The foundation. Make this first — it's in half the recipes below.

Best variety: Spearmint, Peppermint, or any culinary mint Makes: About 1 cup

Ingredients

• 1 cup water

• 1 cup sugar

• 1 large handful fresh mint leaves and stems (about 20–25 leaves)

Method Combine water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar dissolves completely — about 3 minutes. Remove from heat, add the mint, and let steep for 20–30 minutes. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, pressing the leaves to extract as much flavor as possible. Store in a sealed jar in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Use it in cocktails, lemonade, iced tea, sparkling water, or drizzled over fruit. It's the simplest way to turn a handful of fresh mint into something that lasts.

Kentucky Colonel mint was made for this. Literally.

Best variety: Kentucky Colonel — its large, soft leaves and bold spearmint flavor are traditional Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 8–10 fresh mint leaves, plus a sprig for garnish

• 2 teaspoons sugar (or ¾ oz mint simple syrup)

• 2½ oz bourbon

• Crushed ice

Method Place mint leaves and sugar in the bottom of a julep cup or rocks glass. Muddle gently — you want to bruise the leaves to release the oils, not pulverize them. The difference matters. Add bourbon and stir to combine. Pack the glass tightly with crushed ice, mounding it above the rim. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig nestled right against the ice so the aroma hits you before the first sip. Serve with a short straw.

The mint sprig garnish isn't decoration — it's functional. Your nose should be in the mint every time you drink.

Four ingredients. No ice cream maker. Tastes like a Vermont mint field in July.

Best variety: Spearmint or Peppermint for a clean, bright flavor; Chocolate Mint for something more complex Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups water

• ½ cup sugar

• 1 large bunch fresh mint (about 2 cups loosely packed)

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Method Make a mint simple syrup with the water, sugar, and mint (see recipe above). Let it cool completely, then stir in the lemon juice. Pour into a shallow baking dish or metal pan — the wider the better. Freeze for 45 minutes, then scrape the edges toward the center with a fork. Repeat every 30 minutes for 2–3 hours until the whole pan is a mass of icy crystals. Serve immediately in chilled glasses.

If you blend it instead of scraping, you get a mint slushie. Both are correct.

From dried mint. Simple and better than anything in a bag.

Best variety: Spearmint for classic tea; Peppermint for something stronger; Apple Mint for something soft and sweet Serves: 1

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon dried Mint Monster mint (or a small palmful of fresh leaves)

• 8 oz just-boiled water

• Honey to taste

Method Place dried mint in a mug or small teapot. Pour water that's just off the boil — not a rolling boil, about 200°F. Steep for 4–5 minutes. Strain and sweeten with honey if you like. That's the whole recipe.

With fresh mint, use about three times as much — a generous handful — and steep for the same time. Fresh mint tea is grassier and brighter; dried mint tea is deeper and more concentrated. Both are worth knowing.

Make a pitcher. It disappears fast.

Best variety: Spearmint or Apple Mint — both pair beautifully with citrus Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh lemon juice (about 6–8 lemons)

• ¾ cup mint simple syrup (see recipe above)

• 4 cups cold water

• Ice and fresh mint sprigs to serve

Method Combine lemon juice, mint simple syrup, and water in a pitcher. Stir well and taste — adjust sweetness with more syrup or tartness with more lemon. Serve over ice with a fresh mint sprig in each glass. For a sparkling version, swap half the water for club soda and add it just before serving.

This is also the base for a mint lemonade cocktail — add 1½ oz vodka or gin per glass.Item description

Mint is not optional in tabbouleh. It's half the point.

Best variety: Spearmint — traditional and right Serves: 4

Ingredients

• ½ cup fine bulgur wheat

• 3 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (about 2 large bunches)

• 1 cup fresh spearmint leaves, finely chopped

• 3 medium tomatoes, finely diced and drained

• 4 green onions, finely sliced

• ¼ cup fresh lemon juice

• ¼ cup good olive oil

• Salt and black pepper

Method Soak bulgur in cold water for 20 minutes, then drain and squeeze out as much water as possible in a clean towel. The bulgur should be tender but not wet. Combine with parsley, mint, tomatoes, and green onions. Dress with lemon juice and olive oil, season well with salt and pepper, and toss to combine. Let it sit for at least 20 minutes before serving so the flavors come together. Taste again and adjust — it should be bright, herby, and punchy.

The ratio matters: this is a parsley salad with grain, not a grain salad with parsley. Don't skimp on the mint.

Unconventional. Remarkable.

Best variety: Spearmint or a blend of spearmint and chocolate mint Makes: About 1 cup

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh mint leaves, packed

• ½ cup fresh basil leaves (optional but excellent)

• ⅓ cup toasted pine nuts or walnuts

• 2 cloves garlic

• ½ cup good olive oil

• ¼ cup Parmesan, finely grated

• Salt and lemon juice to taste

Method Combine mint, basil (if using), nuts, and garlic in a food processor. Pulse until roughly chopped. With the motor running, drizzle in olive oil until you reach a loose, spreadable consistency. Stir in Parmesan by hand — don't process it, just fold it in. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon. Taste and adjust.

Use on pasta, grilled lamb or chicken, roasted vegetables, crusty bread, or stirred into yogurt as a sauce. It's also excellent on a cheese board. Keeps refrigerated for up to a week with a thin layer of olive oil on top to prevent browning.

Unconventional, funky, and completely addictive.

Best variety: Spearmint or Peppermint — their structure holds up to fermentation Makes: 1 pint jar

Ingredients

• 2 cups fresh mint leaves and tender stems, roughly torn

• 1 tablespoon sea salt (non-iodized)

• 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes) or red pepper flakes to taste

• 1 teaspoon sugar or honey

Method Toss mint with salt in a bowl and let it sit for 30 minutes — it will wilt and release liquid. Squeeze out the excess liquid. Mix in ginger, garlic, pepper flakes, and sugar. Pack tightly into a clean pint jar, pressing down so the mint is submerged in its own liquid. If needed, add a small amount of salted water (1 teaspoon salt per cup of water) to submerge everything. Leave an inch of headspace.

Cover loosely with a lid or cloth and leave at room temperature for 24–48 hours, pressing the mint down once a day. Taste at 24 hours — it should be tangy, spicy, and bright. Refrigerate once it reaches a flavor you like. It keeps for 2–3 weeks in the fridge and deepens in flavor over time.

Serve alongside rice, grilled meats, eggs, or anything that wants a spicy, acidic punch. A small spoonful on a bowl of ramen is not a mistake.

The fastest recipe here. Five minutes, endlessly useful.

Best variety: Spearmint — classic for Indian cooking Serves: 4 as a side

Ingredients

• 1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

• ½ cup fresh spearmint, finely chopped

• ½ cucumber, grated and squeezed dry

• 1 small garlic clove, minced (optional)

• ½ teaspoon ground cumin

• Salt to taste

Method Combine everything in a bowl. Stir, taste, adjust salt. That's it. Refrigerate for at least 15 minutes before serving to let the flavors come together.

Serve with curries, grilled meats, rice dishes, or as a dip with flatbread. Also excellent alongside the fermented mint above as a cooling counterpoint.