How to dry mint at home

This plant is cultivated for personal consumption and for industrial purposes. Perennial varieties grow in the South, annual plants grow in the Far East and Siberia.

Mint cultivation

Most often mint is grown in such countries: Ukraine, Russia, the Baltic States. This plant loves sunny and southern countries. For its cultivation more suitable fertile soil - black soil with a good level of moisture.

Mint picking

Correctly collect this fragrant plant in 1 third of summer, when it has not yet reached the flowering phase. Then in the leaves and stalks of mint is the maximum concentration of essential oils. The aroma of the plant is most noticeable on rainy days, when it gets wet, after the sun appears. Under its rays the leaves are steamed out and a characteristic odor is released.

Important! Harvesting mint stems should occur on time, as soon as the inflorescences begin to bloom.

Cut the leaves to do before they begin flowering, before the formation of flowers on the stems. Collected during this period, they will be as saturated as possible with useful substances.

It is not necessary to harvest mint in such cases:

1. Cut leaves in the hot time will not have the necessary beneficial properties.
2. Also do not do this after rain. Such stems and leaves quickly deteriorate and become unusable.
3. After the appearance of inflorescences, the leaves and stalks of mint lose their taste and useful properties.
4. The raw materials collected before the buds appear will not have a sufficient concentration of useful substances, besides, most of them will be lost after drying.

Attention! The best time to collect mint for harvesting is morning or evening. At this time, the leaves of the plant are juicy and fresh.

During dry periods, the collection of raw materials is best done after pre-irrigation and complete drying of moisture.

Proper mint preparation: dry the plant

After collecting the plant according to all the rules, you still need to know how to dry it properly. The bulk of those who are engaged in harvesting mint at home, prefer the fermentation of the collected leaves. When the leaf structure is destroyed, fermentation occurs. On the leaves of the plant are bacteria, due to which this process occurs. Over time, the hue and flavor of the fermented raw materials change. When its smell has the greatest intensity, they proceed to drying.

To properly prepare the mint yourself, you need to know certain rules:

1. To properly dry the stems and leaves - they do not need to be collected in large bunches.
2. A pair of stems must be connected with a rope or thread, and hang in a dry, ventilated and dark place.
3. You can dry the raw material by putting it on paper in any convenient place. The main thing is that it is dry and does not have access to direct sunlight.
4. If it is not possible to leave the plants for drying without sun access, the bundles can be wrapped in newspapers.
5. If in a room where mint is dried, it will be wet, then it will spoil. The recommended drying temperature is about 25 degrees Celsius.

Attention! Sunlight contributes to the loss of dried mint of its beneficial properties.

Mint can be harvested for herbal. In this case, it is dried together with other components: berries and herbs. If you plan to use it separately, it is better to dry yourself.

How to procure raw materials?

Mint should also be collected according to the rules so that it is as useful as possible, but in no way useless, and even more so - not harmful.

1. Mint is contraindicated to collect from the roads and near industrial enterprises. Otherwise, a lot of toxic and harmful substances will get to the tasty and healthy tea.
2. It is necessary to refrain from collecting young mint. It loses most of its beneficial properties when dried.
3. The concentration of essential oils is lost in blooming mint. It should be collected before the appearance of inflorescences.
4. When picking, cut the top third of the stems correctly. As a rule, the plant grows and it can be collected this way several more times.
5. No need to try to harvest damaged or “sick” raw materials.

Fresh Mint Storage

That's right - to harvest the mint along with the stems.Then its taste and flavor are preserved better. It should be dried for about 5-7 days. It is easy to check the readiness of raw materials - it is enough, as experts say, to rub the leaves with your fingers. They must turn into a powder. To save space, it is better to store the workpiece in crushed form.

But the best way is to store it as a whole. Dried mint should be kept in a hermetically sealed container. It should not be stored in plastic and paper bags, as well as cardboard boxes.

Store dried mint in an appropriate container, you need to be away from batteries and other heating devices, in a place where direct sunlight does not fall. Thus, it can be stored no more than 2 years. Therefore, on the container with mint, you must specify the date of procurement.

How to freeze mint?

Today, the most reliable and popular way of harvesting for the winter is freezing. This method allows you to preserve the taste of products and their beneficial properties. Mint can also be stored for a long time this way.

Before freezing, the raw materials should be washed well with cold water, dried and divided into portions.To protect products in the freezer from absorbing the mint flavor, it should be stored in an airtight container.

There are several ways to properly freeze mint:

1. Prepared mint bundles are arranged in small plastic bags and tightly closed. In this form, put them in the freezer.
2. Grind raw materials and put in a plastic food container.
3. Wrap the mint in a wet towel and thus freeze.
4. Crushed mint leaves freeze in a container for ice with water.

Video: how to dry mint