Freshly minted | A herb with history + mojito recipe

There are a few plants that find their way into every home and garden. This either signals their popularity or their tenacity. In the case of the mint plant, it’s both. Whether it’s in a windowsill pot or a thriving garden patch, its appealing scent and taste makes it an ever-present herb in our homes.

“As for the garden of mint, the very smell of it alone recovers and refreshes our spirits, as the taste stirs up our appetite.”
— Pliny the Elder

Pliny, a Roman author and naturalist who wrote extensively on plants and their uses nearly 2,000 years ago, recorded that the Greeks and Romans made great use of mint, adding it to bathwater and perfumes, sauces and drinks. The Romans stewed mint during banquets as a scented adornment for their tables and a warm welcome to their guests, and even crowned themselves with garlands of mint. So it’s no surprise that they brought this highly valued plant with them as they marched through Europe and into Britain.

While civilisation has continued to change (almost beyond recognition) since the time of the Roman conquest, our use of mint hardly has. When all the world around us is in great flux, we can trust Mother Nature to ground us in her constant and dependable presence. And while the setting might have shifted from banquet tables to the backyard, mint still finds its way into daily life, often in the most unexpected ways.

That mint that the Romans were using to stew and make drinks is the same mint our kids intuitively stew up in their own garden potions and concoctions – the delicacy often known as ‘garden soup,’ prepared by curious little hands that have been busily slicing leaves, flowers and who knows what other ‘ingredients’. And while mint might have the kids playing cafe in the mud kitchen, the adults might be planning a different sort of menu, featuring a round of ice-cold mojitos. Lucky for us, among mint’s 600 varieties, there’s a particular variety for that.