History of the Peppermint Plant
Peppermint has been cultivated since ancient times, and this very aromatic herb has always been prized both for flavoring food and for its healing properties. It is particularly known as a remedy for indigestion.
Although not native to America, it was brought over by early European settlers and is extensively and successfully grown in the U.S. Oil of peppermint has been used to flavor candy, chewing gum, toothpaste and medicines for 200 years.
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Peppermint in Ancient Rome
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Ancient Romans loved peppermint The Ancient Romans loved peppermint for its smell and taste and because they thought it gave them an appetite for meat. According to Pliny, both they and the Ancient Greeks liked to crown themselves with it at parties and dinners, as well as using it to decorate their tables.
The Latin and botanical name for peppermint is Mentha piperita.
History
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English apothecaries prized peppermint for its medicinal properties The Romans took peppermint to England, where it was highly prized for its medicinal properties. It was first commercially raised at Mitcham in Surrey, and peppermint of the variety grown there is known as Mitcham mint.
Quoted in "A Modern Herbal" by Mrs. M. Grieve, Dr. Westmacott wrote in the 17th century that mint was well known to "the young Botanists and Herb Women belonging to Apothecarys' shops."
Dr Westmacott also said that mint "destroyeth Acids, and herein doth lodge the Causation of such medicinal Virtues in this herb and others of the like Nature."
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Peppermint in the U.S.
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European settlers brought peppermint to the U.S. Peppermint was brought over to America by early European settlers. Mitcham mint, which is also known as black peppermint, was first grown commercially near Cheshire in Massachusetts in the 1790s.
Cultivation of peppermint became a very important industry, especially in Michigan, other parts of the north-east United States, and Ontario in Canada.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Michigan dominated American commercial peppermint growing. Ninety percent of the world's supply of mint oil then came from within a 90-mile radius of Kalamazoo.
Distillation of Peppermint Oil
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Peppermint oil distillers faced problems during Prohibition Peppermint oil, whose major constituent is menthol, must be distilled from the peppermint plants. According to Michigan's Department of Natural Resources and Environment, growers there initially used "a copper kettle and a condenser pipe, much like the traditional moonshine stills of Appalachia."
This caused problems during Prohibition, when mint distillers had to secure state and federal permits in order to carry on distilling.
Fun Facts
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Peppermint is a popular flavoring for candy According to the Mint Industry Research Council, one 55 gallon drum of mint oil, weighing around 400 pounds, will flavor over 5 million sticks of chewing gum or 400,000 tubes of toothpaste.
The Idaho Mint Commission and Mint Growers Association confirm these figures, adding that the same 400 pound drum could flavor 20 million mint candies. The Commission also says that of mint oil produced, 55 percent goes into toothpaste, 30 percent into gum, 10 percent into candy and 5 percent into other products.
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