Mint sauce facts for kids
Mint sauce, in British and Irish cuisine, is a green sauce made from finely chopped spearmint (Mentha spicata) leaves soaked in vinegar, and a small amount of sugar. Lime juice is sometimes added. The sauce has the consistency of double cream. It is often served as a condiment for roast lamb, or any other roast meats, or, in some areas, mushy peas. It is normally bought ready-made, and is easy to find in British food shops. Mint jelly, thicker and sweeter, is an alternative for lamb, also normally bought ready-made.
Mint sauce can be used in some recipes in place of fresh mint. It can be eaten on toast or bread.
Mint chutney is a mint based sauce which is served with Indian snacks and breakfast items like Idly, Dhokla, etc. It is made with ground fresh mint leaves with a variety of ingredients like cilantro, green chili, lemon juice (in the northern parts of India) or tamarind (in southern India), salt, fried bengal gram and optionally curd.
Similar herb-based green sauces were common throughout Medieval Europe, with the use of mint being more common in French and Italian cuisine of the period than that of the English; however, they became less common and mostly died out as Europe entered the Modern Era.
In Tunisia a similar sauce is made out of dried mint and can be served with a méchoui, a mulukhiyah or as a base for a vinaigrette. Dried and fresh mint are also part of several dishes of Tunisian cuisine.
Mint sauces may include fruits in their preparation, such as raspberries.
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Yogurt-mint sauce
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Panna cotta mint sauce
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Stuffed grape leaves with yogurt mint sauce
See also
In Spanish: Salsa de menta para niños
