Boiling mint leaves in water11/24/2023 ![]() But in both cases, I trimmed them in the garden. The spearmint I left on the stems as the leaves are a lot smaller than the peppermint. And… as I wanted to try an experiment, I left some on the stems as well. I just leave a few bits of new growth around and within a couple of weeks, it will look like it does in the before picture.Īfter cutting the peppermint, I took a sharp pair of scissors and cut off the leaves taking off as much of the stem as possible. A lot of people say that you should only cut it down to the last two leaves at the bottom so the plants don’t go into too much shock.īut as I mentioned earlier, you can’t kill it. To start the process I picked it in the morning after the dew was off the leaves.Īs you can see from the picture, I trimmed the heck out of it. They had both been placed into pots so they couldn’t spread to the rest of the garden. This year, I had peppermint and some spearmint. So with my new found knowledge, I was so glad that I caught my mint before it flowered. Supposedly the best time to pick is just before the mint plant forms a flower bud as you will get the most flavour from the leaves at this time. And I picked the mint when it was in flower both years. Once it flowers all the energy and oils are going up in the flowers and the leaves lose their potency. The fourth thing I learned is that you pick the mint before it flowers. ![]() The third thing I learned was if you put the dehydrated on too high a setting, it will destroy the essential oils and basically, you will have cooked mint instead of dried mint. I don’t know if this is true or not, but I followed it to the letter. The oils in the plant are the strongest and most concentrated at this time. The second thing I learned was to pick the mint first thing in the morning after the dew has dried. In fact, it’s better to keep your herbs in a dark place even after being dried to maintain their potency. In doing some research, the first thing I learned is that you don’t dry mint out in full sun. Sunlight destroys a herb’s essential oils and colour. Okay… so I could use it fresh but what about on those cold winter nights after dinner, when you just want a nice herbal tea to settle the stomach and relax.Īfter two years of trying, I figured I better go back to square one. So why wasn’t I able to get some decent tea out of it? I believe if you had just a rocky field or driveway that it would find a way to survive. I’ve abused it, pulled it all out (at least I thought I did), left it parched with no nutrients and it still grew. Of all herbs, I figured that mint had to be one of the easiest to dry. Sort of like dirty dishwater without any flavour. little brown (may be left in too long or processed them too hot a heat)Įach year I tried each of the batches as tea and I have to say they were disgusting.The second year, I picked the mint and put it stalks and all into the dehydrator. The first year I dried mint I just cut the stalks, hung them up and put to dry in the sun. What’s the secret you ask? Follow the experts! My Mistakes: After two years of failures, I’ve finally found the secret to dehydrating mint.
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