Mint sauce
Close-up of parsley mint sauce on Spanish spice rubbed chicken

Mint sauce is a green sauce originating in the United Kingdom,[1][2] made from finely chopped spearmint (Mentha spicata) leaves soaked in vinegar, and a small amount of sugar.[3][4][5][6][7] Lime juice is sometimes added. The sauce based on mint and vinegar has a rather thin consistency and is flecked with chopped leaves of the herb. In British and Irish cuisine it is often served as a condiment for roast lamb or, in some areas, mushy peas.

It is often purchased ready-made, being easy to find in British food shops. A popular alternative is Mint jelly, which is of a thicker consistency and sweeter than mint sauce.

Similar herb-based green sauces were common throughout Medieval Europe, with the use of mint being more common in French and Italian cuisine of the period than that of the English;[8] however, they became less common and mostly died out as Europe entered the Modern Era.[9][10]

Variations

Mint chutney is a mint based sauce which is served with Indian snacks and breakfast items like Idly, Dhokla, etc. It is made with ground fresh mint leaves with a variety of ingredients like cilantro, green chili, lemon juice (in the northern parts of India) or tamarind (in southern India), salt, fried bengal gram and optionally curd.

In Tunisia a similar sauce is made out of dried mint and can be served with a méchoui, a mulukhiyah or as a base for a vinaigrette. Dried and fresh mint are also part of several dishes of Tunisian cuisine.

Mint sauces may include fruits in their preparation, such as raspberries.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lawrence, Brian M. (2007). Mint : the genus Mentha. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. ISBN 0-8493-0779-1. OCLC 448621041.
  2. ↑ Filippone, Peggy Trowbridge (2008-04-28). "Ditch That Pre-Made Mint Jelly for This Fresh Herb Sauce". The Spruce Eats. Retrieved 2022-06-16.
  3. ↑ "Mint - Cultivation and Uses". Retrieved 2 April 2014. Spearmint: flavor stronger and less sweet than peppermint. The curly variety is very ornamental. Used to make traditional mint sauce for lamb.
  4. ↑ "BBC Mint recipes". There are many different species of mint, but the one used most widely in Western cooking is spearmint, native to the Mediterranean and widely cultivated in the UK. It can be ground into mint sauce or jelly - the ultimate accompaniment to roast lamb. Peppermint has dark green leaves and is used to flavour ice cream, sweets and confectionary.
  5. ↑ "Mentha spicata 'English Lamb'". Mentha spicata 'English Lamb' is a particularly good cultivar, with sweet-tasting leaves with a strong mint fragrance. Its perfect for using in soups, salads and drinks, and of course traditional mint sauces, used to accompany roast lamb dishes.
  6. ↑ "History of Mint – Folklore & Medicine". "The mint sauces and jellies that usually accompany lamb dishes are made of the milder-flavored spearmint.
  7. ↑ "Mint, Spearmint aka Garden Mint (Mentha spicata)". "Mint, Spearmint aka Garden Mint – Mentha spicata is also known as Garden Mint or Green Mint ... This is the classic culinary mint for mint sauce and new potatoes.
  8. ↑ The Medieval Kitchen: Recipes from France and Italy by Odile Redon, Françoise Sabban, Silvano Serventi, translated by Edward Schneider, University of Chicago Press, 2000, ISBN 0-226-70685-0, ISBN 978-0-226-70685-6, page 107
  9. ↑ Medieval Food Archived 2009-08-15 at the Wayback Machine
  10. ↑ Cooking in Europe, 1250-1650 by Ken Albala, Greenwood Publishing Group, 2006 ISBN 0-313-33096-4, ISBN 978-0-313-33096-4, page 15
  11. ↑ Rosso, Julee (1985). The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook. Workman Publishing. p. 185. ISBN 0894808311. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
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