Fresh mint from the garden, pots or farmers market, dried and ready for a variety of recipes both sweet and savory or drinks and health aids.
Course Spices
Cuisine International
Keyword Drying Fresh Mint
Prep Time 30 minutesminutes
Cook Time 10 minutesminutes
Total Time 1 dayday40 minutesminutes
Servings 16oz
Equipment
Cookie sheet
Parchment paper
16 oz Glass jar with lid
12 inches Twine
Ingredients
8cupsFresh mintstems and leaves
6cupsWater
Instructions
Gathering the mint with the longest stems possible, without pulling up the roots, offers plenty of flavor for both cooking, and to infuse flavor while grilling by using the stalks in the fire, once the leaves have been stripped.
Immerse the mint in water and rinse the water several times. There is often sand and dirt in the mint.
Lay the washed mint out on towels to absorb the water.
Preheat the oven to 175. Lay a sheet of parchment paper on a large cookie sheet, or two is needed.
Spread the mint onto the prepared cookie sheets. Place in the oven for 10-minutes, turn off the oven and leave the mint in the oven for several hours.
Remove the mint from the oven and allow it to sit out overnight.
The mint should now be dried and crisp enough to strip all the leaves from the stalks. Crush the dried leaves by hand.
Store in a glass jar with a lid.
Gather the stalks stripped of leaves, and tie twine around them to be used in the grill to impart flavor while cooking or in the fireplace for aromatherapy.
Video
Notes
Dried mint will keep for a year, once dried properly. If the mint is not dried enough to be crisp and crunchy to the touch, allow it to finish drying completely, otherwise whatever moisture remaining in the leaves will form mold in the glass jar and spread to the other leaves.