Post by blackcrowheart on Jan 16, 2007 0:18:42 GMT -5
Mint, as used by Ojibwe women of the White Earth reservation in
northern
Minnesota, from 1907-1923, when Frances Densmore interviewed them
with Mary
Warren English of White Earth as interpreter and (really) co-
researcher, was
identified (in one or two specimens) as Monarda Mollis L, with two
Ojibwe
names: bibigwunukuk ("looks like a flute") and waabinowusk (" comes
from the
dawn, east"). I have found no pix of this species. That would be
important
if the mint were to be considered medically, but its medical uses
were not
heavy-duty: treatment of burns and boils, and a very strong tea to
expel
worm parasites (intestinal infestations from bad meat). Densmore
identified
Koellia virginiana (Mountain mint), Ojibway name Namewuskons (Little
Sturgeon-fish plant) as a food plant, especially used in cooking
fish, with
another plant that has a fish name, Wild Ginger (Namebin) I'll treat
on
another page.
Women used mint teas for women's medicines, too -- settlers referred
to
certain mints as "squaw-mint" (a pejorative way of saying the Ojibwe
word
ikwe meaning woman). Usually with medicines there was a mixture of
several
herbs, and in general root-scrapings were part of most medicines. For
pleasure, and a food-value beverage, many species of wild mint were
used.
They had many names -- individuals often named a plant themselves, and
plants were given different names according to the function being
named. We
are considering herbs and plants only for pleasure/nutrition, here,
not
medicine.
Photos below show some common wild mints. They were taken by several
professional photographer-herbalists for the Herb Research Foundation
(associated with the American Botannical Council), and are available
in
larger sizes on their image database, which is slow to access and
slow-loading.
Monarda menthaefolia, Wild Oregano (of the Sierras). See/save a large
original JPEG from the image database. This photo shows good
identification
characteristics for most of the mint family: the square stem, the
opposed
lance-shaped leaves. Crushing and smelling are good field tests. Mint
species taste somewhat different. This one goes well with tomatoes
raw or
cooked (used a lot in southwest native cooking). It doesn't have
coolness we
call minty..
Wild horsemint, Monardia punctata (another common name is spotted bee-
balm).
Big JPEG original of this photo from the Herb Research Foundation's
images
database. To recognize this mint by its leaves and stems when it's
not in
its bright yellow flower (late spring/summer), it would be a good
idea to
examine the Herb Research foundation's big picture.
Catnip, Nepeta cataria, is a mint family member said to be an import
that
went wild and now flourishes everywhere. It grows about 2' tall. The
leaves
are downy above and below, a little larger than peppermint leaves. By
the
1890's, Ojibwe women were using it. It had a Native name,
Gajugensibug, and
was said to be a good tea to drink to bring down fevers, as well as
pleasant-tasting. Big JPEG original of this photo from the Herb
Research
Foundation's images database. Mentha piperata (peppermint) and Mentha
viridis (spearmint) are two other imports -- both quite good and
strong-flavored -- that escaped to flourish in the wild.
To use fresh mint in cooking, remove leaves from coarse stems, chop
or crush
Because the flavor oil is volatile and driven off by heat, it is best
to
add mint -- fresh or dried -- near the end of cooking soups or stews.
To
make a fresh mint tea chop and crush tender stems and leaves both,
use about
1/2 cup packed for 4 cups of boiling water. Don't boil the tea, pour
boiling
water over the leaves and steep for 5 minutes.
To dry mint, remove leaves from stems; dry in shade for about 2
weeks. To
make a tea, use about 1 tablespoonful of crushed, dry leaves per cup
of
water. Pour boiling water onto it, steep, don't boil. Mint tea does
not
reheat well. Mint teas can be drunk with cream or sugar or honey, but
perhaps the best "tea" use of mints is to add flavor to other plant
teas.
To grow your own: chop a stem about 4" down from the head off clean
slightly on a slant. Place sprig of mint -- found or bought -- in a
small jar of clean water in a sunny window.( Almost all members of
the mint family like sun.) In 2 weeks, there will be a mass of roots.
It's better to root them this way than to try to dig up found plants
with their old roots. Pot the mint plant and water well. To keep it
bushy cut it off often from the top branches, and use it in cooking
most everything, or set the cut tops aside to dry. Leaves (and stems)
of all the mints can be gathered any time during the summer; some
feel the flavor is strongest when the plant is not in flower. Fresh
young spring shoots from the perennial roots can be cooked and served
with butter and salt. Mint leaves and tender springs can be mixed
with any fresh salad greens, and are used a lot in Middle Eastern
cooking.
northern
Minnesota, from 1907-1923, when Frances Densmore interviewed them
with Mary
Warren English of White Earth as interpreter and (really) co-
researcher, was
identified (in one or two specimens) as Monarda Mollis L, with two
Ojibwe
names: bibigwunukuk ("looks like a flute") and waabinowusk (" comes
from the
dawn, east"). I have found no pix of this species. That would be
important
if the mint were to be considered medically, but its medical uses
were not
heavy-duty: treatment of burns and boils, and a very strong tea to
expel
worm parasites (intestinal infestations from bad meat). Densmore
identified
Koellia virginiana (Mountain mint), Ojibway name Namewuskons (Little
Sturgeon-fish plant) as a food plant, especially used in cooking
fish, with
another plant that has a fish name, Wild Ginger (Namebin) I'll treat
on
another page.
Women used mint teas for women's medicines, too -- settlers referred
to
certain mints as "squaw-mint" (a pejorative way of saying the Ojibwe
word
ikwe meaning woman). Usually with medicines there was a mixture of
several
herbs, and in general root-scrapings were part of most medicines. For
pleasure, and a food-value beverage, many species of wild mint were
used.
They had many names -- individuals often named a plant themselves, and
plants were given different names according to the function being
named. We
are considering herbs and plants only for pleasure/nutrition, here,
not
medicine.
Photos below show some common wild mints. They were taken by several
professional photographer-herbalists for the Herb Research Foundation
(associated with the American Botannical Council), and are available
in
larger sizes on their image database, which is slow to access and
slow-loading.
Monarda menthaefolia, Wild Oregano (of the Sierras). See/save a large
original JPEG from the image database. This photo shows good
identification
characteristics for most of the mint family: the square stem, the
opposed
lance-shaped leaves. Crushing and smelling are good field tests. Mint
species taste somewhat different. This one goes well with tomatoes
raw or
cooked (used a lot in southwest native cooking). It doesn't have
coolness we
call minty..
Wild horsemint, Monardia punctata (another common name is spotted bee-
balm).
Big JPEG original of this photo from the Herb Research Foundation's
images
database. To recognize this mint by its leaves and stems when it's
not in
its bright yellow flower (late spring/summer), it would be a good
idea to
examine the Herb Research foundation's big picture.
Catnip, Nepeta cataria, is a mint family member said to be an import
that
went wild and now flourishes everywhere. It grows about 2' tall. The
leaves
are downy above and below, a little larger than peppermint leaves. By
the
1890's, Ojibwe women were using it. It had a Native name,
Gajugensibug, and
was said to be a good tea to drink to bring down fevers, as well as
pleasant-tasting. Big JPEG original of this photo from the Herb
Research
Foundation's images database. Mentha piperata (peppermint) and Mentha
viridis (spearmint) are two other imports -- both quite good and
strong-flavored -- that escaped to flourish in the wild.
To use fresh mint in cooking, remove leaves from coarse stems, chop
or crush
Because the flavor oil is volatile and driven off by heat, it is best
to
add mint -- fresh or dried -- near the end of cooking soups or stews.
To
make a fresh mint tea chop and crush tender stems and leaves both,
use about
1/2 cup packed for 4 cups of boiling water. Don't boil the tea, pour
boiling
water over the leaves and steep for 5 minutes.
To dry mint, remove leaves from stems; dry in shade for about 2
weeks. To
make a tea, use about 1 tablespoonful of crushed, dry leaves per cup
of
water. Pour boiling water onto it, steep, don't boil. Mint tea does
not
reheat well. Mint teas can be drunk with cream or sugar or honey, but
perhaps the best "tea" use of mints is to add flavor to other plant
teas.
To grow your own: chop a stem about 4" down from the head off clean
slightly on a slant. Place sprig of mint -- found or bought -- in a
small jar of clean water in a sunny window.( Almost all members of
the mint family like sun.) In 2 weeks, there will be a mass of roots.
It's better to root them this way than to try to dig up found plants
with their old roots. Pot the mint plant and water well. To keep it
bushy cut it off often from the top branches, and use it in cooking
most everything, or set the cut tops aside to dry. Leaves (and stems)
of all the mints can be gathered any time during the summer; some
feel the flavor is strongest when the plant is not in flower. Fresh
young spring shoots from the perennial roots can be cooked and served
with butter and salt. Mint leaves and tender springs can be mixed
with any fresh salad greens, and are used a lot in Middle Eastern
cooking.