Nana mint and other types of mint

There are many different species of mint and many countries have their own special variety. For example, there is nana mint, ginger mint, pineapple mint and lemon mint, to name just a few. They cross easily and new varieties are constantly being created. Mint also grows very well here in Europe and you can easily grow it in your own garden or in pots at home. If you have a good harvest, you can dry it and use it in winter.

In England, even the meat is marinated with mint sauce. Very tasty – but for many people it takes some getting used to ?

Three different species of mint:

Peppermint

The peppermint is probably best known in our country. It is used for tea or as a filling in chocolate, sweets, chewing gum and ice cream. Peppermint syrup is also well known. Peppermint oil, on the other hand, is used in toothpaste.

Mojito mint

Surely you also know the summer drink Mojito. For this, a different kind of mint is used – the so-called Mojito mint. If you don’t find any, you can use peppermint or Moroccan mint. This is not quite classic, but still good.

Nana mint

Nana mint is mainly used in Morocco, Turkey and Iran. It is a variety of spearmint. In Morocco, this mint is used for cooking, in salads or tajines and of course for their national drink – green tea with mint.

Moroccan Tea

This tea is usually prepared with Gunpowder, a strong, rather bitter, green tea. Then a lot of sugar and the mint are added. In Morocco fresh mint is used, while here you can find the tea as a ready mixture. But in this case, the green tea is flavoured. For example, you can find such teas under the name “Le Touareg“.

Nana mint is less spicy than peppermint, or as my daughter says, it doesn’t make your mouth and throat cold.

When I visited a leather tannery in Morocco many years ago, each of the visitors got a twig of fresh mint to hold under our noses in order to not to smell the bad smell of the tannery. Well, mint is very versatile.

Personally, I like Nana mint better than peppermint. It is very good in bean salad or over fried potatoes and especially I like it mixed with dairy products. In sweet creams or in a mint yoghurt drink.

On hot summer days, this is a wonderful refreshment!

Here is the recipe

Mint yoghurt drink

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Total Time 5 minutes mins

Equipment

• Mixing bowl

Ingredients

  

• 250 g natural yoghurt
• 50 g sugar
• 1 small handful of fresh mint leaves dried go also
• 2 dl water depending on how liquid the yoghurt is
• Ice cubes to taste

Instructions

 

• Whisk everything together in a mixing bowl until the mint leaves are chopped and everything is nice and foamy.