From earliest antiquity, mint leaves have been used in medicine and for culinary purposes? The Greeks also regarded it as a sign of hospitality; Romans crowned themselves with mint leaves during feasts and are responsible for introducing the herb throughout Europe.
In sanitation sparse medieval times, mint was highly valued as an aromatic herb. Home were strewn with mint, and baths were scented with its refreshingly pungent fragrance.
Folklore about mint abounds. Mint was often used in magic brews and potions. In England, anyone finding a flowering mint plant on Midsummer’s Day would have eternal happiness. In France, it is said that a bouquet of Mint and St. Johns Wort gave protection against evil spirits.
Today, there is a plethora of clinical evidence that attests to mint’s many health benefits and the multitude of everyday mint-flavored products from toothpaste to chewing gum, speak overwhelmingly for its enormous popularity. Now various flavors of mints include peppermint, wintergreen, and spearmint, plus many other combinations with chocolate.
