As soon as I hear the word "mint," my ears perk up. The dish could be green, white, orange, purple, or red -- I wouldn't care. (I might be intrigued why a mint dish was orange, purple, or red, but it wouldn't necessarily deter me.) But it seems some people do.
Over at the Accidental Hedonist, Kate Hopkins recently posted about the world of green food coloring and mint. While mint oil might be clear, we've all seen the waves of green that are often linked to the flavor. But why? In a discussion with a representative from Rogers' Chocolate, she learned that at least in their world, sales dictate the green = mint philosophy. When Rogers' offered a regular mint ice cream without food coloring, the sales were okay. When they colored it green -- "sales for their mint ice cream increased twenty-fold."
Is the world overrun by leprechauns? I could see green ice cream behing handy for St. Patrick's Day, but would you really ignore a mint-flavored product if it wasn't green?
