure, fresh is preferable. But you CAN use dried mint for tabouli
or raita, whereas it's just pointless to try to use anything
but fresh mint as a salad green in fattoush (for example).

Cindy Hamilton

On 6/28/2018 9:11 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
> On Thursday, June 28, 2018 at 9:57:28 AM UTC-4, Dave Smith wrote:
>> On 2018-06-28 9:00 AM, Cindy Hamilton wrote:
>>> On Wednesday, June 27, 2018 at 7:06:29 PM UTC-4, Terry Coombs wrote:
>>>> Â* I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
>>>> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
>>>> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
>>>> harvesting some from in the near future .
>>> I like just a pinch in tabouli. Not enough to overshadow the
>>> other flavors--just enough to say "this tabouli has a certain,
>>> ineffable something..."
>>
>> I prefer fresh mint for stuff like that. Last night I made some raita to
>> have with my lamb sausage. I used one small clove of finely minced
>> garlic in about 2 cups yogurt with about 4" of an English cucumber very
>> thinly sliced and 3 mint leaves also sliced very thin.
> Sure, fresh is preferable. But you CAN use dried mint for tabouli
> or raita, whereas it's just pointless to try to use anything
> but fresh mint as a salad green in fattoush (for example).
>
> Cindy Hamilton

Â* And I still have plenty of fresh too ... I only cut what I had to in
order to get at the faucet to replace it . I had a standard faucet that
was below ground level in an old kitty litter bucket , but getting to it
left me covered with ticks and chiggers ... The new unit is one of those
yard faucets that drains back into the ground when you turn it off , and
I don't get bugged when I turn it on and off .

--
Snag
Yes , I'm old
and crochety .
Get off my lawn !

On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 19:22:20 -0500, Terry Coombs >
wrote:

>On 6/27/2018 6:19 PM, wrote:
>> On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:06:37 -0500, Terry Coombs >
>> wrote:
>>
>>> * I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
>>> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
>>> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
>>> harvesting some from in the near future .
>> I did an experiment with mint one year, there was no method which had
>> it maintain it's full flavour enough to make it worthwhile. Offhand,
>> I tried, drying it, chopping up and pickling in vinegar, freezing it,
>> chopped and unchopped - none of the results gave that lovely flavour
>> so now I grow fresh every summer and enjoy it while it lasts but do
>> not try to preserve it by any method. Just remembered, I also tried
>> chopping and freezing in ice cubes too.
>>
>> It's quite difficult here now to get plain old English mint. I asked
>> the girl in one place why there were so many Orange Mint, Banana Mint
>> etc. and she said to meet the demand by millennials for sprigs to put
>> in cocktails - sigh.
>
>Did you try vacuum bagging and freezing it ? I think the key to flavor
>retention is going to be keeping the volatile oils from evaporating . I
>cut this stuff down a week or so ago to get access to my outdoor faucet
>for replacement . Kinda spread it out on a piece of plywood that's
>laying on my table saw and forgot it ... Crunched a couple of leaves
>earlier today while hanging up laundry and the aroma was enticing . So I
>stripped the leaves and bagged them .

Mint is a flavor I detest, I don't even use mint tooth paste I use
cinnamon, cloves, and fennel... Tom's of Maine has those flavors.
That people need to cover the stench of lamb with mint goes to prove
that lamb is disgusting... I would baste lamb with Febreze.

On Thu, 28 Jun 2018 12:58:39 -0400, wrote:

>On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 19:22:20 -0500, Terry Coombs >
>wrote:
>
>>On 6/27/2018 6:19 PM, wrote:
>>> On Wed, 27 Jun 2018 18:06:37 -0500, Terry Coombs >
>>> wrote:
>>>
>>>> * I mean , I can make tea and mint jelly to eat with lamb , but what
>>>> else ? This is a spearmint type , no idea what variety - "wild" is
>>>> probably closest . Also have a small patch of mountain mint that I'll be
>>>> harvesting some from in the near future .
>>> I did an experiment with mint one year, there was no method which had
>>> it maintain it's full flavour enough to make it worthwhile. Offhand,
>>> I tried, drying it, chopping up and pickling in vinegar, freezing it,
>>> chopped and unchopped - none of the results gave that lovely flavour
>>> so now I grow fresh every summer and enjoy it while it lasts but do
>>> not try to preserve it by any method. Just remembered, I also tried
>>> chopping and freezing in ice cubes too.
>>>
>>> It's quite difficult here now to get plain old English mint. I asked
>>> the girl in one place why there were so many Orange Mint, Banana Mint
>>> etc. and she said to meet the demand by millennials for sprigs to put
>>> in cocktails - sigh.
>>
>>Did you try vacuum bagging and freezing it ? I think the key to flavor
>>retention is going to be keeping the volatile oils from evaporating . I
>>cut this stuff down a week or so ago to get access to my outdoor faucet
>>for replacement . Kinda spread it out on a piece of plywood that's
>>laying on my table saw and forgot it ... Crunched a couple of leaves
>>earlier today while hanging up laundry and the aroma was enticing . So I
>>stripped the leaves and bagged them .
>
>Mint is a flavor I detest, I don't even use mint tooth paste I use
>cinnamon, cloves, and fennel... Tom's of Maine has those flavors.
>That people need to cover the stench of lamb with mint goes to prove
>that lamb is disgusting... I would baste lamb with Febreze.

Only Anglos add mint to lamb. According to the French, the English
kill their lamb twice. Once when they slaughter it and once when they
prepare it.

On 2018-06-28 2:51 PM, Druce wrote:
> On Thu, 28 Jun 2018 12:58:39 -0400, wrote:

>> Mint is a flavor I detest, I don't even use mint tooth paste I use
>> cinnamon, cloves, and fennel... Tom's of Maine has those flavors.
>> That people need to cover the stench of lamb with mint goes to prove
>> that lamb is disgusting... I would baste lamb with Febreze.
>
> Only Anglos add mint to lamb. According to the French, the English
> kill their lamb twice. Once when they slaughter it and once when they
> prepare it.

Well isn't that wonderful that the French say that about the English. I
have never had lamb in England, but I have had it a few times in France,
and never as good as I can do myself. A couple times it was barely
mediocre and another time it was downright disappointing. The French
tend to have the same snotty opinion about Dutch cooking, but the lamb I
had in the Netherlands was way better than the French dishes.