If I’m going to add mint to a recipe while it’s cooking I have two choices. I believe the term mint is invasive. If you are looking for a milder minty flavor that won’t overwhelm your dish, spearmint is the better choice. Because of its pleasant, sweet and mild taste, the oil of this plant is widely used in many other medicinal compounds. Here's a chocolate that won't pack on the pounds. Spearmint has a slightly fruity scent, softer than peppermint. Menthol is the chemical ingredient that creates that recognizable and much-loved cooling effect on the mouth. Blossoms of the peppermint are lilac-pink and occur in stem-tip … (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Copyright © 2020, Difference Between | Descriptive Analysis and Comparisons, thanks cus i always thought they were all the same but now i know teh differances tank u. As part of aromatherapy, the scent is un… So they are very similar indeed. The appealing taste of peppermint helps to make food items like ice cream, tea, chewing gum, and dinner mints more desirable. (e in b)&&0=b[e].o&&a.height>=b[e].m)&&(b[e]={rw:a.width,rh:a.height,ow:a.naturalWidth,oh:a.naturalHeight})}return b}var C="";u("pagespeed.CriticalImages.getBeaconData",function(){return C});u("pagespeed.CriticalImages.Run",function(b,c,a,d,e,f){var r=new y(b,c,a,e,f);x=r;d&&w(function(){window.setTimeout(function(){A(r)},0)})});})();pagespeed.CriticalImages.Run('/mod_pagespeed_beacon','http://www.reluctantgourmet.com/peppermint-spearmint-differences/','82dtZm2p5Q',true,false,'sfSR5EvMl3g'); On the other hand, Peppermint is a hybrid mint; it is a cross between spearmint and watermint. Methanol is wood alcohol, and highly toxis. The best way to distinguish one from the other is to taste them both. It is a cross between spearmint and watermint and is indigenous to Europe, although now, it is cultivated widely all over the world. Spearmint contains about one percent menthol, which creates a delicate and subtly sweet flavor. Peppermint Brent Hofacker/Shutterstock. Mint leaves are green and appear in pairs opposite each other. It is a cross between spearmint and watermint species. … Your email address will not be published. Spearmint's blossoms, in dense cylinderlike spikes with separated whorls, look like spears. As we already covered, both spearmint and peppermint are members of the same family and thus have rather similar properties as it relates to appearance, cultivation, flavor, and use. Required fields are marked *. // Looking at peppermint and spearmint with your eyes and smelling them with your nose is not going to reveal which is which. It’s enough to use as a vegetable rather than just a flavoring. Peppermint has 40% menthol and spearmint has 0.5% menthol composition. The oil also adds a welcome hint of taste to several types of liqueur. It is popular for its green tea infusions that are know to relieve a wide range of aliments such as nausea, hiccups, flatulence, etc. Identification: What Do Spearmint and Peppermint Look Like? "),d=t;a[0]in d||!d.execScript||d.execScript("var "+a[0]);for(var e;a.length&&(e=a.shift());)a.length||void 0===c?d[e]?d=d[e]:d=d[e]={}:d[e]=c};function v(b){var c=b.length;if(0, March 12, 2019 by G. Stephen Jones 4 Comments. The first thing you may do is look at your herb plants to see how they look different. I think I'll buy some live plants and put them in the back yard. Spearmint and peppermint look a lot alike, and will be harder to tell apart without smelling/tasting them. But the two most popular and I’m guessing the two you are most likely going to find in your garden are peppermint and spearmint. And then there are some used for ground cover or how they look. Peppermint contains 40% menthol while spearmint contains less than 1% menthol. On the other hand, Peppermint is the mixture of water mint and spearmint and comes with many benefits, and the origin of this item becomes Europe … I found online that there are spearmint and peppermint varieties. Peppermint has a long and distinguished history in health aid, as it contains high amount of nutrients and vitamins. It has a mild and sweet flavor, which is really delicate in smell. This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions. The sweet flavor makes an excellent beverage for cold, cough and fever. Peppermint belongs to the genus Mentha. The hybrid herb has a smooth stem, fibrous roots, dark green leaves and purple-coloured flowers. Is it peppermint, spearmint or some other kind of mint? Many varieties of toothpaste also rely on it to help leave a pleasant taste in the mouth. Catnip vs. Mint. The plant flowers from mid to late summer and are purple in colour. To learn more about me... Read More…. Unlike spearmint, peppermint is actually a hybrid member of the mint family, having been produced by crossing spearmint and watermint, and thus bears the scientific name Mentha x piperita. Beyond that, varieties can vary near infinitely based on subtle changes in chemical composition. "It’s only in your head that the hint of chocolate is there," Belsinger says. Image Courtesy: renaissanceherbs.com.au, herbsinmedicine.com. I was given "mint" recently, plucked and in a plastic bag. On the ORAC scale, used to measure antioxidant power, peppermint measures 37,300 TE/100g versus spearmint’s 540. I'm enjoying a cup of spearmint tea right now and it's so good. To give you a frame of reference, clove has the highest antioxidant value of all known … Mint is a delightful herb that is widely used for its cooling, cooking and medicinal properties. 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Some of the more commonly grown mints for the garden include ginger mint, orange mint, basil mint, lavender mint, grapefruit mint and apple mint. Peppermint vs. Spearmint. Most of the time I use fresh mint as a garnish or I’ll add it to a dish at the end of cooking. Every year at about this time, my wife cuts all the mint back to the ground and every spring it grows back and then some. Uses Spearmint is often used as a mosquito repellent It sure is a hard choice to choose from! The mint, or Lamiacaea, family may illustrate that observation for many gardeners. This means peppermint is going to have a more intense “minty” flavor that spearmint. However, peppermint contains up to 40 percent menthol, which gives it a much stronger, more intense flavor. Do you know that the word “mint” is … Peppermint has a long and distinguished history in health aid, as it contains high amount of nutrients and vitamins. When compared side-by-side, spearmint leaves are slightly smaller than those of a peppermint. Both these toffees are completely different, yet their recipe calls for the same ingredient “Mint”. Peppermint is really a sub variety or a plant that is part of the larger mint genus of plants. Enough for all the mint juleps, mojitos or recipes you will ever consume. Wow, Cindy. How to tell the difference between spearmint and peppermint, heavily veined and not heavily veined mint? Now I don't even want the tea; just the mint water. It just keeps coming. The main difference between all such types gets explained in the following ways. It is also used in shampoos, soaps, and body washes, since the peppermint leaves a pleasant scent and a cool sensation to the skin. Because of the two mints, it has high menthol content, and is widely used in both medicinal and commercial purposes. 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