A question about a recipe: Summer Squash Gratin with Salsa Verde and Gruyere. What is the best variety of mint to grow for use in this dish?

Merrill is a co-founder of food52.

added almost 2 years ago

I've never had much of a green thumb, so your guess is likely better than mine. I usually use store-bought spearmint.

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hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.

added almost 2 years ago

I'd suggest smelling +/- tasting the crushed mint leaves of several varieties to see what you like best. I have a spearmint which is fairly sweet and mild, and an orange mint which is spicier with a slight citrus flavor. Beware, though, even in a terra cotta pot it can escape - I've had roots go out the bottom drainage hole as well as seeds that have sprouted away from the pot.

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hardlikearmour is a trusted home cook.

added almost 2 years ago

@ Merrill: mint doesn't require much of a green thumb. It's seriously a weed, albeit a delicious one!

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Barbara is a trusted source on General Cooking.

added almost 2 years ago

I like spearmint better than peppermint in most things, so that's what I would ask for. Keep it contained in a pot, or you'll never be able to control it in your garden. (One of those school of hard knocks lessons of gardening...)

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ChefJune added almost 2 years ago

I have spearmint in my front yard, and that's what I use for everything. No matter how hard you try to contain it, it WILL escape the pot! (Unless you hang that pot up on a hook)

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Spearmint for sure!

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There is a type called Kentucky Colonel that I find good with both drinks and food. And I have the only soil that mint doesn't like. I keep trying tho.....

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Cathy is the author of The Art of Eating In and blogs at Not Eating Out in New York.

added almost 2 years ago

It's all up to you! I have about six different mint varieties growing all summer long (best part, mint is perennial, so it'll bounce right back in the spring if you let it out all winter). There's tons to choose from, and the flavors vary greatly. "Spearmint" is the most common variety, the one you'll find when recipes just call for "mint." But I have a healthy chocolate mint (it smells like chocolate) and pineapple mint (ditto, for pineapple) plant too that makes an interesting twist on the expected, while still minty!

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Bevi added almost 2 years ago

I was given a chocolate mint plant that I use regularly. The leaves are curly, and makes delicious mint julips as well!

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