Peppermint's many health uses include the following:
- The menthol in peppermint soothes the lining of the digestive tract an stimulates the production of bile, which is an essential digestive fluid. A hot cup of herbal tea is an excellent way to settle your stomach after a big meal.
- There is a very good reason that peppermint is the flavoring of choice for toothpaste. Peppermint is an excellent breath freshener. When using peppermint tea as a breath freshener, increase the effectiveness by adding a pinch of anise, caraway or cinnamon. Mint is also a good remedy for gingivitis.
- Peppermint is reputed to have the calming, sedative effect.
- Peppermint and its relatives are mostly known as a medicine and popular herbs for infusions. Menthol vapors are famous for relieving nasal, sinus and chest congestion. Remember those minty-smelling ointments your mother rubbed on your chest when you were a child with a cold? You can also get relief with a steaming cup of peppermint tea. For a more effective cold remedy, combine peppermint with elder flower and yarrow. For a hacking cough, drink 3 to four cups of cool peppermint tea throughout the day, taking a sip every 15 to 30 minutes.
- Digestion problems/ Nausea/ Excess Gas: One drop of essential oil in a glass of water, or on a sugar cube, taken orally.
- Colic: Traditional therapy is to make a peppermint tea, but be cautious with infants because the strong menthol could possibly cause a choking reaction.
- Tension Headaches: 1-2 drops in carrier oil applied to temples when headache starts and once an hour after, if needed. Some people might find it more effective to apply a drop behind each ear, depending on the type and cause of headache. If the headache is related to digestives problems, also drink a glass of (preferably warm) water with a drop (or 2) of mint oil in it.
- Mental Fatigue: Mint is a stimulant similar to caffeine, but won't cause jitters. Try a drop at the back of the tongue. Too much at once can be overwhelming; try a SMALL drop first. Mint is also known for lifting the mood, bringing cheer. Also throughout history has been used in cases of hysteria and shock.
- Mint contains Vitamin C and Vitamin A.
- Essential peppermint oil is anti-inflammatory, analgesic (pain-reducer), and a counterirritant. Essential oils promote formation of white cells and acts against microbial germs, while being completely harmless to skin tissue. All these factors are at work in healing skin conditions.
Disclaimer: This in no way replaces being seen and advised by your doctor. As with any new treatment, it is wise to monitor the first application for signs of sensitivity. Peppermint tea in considered safe, but remember that truly pure essential oil is 75 to 100 times more concentrated than dried herbs (as in tea bags). One-2 drops of oil in hot water is
very powerful. Be sure not to get any into contact with your eyes. Allergic reactions to topical application are very rare, but there might be sensitivity, so diluting the pure essential mint oil with a carrier oil is recommended. 1-2 drops per tablespoon of carrier oil. Test by applying on a small area and leaving for a couple of hours.
Mint has numerous applications in the kitchen, being used all over the world as flavoring as well as key ingredients to foods and drinks. Peppermint sprigs can be added to drinks and fruit dishes as a garnish. It also makes a refreshing tea. Peppermint makes an excellent flavoring for ice cream, chocolates, and other deserts.
Hints for using mint in the kitchen:
- Spice Up Your Vegetables: Put mint in water used to steam vegetables.
- Mint tea: To make peppermint tea, use 1 to 2 teaspoons of dried peppermint leaves per cup of boiling water. Steep for 10 minutes.
- Minty potatoes: Mix chopped mint with butter for boiled new potatoes (or with parsley or dill).
- Minty rice: Toss whole mint leaves in cooked rice before serving.
- Mint Ice Cubes: Freeze whole mint leaves in ice cubes for tea or lemonade.
- Minty Salad Dressing: Make salad dressing with mint, lemon juice, vinegar and a light oil.
- Spice up your tuna: Chop spearmint and mix with olive oil and use as a marinade for fresh tuna. Marinate 30 minutes, grill.
Uses around the globe: Fresh mint is essential to flavour a celebrated speciality of Carinthia, Austria's most Southern region bordering Italy, whence the art of noodle-making was imported. Kärntner Kasnudeln (meaning loosely Carinthian cheese-stuffed dumplings
or Carinthian cheese-pasta) are basically large ravioli-type noodles stuffed with a mixture of cottage cheese, boiled potatoes and fresh herbs. The herb mixture contains chervil and a special Carinthian mint variety with caraway scent. Boiled or steamed Kasnudeln are served with a few drops of molten butter as a snack between meals, or for dinner.
Fresh mint leaves are often used in Turkish cooking together with yoghurt (see garlic for an example); similar concoctions are in use in Lebanon and Israel. All over Wester Asia, grilled lamb (kabab) is flavoured with mint. Iranian cuisine knows several highly sophisticated recipes employing peppermint; some of these were later transferred to Northern India, e.g., moghul-style biriyani.
Mint is also extremely popular in Vietnam, where it is nearly always enjoyed fresh. Aromatic leaves are served as a garnish to nearly every Vietnamese dish, at least in the South; the most popular herbs (besides some that are not available in the West) for this purpose are coriander, Vietnamese coriander, long coriander, basil and mint.
An infusion of green mint is the `national beverage' in Morocco and Tunisia.
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Peppermint Balls Recipe
2 tablespoons cream cheese
1 teaspoon milk
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies
1 drop red food coloring
1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup powdered sugar
6 tablespoons finely crushed peppermint candies
Combine room temp cheese & milk and add 1/2 cup powdered sugar slowly.
Stir in 2 tabelspoons candy & food coloring, set aside for filling.
Cream butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, mix in vanilla, then flour.
Knead dough into balls, make a deep well in center of each ball.
Fill with 1/4 tsp of filling, shape a scant 1/4 tsp of dough into a flat round, lay on top of filling; press gently to seal.
Place on ungreased cookie sheet, bake 350F for 12 minutes.
Roll warm cookies in combined 1/4 cup powdered sugar & 6 tablespoons peppermint candy. |
There isn't a typical mint cocktail or certain ingredients that can be associated with mint cocktails, apart of mint, that is. The most famous mint cocktail is Mint Julep.
In 1815 English captain Marryatt wrote about this famous drink. He wrote about his visit to wealthy Southern farm-owner. He was offered numerous different cold drinks made of Bordeaux, madeira etc., but there was one made of mint that he praised.
He described its preparation in great detail:
"Into a stemless glass they put about dozen mint leaves and over them they pour fine sugar. On top of mint and sugar they pour either peach liquor or cognac so that the glass is filled about one third of its capacity. They then take cracked ice and fill the glass with it.
The ones that want to endulge themselves moist the rim of the glass with pineapple and often the glass itself is frosted. When the ice has melted, the drink is ready to be enjoyed."
During the Civil War it became customary to use bourbon in Mint Julep and that custom has stayed.
Mint Julep Cocktail Recipe
fresh mint
1 tablespoon fine sugar
1 tablespoon water
2 fl oz (5.7 cl) bourbon whiskey
Place 4-5 leaves of mint in a highball glass. Crush the mint, sugar and water together until the sugar is dissolved and the flavour of the mint extracted. Add the bourbon and fill the glass with crushed ice.
Stir until the outside of the glass is frosted. Decorate with a sprig of mint. Serve with straws.
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Other applications of mint include:
Repellant: Plenty of mint in and around the house may repel ants. if you think you have mice sprinkle peppermint essential oil where they are. Mint plants help repel flies and make a good companion planting for cabbages to repel cabbage.
Concentration aid: Want to improve your concentration? Try putting a few drops of peppermint on a cotton swab and sniffing the scent occasionally. If you put it in a small plastic bag you can take it with you to use throughout the day.
Minty mouthwash: Steep 4 tbsp. of chopped fresh mint leaves in 1 qt. of boiling water. Let cool, and then refrigerate. Once chilled, strain the mixture and keep in a bottle in the refrigerator.
Cooling Mint Foot Bath: Add 2 drops of mint essential oil to a wide bowl of cool water. Relax while you soak your feet.
Peppermint Bath Fizz: Mix 3 oz. of baking soda with 1 tbsp. citric acid. Sprinkle 10 drops of mint essential oil and mix together. Sprinkle a handful directly into bath water.
One of the oldest uses of Mint is as key ingredient in Mint Rubbing. Discovered and practiced since the dawn of man, it has been enhanced ever since, with the goal of reaching perfection.
At work or at home mint rubbing is an excellent choice for spending quality time and for leaving worries and problems behind. Mint rubbing belongs to a larger group of time management techniques that includes gas burning, pulling the cat's tail, cutting leaves to dogs, laying with
the belly towards the sun and others. There seems to be a wide variety of such techniques that are being researched and practiced at present.
Of all techniques and methods, mint rubbing is the most spread, used and loved. It has no negative impact on the environment, it is remarkably easy to learn and practice, it uses one of the most useful plants known to man as key ingredient, it poses no threats to health and it produces a
nicely-scented byproduct.
It is believed that mint rubbing originated in South-Eastern Europe (where even now Peppermint can still be found in its wild form), in a geographical location known as Dacia (now Romania). Tha art of mint rubbing was quickly spread throughout the world by Romanian scholars.
At present mint rubbing is used on a large scale in every country. Recent studies have proved that there is no population on Earth that does not practice mint rubbing, even though most people aren't aware of their rubbing.
Sources: Linda Gilbert/Sally's Place, Sasky.com, Gernot Katzer's Spice pages, mint4health.com, Medical solutions, Mountain Valley Growers, Garden Guides, mybackyard.com, The Romanian Mint Rubbing Association. Disclaimer: for informative use only. 
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