Spearmint
Mentha spicata
The mojito/tabbouleh mint. Carvone-sweet rather than menthol-cold. Equally invasive. If a recipe says ‘mint’ in savory Levantine or Vietnamese cooking, it often means this, not peppermint.
GROW → HARVEST → EAT → DRY → POWDER → CAPSULE → GUMMY — forms are not equivalent. Food first.
Identity
What it is
The mojito/tabbouleh mint. Carvone-sweet rather than menthol-cold. Equally invasive. If a recipe says ‘mint’ in savory Levantine or Vietnamese cooking, it often means this, not peppermint.
Edible portions
- leaves
Absence of a portion from this list means it is not treated as food here — not that every other part is toxic.
Growing
- Climate. 4–9
- Light. Sun to part shade
- Soil. Moist
- Planting. Contain rhizomes.
- Harvest. Young leaves; older stems get woody.
Preparation and culinary uses
- Tabbouleh, spring rolls, mint chutney, mojitos
Nutrition and compounds
- Plant compounds. carvone. Presence is not a dose, a cure, or a reason to buy a capsule.
AAA interpretation Food first. These associations explain why a plant shows up in a nutrient conversation — they are not a supplement shopping list.
Next steps
Sources
- USDA PLANTS Database — taxonomy and range (verify current entries)
- USDA FoodData Central — nutrient profiles for foods (verify current entries; this page does not invent milligrams)
- State cooperative extension growing guides — verify for your region
Honest incompleteness is preferred to fabricated completeness. If a section is missing, no record for it is attached here — not a claim that the plant lacks that characteristic, and not that it was omitted as a secret.
Internal quality class A. Strong page: distinctive plant facts plus practical growing or kitchen use.