Mint and Mint Jelly

Food & Drink, Events and Entertainment
1
Hi,

Is it just me or is the 'mint' sold here in the supermarkets not the same as your common, garden variety ?

I bought some beautiful fresh mint in Spain last week, so much sweeter than 'Pfeffermint'....

I'd love to get fresh mint for making mint sauce or mint jelly. Failing that, a good (cheap) source of Mint Jelly in Zurich would be appreciated...got a lamb roast in the planning...

2
Oh dear!! Don't tell the Swiss, whatever you do.

There are many different kinds of mint but not all are available in the supermarket here.

Peppermint, spearmint, applemint........

3
I do sell a mint jelly, but to be honest it isn't really strong enough. I make my own mint sauce with mint from my garden (not much around at the mo though). It can be grown in big pots on your balcony and window sill but is better when left to grow wild outside.

They do have fresh mint at the veg stall next to me, just tasted it and as you say, not sweet or minty enough.

4
Thanks...that's what I thought...I think I will be spreading a lot of mint around when I do the garden at work in the spring...

Fresh garden mint....friends of ours in Sydney rented this old tumbledown house which had a spring flowing through the backyard...and the most fabulous patch of mint...mowing the lawn smelt heavenly!

5
I always hated lamb growing up, and had to smother it with mint jelly. I thought that was the only way to eat it.

Then I had it in some South Asian recipes, and I haven't touched mint jelly since.

6
I bought my mint jelly through the Britshop. It's CHF4.90 for a jar.

I do miss the proper mint sauce that we use to have as kids on our weekly Sunday roast lamb

7
I recently bought a jar of Colman's "Classic mint sauce" at the big supermarket near the centre of St Louis. It doesn't look as good as fresh mint sauce, but it tastes almost as good.

At the same time I paid 21 euro for a frozen leg of NZ lamb. The shop also had French legs of lamb for twice the price.

Previously, I had bought a jar of mint chutney from a local Indian shop - definitely not recommended for the traditional mint sauce taste!!

8
Pfft, lamb is beautiful all on its own!! I hate mint sauce, and mint jelly, and will happily have a nicely-roasted lamb with no sauce ... perhaps your parents just destroyed your roast, or had dodgy legs? Either that, or they had a herb/marination problem ...

btw, I think the best price I've seen in Zürich on a leg of lamb has been at a Turkish grocery place ...

9
Success!

I found real 'common mint' at the grocery store at Manesseplatz...after a quick trip to brocki-land....

Mint sauce is in the fridge as we speak. Unfortunately I took a call from work on my mobile as I was walking home and forgot that I was planning stop off for some gelatine...

I put some stalks into a vase on the window ledge - I'm hoping to grow some of my own!

Shopping Success!

10
If you are planning on growing your own mint, don't plant too much. It's quite voracious, almost like a weed. Some people will keep it in pots in the ground rather than let it run free in a plot.