How to Eat Mint? A Detailed Guide to Growing It in Pots at Home

Mint is an aromatic crop with economic value and one of the herbs people commonly use in summer. It can be used medicinally, taken internally, applied externally, and eaten as food. So how do you eat mint? Can you grow it in pots at home? How do you grow it?

1. How to eat mint?

1. Brewing tea: Mint leaves can be eaten raw directly, or you can choose to brew them as tea or steep them in alcohol, using them as a seasoning and spice. In summer you can eat a suitable amount more of it, and it can clear heat and detoxify.

2. Mint congee: Take fresh mint and add water at a 2:1 ratio, then simmer over medium heat, let it cool, and scoop out the residue. Then wait until the japonica rice is nearly cooked into congee, add the mint liquid and bring to a boil, and you can add an appropriate amount of rock sugar.

3. Mint cake: Add a little white sugar, osmanthus and mint leaves to cooked mung beans to make a filling, then steam glutinous rice until cooked, spread it flat, and wrap the filling inside. Press it flat on a cutting board and cut it into slices.

2. How to grow mint?

1. Buy mint plant seedlings, which you can purchase at a flower shop. There are many varieties of mint, such as sweet mint, chocolate mint, mint, lemon mint, apple mint, mint.

2. Prepare loose, breathable soil. You can mix garden soil with coconut coir yourself; this kind of soil is quite suitable for mint growth.

3. Put the stems in a cup with water, then place it on a balcony so it can get sunlight. After about one week the stems will sprout and take root, and at that point you can plant the stems into a flower pot.

4. Do not apply fertilizer before the mint grows new shoots. When you have just planted it into the soil, press the soil firm and water it thoroughly, place it in a spot with diffused light to recover for 2 or 3 days, and then carry out normal care.

5. Mint has a strong ability to adapt to temperature. Its rhizomes persist through the winter and can withstand low temperatures of -15°C. Its most suitable growing temperature is 25°C-30°C. When the temperature is below 15°C it grows slowly, and when it is above 20°C growth speeds up. At 20°C-30°C, as long as water and fertilizer are suitable, the higher the temperature, the faster it grows.

3. The effects of mint

Mint is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine. The young tender stem tips can be eaten as a vegetable, and the whole plant can also be used as medicine to treat colds, fever, sore throat, headache, itchy skin wind rash, and incomplete eruption of measles and other conditions. In addition, it is also effective for carbuncles, deep-rooted carbuncles, scabies, ringworm, and lacquer sores.

Mint contains menthol, which can freshen the breath and has many medicinal properties. It can relieve abdominal pain and gallbladder problems such as spasms, and also has effects such as antiseptic and sterilizing, diuretic, phlegm-reducing, stomach-strengthening and digestion-promoting. Eating a large amount of mint can cause insomnia, but eating it in small doses helps with sleep.