Spearmint and peppermint are used for many of the same purposes, but they aren’t the same plant. The herb’s most well-known use is in Wrigley’s Extra Spearmint Gum (you know the one! Shutterstock. Allrecipes is part of the Meredith Food Group. Peppermint extract, on the contrary, is made by diluting peppermint oil in alcohol or by soaking peppermint leaves and stems in … Gardeners can choose from more than 600 varieties of mint, which is relatively easy to grow and care for. When on the extract aisle of the grocery store, there's a difference as well. It is a cross between watermint and spearmint, and is arguable the most commonly used mint. Find out how to grow the 10 best herbs for a home garden. Peppermint, on the other hand, is a little bit stronger than spearmint in terms of flavor, which is likely due to its higher menthol content. Many people talk about them interchangeably, but spearmint and peppermint are actually two distinct plants (via Reluctant Gourmet). On the other hand, Peppermint is a hybrid mint; it is a cross between spearmint and watermint. Peppermint. However, there’s a pretty significant discrepancy between their levels of menthol, which helps explain the flavor differences between the two types. Wintergreen is an oil that is created from a variety of mint oils. Peppermint is a (usually) sterile hybrid mint, a cross between watermint and spearmintIt is occasionally found wild with its parent species in central and southern Europe, but the first intentional crossbreed of watermint and spearmint was done in England. A midwestern transplant originally from the San Francisco Bay Area, she enjoys hiking, trivia-ing, and—you guessed it!—all things cooking and baking. Tamari Dundua/EyeEm/Getty Images. However, there’s a pretty significant discrepancy between their levels of menthol, which helps explain the flavor differences between the two types. These have subtle differences in taste, but still share many of the same health benefits. Compared to peppermint, spearmint has a delicate, almost sweet flavor that comes from the chemical ingredient carvone, which is much subtler than menthol (0.5 percent). Indigenous to Europe and the Middle East, the plant is now widely spread and cultivated in many regions of the world. Mint is a common household name and is a well-loved flavour of both young and the old. Mint leaves are green and appear in pairs opposite each other. Add comma separated list of ingredients to include in recipe. Known for its bright flavor and fresh scent, fresh and dried mint leaves are found in cuisines all over the world. When you ask for "Mint Tea" at most restaurants or cafes, you usually are served peppermint tea (dried tea bag) in a pot. Mint essential oil, meanwhile, is widely used for flavoring breath fresheners, baked goods, and candies. While both plants are in the mentha genus, they are of different species. Whether it’s blended into a tzatziki sauce drizzled over a rack of lamb, carefully folded into a pork- and veggie-packed spring roll or muddled into a refreshing mojito, spearmint is sure to let the dish’s other flavors shine alongside it, which is why it’s a favorite ingredient of many chefs around the world. Like peppermint, it is used for its leaves and the oil derived from its leaves. Spearmint contains only a tiny fraction the amount of menthol as peppermint, which is the biggest source of change in flavor. Despite the fact that most recipes and even grocery stores refer to mint as if it’s a single herb, there are over 15 types of mint, including spearmint, peppermint, orange mint, and apple mint. Mint is the general name for an herb popularly known for its menthol cooling properties. The Real Difference Between Spearmint And Peppermint. What do your readers think?Any and all … (Its name is starting to seem a bit more fitting, huh?) Because peppermint is a mix of two types of mint, it contains a higher content of menthol (40% as opposed to spearmint’s 0.5%). The main difference between peppermint and mint extracts is the plant from which they are derived. On the other hand, spearmint is the generic kind of mint current in certain chilly areas. Taste of Home is America's #1 cooking magazine. Because it contains 40 percent menthol, peppermint packs a pretty extreme cooling punch. Two of the 13-18 types of mint are peppermint and spearmint. Peppermint has a high menthol content (40 percent compared to the one percent in spearmint) and can taste almost spicy. Spearmint - comes from the spearmint plant. Peppermint's flavour is similar to spearmint, but due to higher concentration of menthol, flavour of peppermint … Spearmint contains about one percent menthol, which creates a delicate and subtly sweet flavor. Species. Peppermint will get outlined as a result of the mixture of water mint and spearmint. Jenny Dettrick/Getty Images, Credit: Because of the low menthol, spearmint also has a much weaker cooling effect. Peppermint and spearmint are the most popular. In summer, both mints produce upright spikes of tiny tubular flowers. Peppermint has been used medicinally for centuries for its potential calming effects, often in the form of tea. As nouns the difference between peppermint and wintergreen is that peppermint is a hybrid herb of the mint family formed by crossing watermint and spearmint, which has a high menthol content and a sharp flavor and is used in cooking, especially in herb teas and in confections while wintergreen is (obsolete) any evergreen plant. To put it simply, peppermint belongs to the Mentha genus and the Piperita species.It's a cross between spearmint and water mint.Peppermint, which is a cooling ingredient, can actually change the temperature of the mouth and skin upon touch. Peppermint items are usually red and white and Spearmint items are usually green or blue. Peppermint is created by the blend of water-mint and spearmint leaves. Spearmint - comes from the spearmint plant. Here’s how to tell the difference: Peppermint belongs to the Piperita species and is a hybrid between watermint and spearmint. Spearmint’s uses are primarily restricted to the culinary and commercial realms (think shaving creams and toothpaste). Source. This chemical slightly numbs nerve endings and makes the brain think it is cooling the mouth when you eat it. Peppermint has 40% menthol and spearmint has 0.5% menthol composition. The most striking difference is the amount of menthol – an organic compound found in all Menthas responsible for the bulk of mint’s sweet, sometimes spicy, flavor It’s native to parts of Europe and Asia. Peppermint is created by the blend of water-mint and spearmint leaves. common mint, garden mint, and lamb mint) is part of the Spicata species and it occurs naturally, which means it’s not a hybrid. Spearmint – savory dishes Peppermint – sweet dishes; All mints taste somewhat similar, yet there is one big difference. Because peppermint is a mix of two types of mint, it contains a higher content of menthol (40% as opposed to spearmint’s 0.5%). Cyndi Monaghan/Getty Images, Credit: Peppermint extract is made from pure peppermint oil, while mint extract is derived from any number of, or combination of, culinary mint plants. Wintergreen is not actually a member of the mint family, instead being from the family gaultheria. Compared to peppermint, spearmint has a delicate flavor and fragrance that is often described as sweet. Catnip is actually a mint plant. When it comes to colors, that is artifically added by the manufacturer of the gum, cany, mint or whatever. The hybrid herb has a smooth stem, fibrous roots, dark green leaves and purple-coloured flowers. It is also used in curing sore throats and runny noses. From what I understand, medicinally, Peppermint is more astringent than Spearmint. It's frequently peppermint. Aromatically, most peppermints are sharper, a bit more ‘in your face’ while spearmint oils tend to be a bit sweeter. Nov 20, 2013 - What is the difference between spearmint and peppermint? Peppermint is scientifically known as Mentha piperita, while spearmint is scientifically known as Mentha spicata. Both of the above are perennial herbs. But they call for just that: mint—they don’t specify which kind. When you ask for "Mint Tea" at most restaurants or cafes, you usually are served peppermint tea (dried tea bag) in a pot. Spearmint has a sweet and somewhat mild flavor while peppermint has a much stronger, more prominent flavor that can overwhelm other flavors in recipes. A herbaceous However,rhizomatous perennial plant growing to around 30–90 cm, peppermint features smooth slightly fuzzy stems, fleshy, and bare fibrous roots and broad, dark green leaves with reddish veins. Because of the two mints, it has high menthol content, and is widely used in both medicinal and commercial purposes. Menthol is the chemical ingredient that creates that recognizable and much-loved cooling effect on the mouth. It is a cross between spearmint and watermint and is indigenous to Europe, although now, it is cultivated widely all over the world. So Wikipedia informs me that peppermint (the plant) is actually a cross between water mint and spearmint, and that it is spearmint that occurs naturally in Europe and Asia. Peppermint - comes from the peppermint plant. Let’s break this down: Mint is a type of aromatic herb that comes from a genus of plants known as Mentha in the family Lamiaceae. 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