"Mint is not TOS" was a unix-like multitasking extension for TOS written by Eric Smith. Later Atari hired him and developed MultiTOS on top of MiNT.

Fun with Mint

Mint is a great herb, under-used in most Western cuisines. It is used extensively in Vietnamese and in Thai cooking. Here are just a few ways you can fiddle about with mint.

  • Flavour iced tea with sprigs of fresh mint, tarragon, and basil.
  • Toss steamed new potatoes, fresh peas, or sliced carrots with butter and chopped mint.
  • Try making pesto using equal amounts of mint and basil.
  • Marinate eggplant and zucchini in extra virgin olive oil, red-wine vinegar, and chopped fresh mint before grilling.
  • Add fresh mint to citrus or melon salsas.
  • Tie sprigs of mint in a bouquet garni, along with thyme, parsley, and rosemary, to flavor braised lamb.
  • You could also try Atay B'nahna: Moroccan Mint Tea

The feeling of mintiness - not technically a taste - is a result of mint's local anaesthetic action; it numbs your temperature sensors, giving you a cool feeling. It also numbs your taste buds, which is one of the main reasons it is used in almost all toothpastes (to stop them tasting rank) and also the reason why everything tastes weird when you've just eaten a mint.

In the days before proper anaesthetics were invented, mint was often used in this capacity. So were cloves (either whole or as clove oil); these have a somewhat similar, but more powerful numbing effect.

A popular culinary herb belonging to the Lamiaceae family. There are many varieties of mint, due to the plant's ability to hybridise easily, but all mints have a common flavour element, which is a menthol like, herby freshness.

Mint as a savoury cooking herb is most closely associated with lamb, but it also partners fish and some poultry dishes as well. Vegetable dishes, particularly potatoes and carrots also benefit from the addition of mint. Of course, mint is also delicious when used in desserts, where its fresh flavour really shines through.

There are dozens of mint varieties, of which 3 are of interest to the cook

Spearmint
Mentha spicata, M. crispa, M. viridis is perhaps the most widely available mint variety. It has a distinct mint aroma and different varieties have slightly differently shaped leaves. Common spearmint has long slender mid-green leaves, while a variety we in Australia call garden mint has slightly rounder, crinkled leaves, growing on a ground hugging plant.
Peppermint
M. piperita officinalis have oval shaped leaves and an intense peppery heat. There are two varieties of peppermint; black peppermint has dark foliage, with purple stems, while white peppermint has paler leaves and green stems. The forthright menthol/pepper flavour of peppermint means it has little use in the savoury dishes, but has found much favour in confections such as chocolates and chewing gum, as well as the soothing peppermint tea.
Applemint
M. rotundifolia has crinkled, variegated leaves that resemble garden mint, aside from a fine down that covers the leaves. Apart from a strong mint flavour, applemint, not surprisingly has a subtle appley flavour as well. This variety is also known as pineapplemint.

Other non-culinary varieties to look out for are eau-de-cologne mint, pennyroyal mint, cornmint, watermint, licorice mint, chocolate mint, basil mint and lemon mint.

The first recorded use of mint lies with the Greeks, which is not surprising as spearmint is native to the eastern Mediterranean. Minthe was a plaything of Hades, who inspired the jealous wrath of Persephone. Her punishment was to be turned into a lowly garden shrub, which is the mint we enjoy today.

Mint is a herb which must be enjoyed fresh, the dried version is but a pale imitation. The fresh herb should be relatively easy to obtain and it stores quite well. Simply chop off the lower part of the stems and immerse the whole bundle in a glass of water, place the glass in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Apart from simply cooked with lamb, Middle Eastern, Indian and Asian cuisines all appreciate the fresh vitality of mint. Many Vietnamese and Thai dishes use mint as a central ingredient, especially in salads, where it is combined with coriander and other herbs to provide a zesty counterpoint to the fiery dressings used in those countries.

Mint (?), n. [AS. minte, fr. L. mentha, Gr. , .] Bot.

The name of several aromatic labiate plants, mostly of the genus Mentha, yielding odoriferous essential oils by distillation. See Mentha.

<-- each of the following types can also be labeled as subtypes --> ⇒ Corn mint is Mentha arvensis. -- Horsemint is M. sylvestris, and in the United States Monarda punctata, which differs from the true mints in several respects. -- Mountain mint is any species of the related genus Pycnanthemum, common in North America. -- Peppermint is M. piperita. -- Spearmint is M. viridis. -- Water mint is M. aquatica.

Mint camphor. Chem. See Menthol. -- Mint julep. See Julep. -- Mint sauce, a sauce flavored with spearmint, for meats.

 

© Webster 1913.


Mint, n. [AS. mynet money, coin, fr. L. moneta the mint, coined money, fr. Moneta, a surname of Juno, in whose at Rome money was coined; akin to monere to warn, admonish, AS. manian, and to E. mind. See Mind, and cf. Money, Monition.]

1.

A place where money is coined by public authority.

2.

Hence: Any place regarded as a source of unlimited supply; the supply itself.

A mint of phrases in his brain. Shak.

 

© Webster 1913.


Mint, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Minted; p. pr. & vb. n. Minting.] [AS. mynetian.]

1.

To make by stamping, as money; to coin; to make and stamp into money.

2.

To invent; to forge; to fabricate; to fashion.

Titles... of such natures as may be easily minted. Bacon.

Minting mill, a coining press.

 

© Webster 1913.

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