PEPPERMINT (Mentha piperita). This mint was known to the early Chaldeans as a soothing and pleasant digestive aid. The Romans also used it this way, and the custom persists in our “after-dinner mint”. It was cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, and by the middle of the eighteenth century was in general use in Britain. A pleasant drink for flatulence can be made by chopping a few leaves into a cup, half filling it with boiling water, covering and leaving for five minutes. Sip slowly.
Peppermint oil is a handy home remedy. It stimulates the cold-perceiving nerves, and thus is good for rheumatic and muscular aches and pains, particularly in winter, giving a sensation of warmth in the affected area.
Peppermint is a low-growing, creeping plant with small purplish leaves and long runners rooting into the soil. It needs more water than the others, especially if grown in full sun, where its flavour and oil content will be higher.
Stinging nettle (Urtica dioica) planted near peppermint will double the amount of essential oil from the plant. Commercial growers may care to take advantage of Nature’s help once again, to increase their yield without cost or danger to themselves, the soil, or posterity.
Do not confuse peppermint oil with the peppermint essence used as a flavouring. The essence has an alcohol base. The strength and penetrating power of peppermint oil can be of great relief to sufferers from a heavy head cold. A few drops on the corner of your handkerchief can be inhaled, freeing the head of that stuffed-up misery, and if you are at home you can add a few drops to a bowl of boiling water, put a towel over your head, and inhale the pleasant fumes. If you are in bed, a tissue with a few drops on it can be placed near the bedhead, and it will effectively clear your breathing passages all night. (Make sure not to get the oil anywhere near your eyes.)
GARDEN MINT. The common roundish-leaved type, with a more mellow flavour, and a strong sturdy habit of growth. It does best in full sunshine, and will grow well in a pot on the patio or near the kitchen door.
To increase your mint plants, chop downwards into the bed with a sharp spade or hoe in the early spring, and a new rooted plant will spring from each piece. It can be then dug up and potted or given away. Root division is easy too, many new plants being gained from one length of root which has been chopped off at each junction. Give all the mints soil rich in organic matter and humus, and lime or dolomite is essential. Now for some recipes that benefit from mint’s cool flavour.
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