Mint has a strong flavour, which is to be found in numerous common varieties, such as pennyroyal, peppermint and spearmint. Usually, the herb is chopped finely and sprinkled into other ingredients when cooking. However, this is not the only way to use it:

Make a mint infusion: You can infuse water with a minty, tangy flavour simply by adding mint leaves to it. The most obvious example of this is fresh mint tea. For this, you simply dunk mint — stalks and leaves — into freshly boiled water, stirring it until the water takes on the minty flavour of the herb. You can make this tea with any herb of the mint family. Similarly, some cocktails, such as mojito, require you to do nothing more than put unchopped, fresh mint into the fluid and stir.

For a succulent lamb feast, you can also infuse vinegar with fresh mint to make traditional mint sauce. To prevent the sauce from being too tangy or sour, you can add some honey and use sweet vinegar, such as such as malt vinegar. Another way to enjoy mint is to infuse yoghurt with freshly chopped mint. This is a great way to get a Mediterranean vibe going in your cooking. Also, be sure check out this minty recipe for Greek-inspired Pork Kofta Gyros with chips, mint yoghurt sauce and tomato salad.

Add mint to desserts: Because mint and chocolate go well together, you'll often find chocolate mint dessert recipes that blend the two ingredients. Usually, such recipes call for very finely chopped mint, which is dispersed into the dry ingredients before any wet ones are added. This allows the mint to be distributed evenly throughout the dessert. For example, chocolate mint cakes are often made this way, as are strawberry mint desserts, such as ice cream.

Use mint as a garnish: Mint leaves don't need to be chopped if they are only to add some zesty colour to a plate. If you use mint to garnish a strawberry posset or a similar dessert, then remove them from the tougher and more bitter stalks. Then, arrange them face up so that they look their best. You can use fresh mint for all sorts of salads, including couscous. Try adding half your mint to the couscous and keep half back for a garnish. This Moroccan-inspired mint recipe for Spiced Sausages with roast peppers and minty couscous shows you what to do.

If you don't have fresh mint, then dried mint will usually work well as an alternative ingredient. You can preserve your own fresh mint grown in the summer over the winter months. To do so, hang it upside down by its stalks somewhere warm and dry. When it has dried, remove the leaves, then chop them or put them in your food blender and store the mint in a jar.

Making mint tea with dried mint: Since shards of dried mint are not very pleasant to drink, put them into an herb infuser before dunking them into boiling water. This will act like a tea bag to infuse the drink without the unwanted residue.

Use dried mint as a garnish: Although dried mint isn't as attractive to look at as fresh mint leaves, it can still add a zingy flavour to numerous dishes. If you use dried mint, then bear in mind that it loses its potency after a few months. Taste it before adding it, and simply use some more if it has started to lose some flavour.