The mint you eat is not real mint?

Review expert: Shen Tingting, Ph.D. in Botany

As a drink lover, I am particularly keen on tinkering with various special drinks. For example, the popular song "Mojito" some time ago made many people know this special cocktail from Cuba.

Mojito Source: Baidu Encyclopedia

In order to replicate this cup of mojito, the editor made sufficient preparations, and made an unexpected discovery during the process. It turns out that the "mint" we buy in daily life is not real mint!

What is going on? I will tell you right away.

Mint and "Mint"

Mint, belonging to the genus Menthae of the Lamiaceae family, is a kind of herb with an aromatic smell. It is also a widely used Chinese medicinal material. It can be used as both medicine and food. The earliest record of it can be found in "Tang Materia Medica".

In modern life, mint is used in a wide range of scenarios. It can be used as a spice in toothpaste, chewing gum, and candy. It can also be used in medicines with anti-inflammatory, analgesic, wind-relieving and antipruritic effects. It can be said that it has a wide range of uses.

Mint (Mentha canadensis) Source: Wikipedia

There are about 18 species and 13 natural hybrids of the genus Mentha in the world. Although the "mint" family is not large, they all look similar. In addition, species easily hybridize with each other, so it is difficult to distinguish them clearly if you are not a professional grower. When we mention "mint", we often refer to peppermint (Mentha canadensis). However, this "mint" is not the same as that "mint". The "mint" we eat in daily life is actually another plant called spearmint .

Spearmint (Mentha spicata) is also a perennial herb of the Lamiaceae family and the genus Mentha. It has many nicknames, such as coriander, green mint, green mint, fish parsley, etc. At present, domestic spearmint is basically introduced from Europe and is cultivated in Yunnan, Guizhou and other places.

Source of the inflorescence of spearmint丨Wikipedia

The difference between spearmint and mint is quite obvious because their inflorescences are very different. The cymes of spearmint are terminal, that is, the flowers bloom at the top of the plant, while the cymes of mint are axillary and completely covered by leaves.

In addition, one very special thing about spearmint is that its upper stems and leaves have almost no petioles. This makes it easy to distinguish from other types of mint, and ordinary people can also distinguish them well when picking them.

Why does spearmint act as mint?

When we talk about the mint flavor, what we recall is not only the refreshing mint aroma, but also the unique cool feeling, which is mainly produced by menthol and menthone.

The chemical components of peppermint's volatile oil mainly contain a large amount of menthol and menthone, which have a strong, cool and stimulating taste. The chemical components of spearmint's volatile oil mainly include carvone and limonene, which give spearmint a sweet and soft "mint" aroma. Therefore, although spearmint can produce a "mint" aroma, it cannot provide an "authentic" mint flavor.

Mint candy source: pixabay

Spearmint was originally used as a breath freshener. Because of its fresh and aromatic smell, it was later widely used in the production of toothpaste and chewing gum. In order to make the "mint flavor" more realistic, spearmint extract and mint extract are added to toothpaste and chewing gum at the same time, making them both fragrant and refreshing.

Mint ice cream source: pixabay

Due to the different content of ingredients, spearmint tastes fresher and milder, while mint tastes spicier and more stimulating. Therefore, spearmint is also regarded as a mild type of "mint" and is often used in various ice creams and cold drinks, and can be accepted by more people.

Where does mint's cooling sensation come from?

For many mint lovers, they like mint not only because of its unique mint aroma, but also because of the cool stimulation on the tip of the tongue.

The cool feeling of mint comes from the large amount of menthol contained in mint. Menthol, also known as menthol, appears as colorless needle-shaped or columnar crystals. The common wind oil and floral water in our daily life contain a lot of menthol.

Ball-and-stick model of menthol molecule Source: Wikipedia

So how does menthol make people feel cool?

Our body senses warmth and coldness through the temperature sensing system of the skin , which is divided into heat receptors and cold receptors according to their response characteristics to dynamic stimuli. Menthol makes people feel cool, not because it has the ability to lower the temperature, but because it can activate the receptor proteins on the nerve endings in the skin and mouth that sense coldness, causing them to send signals to the brain, thus giving the body a cool feeling.

So, in hot weather, we can enjoy the cool air conditioning while drinking mint-flavored ice drinks, which can instantly double the coolness.

Source: pixabay

At this point, do you know more about "mint"? Whether it is mint or spearmint, you can choose to use it according to your preference. The mint family is very tenacious and grows fast. If you have a friend who likes to plant, you can also try to plant a pot at home. Not only can it be eaten, but it can also add a hint of fragrance to the home, which is also a good thing~