Looking for an alternative to fresh mint? You’re in the right place! Keep reading for my favourite simple Mint substitutes.
What is Mint?
Mint is a leafy green herb used extensively in middle eastern and Vietnamese cooking. There are many varieties including pepper mint, spear mint and chocolate mint. The aroma is incredibly fresh and fragrant and dare I say it, minty.
Generally only the leaves are used in cooking either fresh or dried. The flavour of dried mint is significantly more intense than fresh.
Parsley is much more subdued in flavour compared with mint. Which means it won’t clash with any of the other flavours in your dish. It does add some lovely freshness and the visual greenery of mint so if it’s the only herb you have it will be better than nothing.
2. Coriander (Cilantro)
Will work in a similar way but just takes the flavours in a different direction. Coriander packs a big flavour punch so you won’t feel like you’re missing anything. Your dish will end up with more of an Asian or Mexican vibe but that can be a good thing.
3. Basil
While mint has a completely different flavour to basil, I can’t think of a place where the aromatic freshness of basil wouldn’t work exceptionally well as an alternative.
4. Dried Mint
Dried mint leaves are significantly more intense in flavour than fresh so use sparingly. Dried mint won’t work where mint is being used as a salad leaf like in tabbouleh or other salads.
5. Peppermint Tea Leaves
Peppermint tea is just dried peppermint leaves and as with dried mint they are are significantly more intense in flavour than fresh so use sparingly. Again the dried leaves won’t work where mint is being used as a salad leaf like in tabbouleh.
How to Prepare Mint
Wash, dry then pick the leaves away from the stems and discard the stems. The leaves can then be either used whole, torn or finely chopped. I generally use them whole so you get big bursts of minty goodness.
How to Store Mint
I keep mine wrapped in paper towel and then in plastic bag in the fridge. Will generally keep for 3-5 days, depending on how fresh it was when you bought it.
The other option is to make a mint oil by pureeing the leaves with enough olive oil to make a paste using a stick blender or your food processor. Keep in an airtight jar in the fridge for weeks.
You can also freeze Mint – it will be completely wilted when defrosted but will still add amazing flavour and fragrance.
No mint leaves? Try substituting basil, rosemary, cilantro, or jalapeno. You could also use a mint-flavored liqueur, mint bitters, or even a peppermint tea bag. Avoid mint extract or essential oil – they are both too concentrated and strong.
If you can't find peppermint extract, there are a few substitutions that work just as well. For 1 teaspoon peppermint extract, substitute: 1/4 teaspoon peppermint oil (make sure it is edible) 1 tablespoon peppermint schnapps.
Pennyroyal looks very similar to peppermint. However, caution is advised as the pennyroyal is poisonous. While the stamens of peppermint are as long as the petals, the stamens of pennyroyal extend well beyond the tubularly fused petals.
Empower. If you're looking for a free online budgeting tool now that Mint has shut its virtual doors, Empower may be worth considering. Formerly known as Personal Capital, Empower offers free budgeting services along with a spending tracker. The app also has investment management tools, but those services cost extra.
In less than two weeks, the budgeting app Mint — which once had 3.6 million active users, including me — will shut down forever. According to its parent company, Intuit, Mint wasn't making enough money, so Intuit began the app's closure in January.
1. Empower (aka Personal Capital) Empower, formerly known as Personal Capital, has been around for over a decade and is the most similar Mint. It has a web app as well as cell phone app that helps users track their spending, investments, and retirement savings all in a nice little dashboard.
The go-to for co*cktails, spearmint adds a light, bright sweetness to spirits, balancing and enhancing their flavours. Mojito Mint and Kentucky Colonel are noteworthy cultivars with specific co*cktail applications.
Fresh spearmint is used more frequently in cooking, because it does not contain menthol, the oil that produces that distinctive “cooling” sensation (peppermint contains menthol in abundance). In general, look for fresh mint with perky leaves and stems, with no black or dried spots or wilted parts.
Use spearmint for all of our recipes that call for mint as a fresh herb. If you see the word “peppermint” in a test-kitchen recipe, it refers to either peppermint extract or candies for baking—and not the fresh herb.
Taking peppermint extract by mouth and inhaling peppermint oil seems to reduce nausea and vomiting after cancer drug treatment. Indigestion (dyspepsia). Taking peppermint together with caraway by mouth seems to improve symptoms of indigestion.
Monarch is better than Mint ever was. Mint consistently had trouble importing data from several of my accounts, so I'd need to reconnect them every month or two. Those same accounts stay linked up in Monarch.
Basil substitutes can include its mint cousins: Greek oregano, mint, and thyme. Tarragon and savory are also suitable alternatives to basil. Because basil is included in Italian seasoning, that is also a good alternative for basil when called for in an Italian-style recipe.
Introduction: My name is Jonah Leffler, I am a determined, faithful, outstanding, inexpensive, cheerful, determined, smiling person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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