Flavor Agent A-Z,”M” for Mint

If I trace back in my life through my sense-memory, I recall certain sensory themes woven into the fabric of my past so deeply they almost define me. Much like a favorite food or a life-changing book, sensory signatures have the power to bring the past forward in vivid detail while illuminating the present. Two of my sensory favorites are here, Flavor Agents “M & N” Mint this week and Nutmeg, up next week.

Mint is treasured for its bright, sweet and spicy flavor and its beauty as a spry green sprig in beverages and on dessert plates the world over. Mint is the “parsley” of the dessert world, that rare “universal garnish” that pops up as a ubiquitous flavor and color boost.  Mint is also the “go-to” garnish for drinks, having found a huge audience over the last decade with the Mojito craze and the gourmet cocktail world of today. Mint is muddled, mixed, brewed and steeped in more ways than ever before. Here on the right is a minty beverage garnish idea from Persian-American Chef Hoss Zare of Zare at Fly Trap, one of the most warm and dynamic chefs in San Francisco, pictured with me above with Sous Chef Delio at Macy’s Battle of the Chefs. Try it, English cucumber sliced on a mandolin and mint sprigs ; double fresh! Add sparkling water, tea, lemonade or…

With over 600 varieties of this perennial, quite invasive plant available, try minting up more food. Spearmint and peppermint get top billing, but try Lemon Mint, Apple Mint, Pineapple Mint and my favorite from my yard, Chocolate Mint. As a relative of basil, you can start to use it as you would basil, just with a bit more restraint as it is potent. Here is a great use on pizza, Minted Fava Bean & Pea Pizza , substituting peas for favas until spring or this Jumbo Shrimp with Basil & Mint Pesto. I developed a similar recipe with my youth culinary group years ago. Another minty-thread, here is a picture my youth-given “code name” at cooking camp, “Minty Fresh”. (I so adore our teen counselors! Ben, Sophia!)  Inspired by Middle Eastern cuisines that use mint in sauces, liberally as an herb and of course paired with lamb, I created this Jeweled Mixed Grain Salad, SO prefect for fall and winter, flecked with dried cranberries and multi-hued grains and brightened with slivered mint.

Quick Tip: Like basil, it is best to slice mint rather than to chop it. This is a “chiffonade”, or ribbon cut done by stacking clean, dry leaves, rolling into a cylinder and slicing with a sharp knife. This method not only looks great but it preserves the color and flavor of the leaves.

For me, I find mint everywhere and use it often.  It is somehow steadfastly there for me, flavoring and scenting my world. I know where mint patches are, all around. Years ago, I took my first trip to the Marin French Cheese Company, a legendary cheese factory and gourmet destination. Sitting by the shimmering pond, cheese and wine in hand, I kept smelling mint, first a hint of mint and then a constant waft of lightly, teasingly scented air. The mystery was upon us as we looked all around for the source. Odd.

Like Dorothy in the poppy field, I suddenly realized it was all around. The entire ground was covered in a short, tiny-leaved ground cover varietal, Corsican Mint. The sun, the sky, the cheese and wine and that buoyant cloud of mint swirled into a time-stopping concoction, etching that scent memory into my life forever.

What are your “sensory signatures”?

Chef Zare's Anchovy Crusted Lamb Chop with Mint Puree

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