How to Dry and Store Mint at Home: Secrets of Procurement

What could be better than fragrant tea, especially from the plant itself? But you need to know how to dry the mint, and then properly store it. Then at any time of the year you can enjoy your favorite drink, which, in addition, has healing properties. Useful leaves are useful in cooking, and in recipes of traditional medicine.

How to collect mint?

The mint picking period is June-July. It is convenient to do this with a secateur or sickle, or simply break off the leaves.

Only suitable plants should be chosen, given the basic rules.

• If mint grows near a busy road or industrial plant, then it is not suitable for drying. It may contain substances that are hazardous to health.
• Young plants should not be cut off: they practically lack the aroma and so valuable therapeutic qualities.
• If you plan to harvest only the leaves, then you must wait for the inflorescence. The stems should be harvested only after the beginning of flowering.
• Cut fresh mint in dry weather. Rain and even dew will lead to darkening of the leaves when drying. To remove dust from the plant, you can water it with water the day before the harvest. Then it will dry out.
• If stems or leaves show signs of damage or signs of the disease, they must be destroyed.

Fresh mint storage

Fresh mint can not be kept for a long time. But if it will be used in the near future, then it is possible to take measures so that it does not wither. It is best to lower the slices into the water. Also 3-4 days the plant will be stored in the refrigerator if the stems are wrapped in a damp towel. Or put it in a plastic container, which must be covered with a towel soaked in water. That is, it is important to ensure sufficient humidity. Another option is to fold it into a plastic bag and tighten it tightly to prevent air ingress.

How to dry mint?

How to dry mint after collection? Doing this at home is not so difficult. First, the stems and leaves should be placed on paper towels for three to four hours. Avoid sunlight, otherwise useful properties will be lost. After a while, the plant will be ready for basic drying.

It is convenient to bind stems into loose bundles. The air must circulate freely. They are hung on pre-prepared ropes or wooden sticks. If the procedure involves exposing individual leaves, they are laid out on paper or a piece of natural tissue. The attic, the veranda and even the barn are well suited. The main thing is that the humidity in the room is not excessive, and the temperature is at least 20 and not more than 30 degrees. Then the workpiece does not start to rot. You should choose a place in the shade, and with good ventilation. From time to time, the raw materials must be pumped up, turned over, if on some leaves dark spots are found, then they need to be removed.

Board

If mint is dried on tea, it is appropriate to place several kinds of plants together. For example, it can be currant leaves or raspberries. The drink from the resulting collection will be especially fragrant.

It is not necessary to process the plant in the oven or in the dryer: it will lose most of its healing properties and charming aroma. The same happens when drying in a microwave oven. Although if there is such a need, it is possible. It is necessary to spread a clean cotton cloth on the plate, lay peppermint and cover with another piece of cloth. Then send to the oven for no more than two minutes. Plus this method is quickness. But the taste and smell will be lost. So, experienced collectors recommend to dry the product in a natural way. Especially if the summer was not rainy: then nature itself will provide the optimum temperature and humidity at home.

After about a week the plants will dry. Determination of readiness is easy: with light pressure, the leaves will crumble and crumble. The smell will remain quite pronounced. Now the question arises: how to store mint?

Storage Features

The first method is to grind the plant to small pieces or even to grind it into powder. Then fold it into a tightly closed container. In this form, spice takes up very little space. But a lot of useful substances are lost, the taste becomes less bright.

So if there is a problem, how to store mint, then it is better to leave raw materials whole - both stems and leaves. The plant can be removed into tall cans with ground lids. It is also good to use a cotton or linen bag. Suitable and ceramic dishes, which hermetically closes. It is not recommended to take a plastic bag: in it, the product can begin to bleed. In addition, cellophane and plastic absorb essential oils, the same applies to paper and cardboard.

For storing mint, you should choose a dark dark place at home away from heating devices. Suitable leaves and other parts of the plant will remain for two years. Therefore, it is useful to make marks on the workpiece with the date of manufacture.

Council

To not throw away mint, which is stored for too long, it can be added to the bath water.

How to store mint if you do not plan to dry it? At home, you can do it in the freezer. Quick freezing will save all the valuable qualities. To do this, you need to take fresh plants, rinse them with cold running water and properly dry them. Then disassemble into small bundles and wrap in aluminum foil. In this form, the product will not lose quality for a long time. But there is a drawback with this method: the mint absorbs extraneous smells and gives them away. Therefore, we have to think about what it can be left in the refrigerator.

To keep the mint for the winter, it must be collected in time and properly dried. This is easy even at home. Then at any time the healing properties of this plant will be available. They will help to cope with stress, insomnia, fatigue, respiratory diseases, nausea, heartburn and other ailments. If you make an ointment for external use, it will promote healing of wounds and reduce inflammation on the skin. Also, the billet can be used as a seasoning in certain dishes to give them an unusual taste.