Content
Moroccan mint is a variety that has a milder aroma and taste than the more common peppermint. You can grow it at home, and the scope of application of mint leaves is very wide.
Description of Moroccan mint
Moroccan mint is a species of spearmint and is native to North Africa, Western Asia and southeastern Europe. The plant has a fairly compact size up to 60 cm in height. The stems of the plant are erect, the leaves are raised, wrinkled, with sharp jagged edges and pubescence on the surface. The leaves are dark green in color.
Use of Moroccan mint in cooking
It is Moroccan mint that is most often used for culinary purposes. It is more popular than pepper because its taste is milder and not as hot.
What is the scent of Moroccan mint?
Connoisseurs of the plant especially note its extraordinary aroma. The grass emits a refreshing, cold and at the same time sweetish smell.
Where can you add Moroccan mint?
Moroccan mint is mainly used in making drinks. It is added to cold fruit and alcoholic cocktails, hot teas and other drinks; mint leaves are widely used when preparing mojitos.
Moroccan mint can also be used to decorate vegetable or fruit salads and add an unusual flavor and aroma to hot meat dishes. The plant is used to create desserts. Mint combined with sweet ingredients allows you to create especially original flavor combinations.
Medicinal properties of Moroccan mint
The plant is valued not only for its pleasant aroma and taste, but also for its beneficial health properties. The plant contains vitamins and organic acids, essential oils and menthol, mineral components and antioxidants. Due to this, Moroccan mint:
- has anti-inflammatory properties;
- accelerates blood circulation and improves brain function;
- stimulates the functioning of the intestines and metabolic system;
- has a mild analgesic effect;
- helps you relax and calm down;
- normalizes sleep;
- relieves muscle spasms.
Mint is of great benefit for depression; it helps improve mood and increase tone.
Use in folk medicine
The benefits and harms of Moroccan mint are widely used in home medicine recipes.It is used to treat:
- colds and cough;
- stomach and intestinal disorders;
- sleep disorders, depression and anxiety;
- failures in the metabolic system;
- joint and headaches.
Moroccan mint helps with hypertension and chronic migraines.
Recipes for infusions, decoctions, tinctures of Moroccan mint
There are several basic ways to process and prepare mint leaves. Some of them suggest using alcohol, others allow you to prepare aqueous solutions.
Moroccan mint decoctions
A classic decoction of Moroccan mint is prepared as follows:
- 2 large spoons of fresh or dried leaves, crushed;
- pour a glass of cool, clean water;
- heat in a water bath under a lid;
- As soon as the mint begins to boil, remove it and cool.
You can also prepare a decoction with mint and additional ingredients. To do this you need:
- take 2 large spoons of mint leaves;
- add half a cinnamon stick and a slice of fresh lemon to them;
- put a couple of buds of dried cloves;
- Pour the ingredients with water and steam until almost boiling, but turn off until bubbles appear.
Both versions of the decoction are well suited for the treatment of colds and intestinal ailments. You need to drink mint warm on a full stomach; it is recommended to drink no more than 2 cups per day.
Moroccan mint infusions
The recipe for a classic mint infusion looks like this:
- mint in the amount of 2 large spoons is poured into a small container;
- pour a glass of boiling water over the raw materials;
- cover with a lid and wrap with thick cloth;
- wait until the infusion has cooled completely, and then filter and drink.
Another infusion option suggests combining mint with other medicinal herbs.For example, you can prepare the following collection:
- mint, chamomile and thyme are mixed in equal quantities;
- 2 large spoons of medicinal herbs are poured with water at about 80 ° C;
- Cover the container with a lid and leave the product until it cools completely.
The finished infusion is filtered and added to tea or slightly diluted with clean water. Infusions of Moroccan mint help with poor digestion, calm the nerves and eliminate insomnia.
Alcoholic mint tinctures
Alcohol-based mint has strong healing properties; the beneficial substances in the plant dissolve especially well in the alcohol base. The simplest recipe for making tincture suggests:
- chop 100 g of fresh mint leaves;
- pour 500 ml of vodka or alcohol into the raw material;
- Leave the product in a dark place for 3 weeks.
The vessel is shaken daily, and after the expiration date, the tincture is filtered and stored in the refrigerator.
Another recipe suggests using sugar to make the tincture. In this case, the drink will turn out not only healthy, but also pleasant to the taste. They do it like this:
- 50 g of fresh mint, chopped;
- pour 500 ml of vodka into the raw material;
- infuse the product for 45 days in a dark place;
- Upon reaching full readiness, strain the tincture and add 50-100 g of sugar to it to taste.
After this, the tincture should be put in a dark place for another week, and then filtered.
A tincture of Moroccan mint brings an excellent effect for migraines and joint pain - the product is rubbed on the limbs or temples.A diluted tincture can be used to rinse your mouth and throat for inflammation and colds, and for intestinal ailments, you can add 15 drops of the product to a glass of water and drink on an empty stomach to relieve pain and normalize digestion.
Restrictions and contraindications
Despite the benefits of Moroccan mint, not everyone is allowed to consume it. The plant must be discarded:
- for hypotension and varicose veins;
- if you are allergic to menthol or any substances in mint;
- during pregnancy and during breastfeeding;
- with low stomach acidity.
Taking mint infusions and decoctions is not recommended for decreased libido in men, since the herb can aggravate the situation. Moroccan mint should not be given to children under 7 years of age.
Growing Moroccan mint from seeds
You can grow Moroccan mint in your own garden. An interesting feature of the plant is that southern mint tolerates the conditions of the middle zone well and easily survives cold winters. Mint is grown from seeds, and you can buy them at a gardening market or in a specialty store.
Recommended sowing dates
You can plant mint indoors as early as the end of February. Young shoots are planted in the ground in early May after warm temperatures have established. The soil must warm up to at least 10 °C.
Site selection and soil preparation
Moroccan mint seeds are usually sown in small plastic containers with a lid in which holes are made for air access. This helps to create a mini-greenhouse for the seeds and maintain the necessary temperature conditions. The soil for mint should be sandy, well ventilated and moist, with a high calcium content.The seeds are placed in grooves 5 mm deep, and then sprinkled with soil and placed on a lighted, warm windowsill.
When transplanting mint sprouts into open ground, you must choose a sunny or half-shaded place on the site. A week before planting, the ground is weeded and weeds are removed, and then a mixture of humus and compost with the addition of wood ash is added to the soil in the selected area. The day before planting, the soil can be spilled with manganese solution to disinfect the soil.
How to plant correctly
Before planting, young mint sprouts are carefully removed from the containers and the roots are dipped into a stimulating solution for half an hour.
In the selected area, small holes are dug 5 cm deep, the distance between individual holes is left at least 15 cm. The sprouts are lowered into the holes and the roots are carefully straightened, and then they are covered with soil and watered abundantly. Moroccan mint usually takes 15-20 days to take root, after which new young leaves are formed.
Features of growing Moroccan mint
Moroccan mint is a moisture-loving plant; when growing it, you need to ensure that the soil always remains slightly moist. The beds with mint are usually irrigated once in spring and autumn, and during the summer heat, watering is increased up to 3 times a week. The ground under the mint bushes should be mulched with sawdust or peat, this will prevent the rapid evaporation of water.
From time to time, the soil in which a useful plant grows must be weeded and loosened.The procedures allow you to remove weeds that take away beneficial substances from mint and improve the air permeability of the soil. You need to loosen the soil carefully and shallowly so as not to damage the roots of the plant.
Pests and diseases
In the garden, Moroccan mint most often suffers from rust and powdery mildew - this causes orange and brown spots or a whitish coating to appear on the leaves. Diseases most often develop due to a lack of space between individual bushes or due to non-compliance with watering rules. Mint can also suffer from pests such as aphids, weevils and whiteflies.
Treatment of Moroccan mint is carried out with standard insecticidal and fungicidal mixtures - Bordeaux mixture, Aktara, Topaz. All affected parts of the plant are cut off and burned.
When and how to collect Moroccan mint for medicinal purposes
It is recommended to collect fresh mint leaves in the spring, before the fragrant plant begins to bloom. At the end of May or at the beginning of June, mint already has time to accumulate a maximum of useful substances and essential compounds in its leaves. The greatest benefit comes from mint leaves in the first year of growth.
To collect leaves, it is recommended to choose a cloudy day without bright sunlight. The leaves are carefully cut with a knife, and then washed in cold water and dried on a paper towel.
How to properly dry Moroccan mint
For long-term storage, mint leaves are usually dried.This is easy to do - they need to be spread out in the shade on a flat surface in a thin layer, and then left for several days in the fresh air. The readiness of the leaves is determined by touch: if the mint begins to crumble in your fingers, it means that all the moisture has evaporated from it.
Dried leaves are ground into powder or broken into small pieces. Mint should be stored in a wooden or glass container in a dry place, away from sunlight, and it retains its beneficial properties for about 2 years.
Conclusion
Moroccan mint is a healthy plant with a very pleasant taste and aroma. You can grow mint on your own plot, and its leaves are used both to treat ailments and to prepare drinks or culinary dishes.
