On food and cooking the science and lore of the kitchen ( PDFDrive ) 774

Thyme Thymusvulgaris
Both of the major culinary mints have a
refreshingquality,buttheyarequitedifferent.
Spearminthasadistinctivearomathankstoa
particular terpene, L-carvone, and a richness
andcomplexitythankstopyridines,nitrogencontainingcompoundsmoretypicalofroasted
foodsthanrawones.Spearmintiswidelyused
in the Eastern Mediterranean as well as in
India and SoutheastAsia, in large quantities,
bothfreshandcooked,andinbothsweetand
savory contexts. Simpler, clearer-tasting
peppermint contains little or no carvone or
pyridines; instead it makes a terpene called
menthol, which gives it a uniquely cooling
quality. In addition to having its own aroma,
menthol actually binds to receptors on
temperature-sensingnervecellsinthemouth,
andcausesthosecellstosignalthebrainthat
they are cooler than they really are by 7–
13ºF/4–7ºC. Menthol is a reactive chemical


that rapidly degenerates when heated, so
peppermint is usually not cooked. Its
concentration increases with the age of the
leaf, so older leaves taste more cooling; hot
and dry growing conditions cause menthol to
be transformed into a noncooling, somewhat
harshby-product(pulegone,thecharacteristic
volatileinpennyroyal).
Ahandfulofothermintsareworth

knowingabout.Watermint,oneoftheparents
ofpeppermintandsometimescalledbergamot
ororangemint,hasastrongaromaandused
tobemuchcultivatedinEurope,butnowis
morepopularinSoutheastAsia.Pennyroyal
(M.pulegium)isanespeciallypungent,
pepperyminormint,appleorpineapplemint
(M.suaveolens)asweet,apple-likeone,and
Menthaxpiperata“citrata”theperfumy
lemonoreaudecolognemint.Nepitellaisthe
ItaliannameforCalaminthanepeta,a
sometimesminty,sometimespungentherb
nativetothesouthernMediterranean,usedin