Minced meat, or ground meat, is meat that has been cut into very small pieces by a mincing machine. Meat is not the only thing that can be minced, but is prepared this way so often that it can be referred to just as mince alone.
Scientific name: family: mentha
Mint is a family of small plants with a strong taste and smell. It is used most often to make tea, jellies and sweets or candy. Most chewing gums, toothpastes and breath fresheners are mint flavoured. Fresh mint can be added to drinks, salads or as a garnish on many meals. Mint is often used in sweets, biscuits or cookies along with chocolate. The leaves of the mint are used for their flavour, either fresh or dried. The flavour is carried in oil in the leaves, and the very strongly flavoured oil can be extracted and stored for later use.
Mint is an easy plant to grow. It prefers a lightly shaded spot with good, moist soil but will grow almost anywhere under almost any conditions. It grows a vigorous root system that can spread very fast. Mint is best grown in a pot so it doesn't invade the rest of the garden. You can grow new mint plants by taking a cutting of a mint runner. Just digging down a little at the edge of a clump of mint should loosen up a runner that already has roots, and can be clipped off and used to grow a new plant.
