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Gardening Answers Knowledgebase

Search Results for ' Cooking'

PAL Questions: 1 - Garden Tools: 2

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Keywords: Ocimum, Mentha, Cooking

PAL Question:

I'm writing an article for a travel magazine about locally grown culinary herbs which are used by chefs in our area. I found a reference to something called "cinnamon mint," but there doesn't seem to be any information available about this plant. In fact, I'm not sure the name is accurate. If it's not an actual mint, are there other mint varieties used in cooking?

View Answer:

I am going on a hunch, having found nothing that suggests there is a species of mint which is called cinnamon mint, that the plant in question is actually cinnamon basil. This is commonly used in cooking. I looked in Mints: A Family of Herbs and Ornamentals by Barbara Perry Lawton (Timber Press, 2002) and noticed cinnamon basil in the index. This plant's botanical name is Ocimum basilicum 'Cinnamon,' and it is described in the chapter entitled "Herbal Mints" (as opposed the what the author calls "true mints") as follows:
"Vigorous plant with a strong flavor of cinnamon combined with the typical basil taste. Terminal spikes of purple flowers rise above glossy green foliage."

Utah State University Cooperative Extension has a publication about mint which mentions several types for culinary use.

Season All Season
Date 2010-06-11
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Keywords: Edible flowers, Cooking

Garden Tool: What could be more satisfying than creating a meal with home-grown edible flowers? Author Cathy Wilkinson Barash, in her book Edible Flowers: From Garden to Palate (Fulcrum, 1995)[available used online & at Elisabeth C. Miller Library] tempts the reader with sweet and savory recipes that feature fresh flowers. Barash goes far beyond a mere sprinkling of nasturtiums in a summer salad to include recipes for lilac chicken, bee balm ice cream and dandelion eggs. For each flower featured the descriptions include botanical, historical and growing information plus color photos of the plant and many of the recipes. The last chapter is perhaps most important because it gives the "ten rules of edible flowers," explaining precautions that must be taken before a person starts eating flowers.

Season: All Season
Date: 2007-04-03
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Keywords: Vegetable harvesting, Harvesting time, Cucumis sativus, Cooking, Beans

Garden Tool:

Keep harvesting all those beans, zucchini, cucumbers and other summer vegetables to keep the production going. Any fruit left to mature on the plant will cause flowering to slow and reduce the harvest. If you can't keep up with your bean plants why not try pickling? Here are two Web resources that give explicit safety instructions and recipes:

Season: Summer
Date: 2007-04-03
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April 19 2012 16:02:30

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