Grow mint for cooking
Mint is very easy to grow, is great for recipes but…. each variety has a distinct flavour.
Further down the page info on which one to use for cooking, how much to use and how to grow them,
The Top Mint Varieties
After eight mint
Lime mint
Apple Mint
Peppermint
Spearmint
Orange Mint
How to grow mint for cooking
You can buy some types of fresh mint in shops but it’s very easy to grow at home, either outside or indoors – and the growing methods are very similar.
In this article we will cover:
- The different mint types
- Where & how to grow it indoors (or outdoors)
- How to use it for cooking and in recipes
The different mint types
There are very many different types, For example water mint, asian, corsican, forest one, etc.
Which is why (especially if you want to use it for cooking & in recipes) it is very important to carefully select the right type to grow.
For example:
- Apple Mint – Strong flavour great for tea or adding to salads
- Spearmint – Ideal for recipes like roast leg of lamb or pasta meals, etc
- Peppermint – With a stronger flavour it’s ideal for lamb recipes.
- Orange Mint – Ideal for salads and mexican recipes like Salsa.
When it comes to recipes the most popular ones will be:
Spearmint
This is the type (if you live in the UK or USA) that you will be most familiar with, as it’s the type most often used in many recipes.
Typical recipes:
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Peppermint
Peppermint will have a stronger flavour than spearmint and is often used in desserts or in tea.
Typical recipes:
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In addition there are also many different types ideal for specific uses, such as
- Apple – Great for tea and adding to salads
- Orange – Also great for salads but ideal for mexican recipes like salsa
- Chocolate – Especially good for desserts
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How prepare mint for cooking and in recipes
If you want to use it then the first stage is to cut it from the plant. The video below provides ‘step by step’ advice.
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Once you have the leaves then the key is to ‘stack & roll’ the leaves:
How to grow mint indoors
Whether you want to grow mint outdoors or indoors the system is very much the same.
Very important !!! – Use a plant pot
If you grow mint indoors you will probably use a plant pot. However even if you grow it outdoors it is important to realise that it is a very fast growing plant that will grow using a network of runners. Which is why you need to be very careful when planting it next to other plants, as there is a real danger it will take over. Placing it in a plant pot will make sure you can control it.
Plug plant, plant or seed?
As mentioned below there are different ways you can grow mint. I prefer using plug plants because it’s quite quick and cheaper than buying a grown plant. And it only takes about 30 days before you can start harvesting leaves – and they will continue to grow.
Step 1 – decide which mint type to grow
Decide which type of mint to grow.
There are over 600 different types of mint, each has it’s own unique flavour.
However the 4 most popular types for cooking are Apple Mint, Spearmint, Peppermint and Orange mint.
There is more info further down the page or have a look at the Example mint recipes
Step 2 – Decide if you want to use seeds, a plug plant or cuttings
Decide if you want to use seed or use a ready made plant, cutting or a plug plant.
The reason is that mint is a highly variable herb – and even using seeds from a reputable supplier you might still end up with a different type then the one you were hoping to grow
In addition using a plant or plug plant is a lot quicker.
For example Amazon sell a variety pack of different mint plug plants
Step 3 – Put mint in the right location
Put your mint in a plant pot and make sure they have enough light.
Add some rich compost or soil into a pot and add the plug plant. Mint likes sunshine and the optimal growing temperature is 15 to 20 degrees C.
f you want to grow mint indoors then try to find a sunny window or a lot easier is to use growing light. For example the standing grow light (on the right) is ideal as you can point it at the plant.
Step 4 – give water & keep trimming
Water and trimming is very important.
Especially indoors you need to make sure the soil doesn’t dry out – water on a regular basis.
Linked to this do make sure you trim the mint regularly to encourage growth and fresh leaves. When trimming cut just above a leaf node (where two stems grow) to encourage new leaves
With enough water, heat and light your mint will grow very fast and you will have plenty of ingredients. If it’s growing to fast then it’s easy to freeze mint.
Hopefully our guide showing how to grow mint indoors has helped.