Mint sauce is a green sauce popular in the United Kingdom, made from finely chopped

spearmint Spearmint (''Mentha spicata''), also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many othe ...

leaves soaked in vinegar, and a small amount of sugar. It is a traditional accompaniment to roast lamb.

Background

Spanish spice rubbed chicken with parsley mint sauce

There are many different species of mint, but the one used most widely in Western cooking is spearmint (

Mentha spicata Spearmint (''Mentha spicata''), also known as garden mint, common mint, lamb mint and mackerel mint, is native to Europe and southern temperate Asia, extending from Ireland in the west to southern China in the east. It is naturalized in many othe ...

). It is native to the Mediterranean area but is found in many other parts of Europe and in North America. ''

The Oxford Companion to Food ''The Oxford Companion to Food'' is an encyclopedia about food. It was edited by Alan Davidson and published by Oxford University Press in 1999. It was also issued in softcover under the name ''The Penguin Companion to Food''. The second and t ...

'' calls it " ry widely cultivated and used ... 'the mint' of cooks, the one commonly used for mint sauce and for flavouring new potatoes and peas, in Arab mint tea, etc." The Ancient Roman naturalist

Pliny the Elder Gaius Plinius Secundus (AD 23/24 79), known in English as Pliny the Elder ( ), was a Roman Empire, Roman author, Natural history, naturalist, and naval and army commander of the early Roman Empire, and a friend of the Roman emperor, emperor Vesp ...

wrote that mint "stirs up the mind to a greedy taste in meat".French, p. 7 The later Roman writer

Apicius ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking''), is a collection of Food and dining in the Roman Empire, Roman cookery recipes, which may have been compiled in the fifth century CE, or ea ...

gave a recipe for mint sauce which he said complemented the flavours of roast lamb (or suckling kid). By the Middle Ages mint was commonly found in European medicinal and kitchen gardens, as well as growing wild. On the origins of mint sauce, the food historian

Dorothy Hartley Dorothy Rosaman Hartley (4 October 1893 – 22 October 1985) was an English social historian, illustrator, and author. Daughter of a clergyman, she studied art, which she later taught. Her interest in history led her into writing. Among her boo ...

wrote, "Most sheep had their lambs down in the warm valley grazing lands where the streams ran, and mint grew in abundance. Hence mint sauce with lamb."Hartley, p. 66 Mint sauce was being made in England as early as the 3rd century, and the practice of serving it with lamb was well established in English cooking before the mid-18th century. In the Middle Ages green sauces made with mint or other herbs were common in French and

Italian cuisine Italian cuisine is a Mediterranean cuisine#CITEREFDavid1988, David 1988, Introduction, pp. 101–103 consisting of the ingredients, recipes, and cooking techniques developed in Italy since Ancient Roman cuisine, Roman times, and later spread ...

, but their use declined as Europe entered the

Modern Era The modern era or the modern period is considered the current historical period of human history. It was originally applied to the history of Europe and Western history for events that came after the Middle Ages, often from around the year 1500 ...

. Louis-Eustache Ude commented in an 1816 recipe for roast lamb, "In France we serve it up with ''

Maître d'Hôtel The ; ), head waiter, host, waiter captain, or ''maître d'' ( , ) manages the public part, or "front of the house", of a formal restaurant. The responsibilities of a ''maître d'hôtel'' generally include supervising the waiting staff, welcom ...

'' but in England you send up with gravy under it, and in a sauceboat mint-sauce with sugar and vinegar. Marcel Boulestin wrote in 1936, "I think I am one of the very few French people who genuinely like mint sauce", and he reported his father's view: "'Do you mean to say that they really eat mint with lamb? ... What a funny country'".

Ingredients

According to Florence Jack in her 1914 ''Cookery for Every Household'', mint sauce contains chopped fresh mint, brown sugar, and malt vinegar, mixed with boiling water and left to stand for several hours before serving. In '' Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen'' (1970)

Elizabeth David Elizabeth David ( Gwynne, 26 December 1913 – 22 May 1992) was a British cookery writer. In the mid-20th century she strongly influenced the revitalisation of home cookery in her native country and beyond with articles and books about Europea ...

broadly agreed with Jack's recipe, but recommended using white wine vinegar as "less savage".David, p. 74 In her ''Book of Mint'' (1993) Jackie French concurs with David, but suggests letting the cooked sauce stand for at least a day and preferably a month. Some earlier recipes left the mixture unboiled and did not let it stand. David commented that letting the finished sauce stand was, together with the use of brown sugar, the reason why Jack's sauce was superior to "the routine English one".

Variations

Mint sauces may include fruits in their preparation, such as raspberries.Rosso, p. 185 File:Yogurt-mint sauce.jpg, Yogurt-mint sauce File:Panna cotta mint sauce.jpg,

Panna cotta Panna cotta (; ; ) is an Italian dessert of sweetened cream thickened with gelatin and molded. The cream may be aromatized with coffee, vanilla, or other flavorings. History The name ''panna cotta'' is not mentioned in Italian cookbooks before ...

mint sauce File:Stuffed grape leaves with yogurt mint sauce.jpg, Stuffed

grape leaves Grape leaves, the leaves of the grapevine plant, are used in the cuisines of a number of cultures. They may be obtained fresh, or Food preservation, preserved in jars or cans. The leaves are commonly rolled or stuffed with mixtures of meat and ...

with yoghurt mint sauce

References

Sources

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External links