How to keep mint fresh for the winter? This question worries everyone who is engaged in harvesting and wants to eat tasty and nutritious throughout the year. After all, mint is a fragrant seasoning that contains a large amount of menthol.
Where is mint used?
This is a very widely used plant in various fields. You can learn how to keep mint fresh for the winter from our article.
For example, a plant is popular as a food product. Japanese and peppermint are used in cosmetics. And in herbal medicine - water and peppermint. Peppermint is also used in pharmacology.
Fragrant Mint Lovers
In summer, many grass fans make blanks. From these fragrant branches it is easy to make a healthy decoction or tea. Fresh foliage is also used to add to soft drinks or fresh pastries. By winter, all the mint is under the snow.
But many want to preserve its unique properties all year round. But not everyone knows how to keep mint fresh for the winter in order to use its healing properties, regardless of the time of year.
More recently, most housewives had only one way - to dry. Recently, due to new culinary traditions and the development of technology, methods have significantly increased.
Useful Tips
Harvesting mint for the winter should begin with its collection, and then proceed to processing.
The best raw materials for long-term storage can be obtained from two-, three-year-old plants. The collection is best done in the evenings or in the morning when there is no dew on the plants. Also, the weather should be non-hot and dry. Peppermint is best harvested by cutting about a third of the stem. The fact is that its hard part is not suitable for storage for the winter. Moreover, if left until the end of the season, she can give fresh growth.
When to pick mint for the winter? It is best to start harvesting it in the middle of summer - July or August. In most Russian regions, by this time, mint begins to bloom. It is not difficult to determine this by lilac-pale or pinkish inflorescences. By this period, a large amount of essential oil is accumulating, which is concentrated in the tops of shoots, flowers and foliage. There are many other active substances. It is for them that this culture is so appreciated.
Preparing for winter storage
Before greens are sent to the refrigerator, it needs to be dried. Mint carefully sorted out. Damaged or dry parts of the plant must be disposed of. Then rinse and dry.
There is a secret how to keep mint leaves fresh for the winter. To do this, collect the greens processed by you in bunches. Put in containers with a minimum amount of water, and cover with a film on top. You can also use a transparent plastic bag. Then send the containers to the refrigerator.
Mint shoots, as well as leaves separated from the stems, are wrapped in paper napkins. They are placed in containers or tight-fitting bags. Only in this form, mint will retain freshness, its beneficial properties and pristine appearance for about a month. But then nature will take its toll. Color and elasticity will be lost, and beneficial substances will begin to disappear every day.
How to keep mint fresh for the winter for a longer period? There are several ways to do this.
Mint Harvesting for Winter
It is possible to dry mint successfully at home. This will not require you a lot of labor and long preparations.
Mint must be divided into small bunches. At the same time, place the tops of the shoots in large paper bags. After this, the bundles are bandaged and hung out in a dry place with good ventilation. The main thing is that there is no access to sunlight.
Under such storage conditions, the grass will not be exposed to ultraviolet radiation, as well as heat radiation, dust, wind, and will become inaccessible to insects. You can include other herbs in your bunches to your taste, which will add spice to them. Most often used oregano, sage, thyme and St. John's wort. Such fragrant bouquets not only decorate the winter tea party, but also help from many ailments.
It is often advised to dry mint on pallets. In this case, it must be decomposed in a thin layer, and do not forget to protect it from exposure to the sun, wind, insects and possible pollution. To make the process go faster, the grass from time to time to ted.
How to store peppermint in the winter?
Peppermint, like many other herbs, is often dried in modern electric dryers. Only in these cases, you need to remember the features of spicy herbs.
To preserve the maximum amount of essential oils in mint, it should not be exposed to high temperatures in its raw form. To dry spicy herbs, the temperature regime should be 25-30 degrees. No more. Therefore, in the electric dryer, set the most gentle mode. And in the oven to dry mint for the winter is not recommended at all.
If you dry it, it will quickly lose moisture, because this process proceeds very intensively. So even in the electric dryer in the most gentle mode, you can overestimate the mint. Do not allow this - watch the time. Because of this, it can become too fragile, and the leaves will lose most of their beneficial properties.
When you hang bunches of mint around the apartment and feel that the humidity rises in the house, you need to take them to another place as soon as possible. Otherwise, mold will appear on the leaves. This will make peppermint unusable.
When the mint is overdried, it is easy to recognize by its characteristic color. He becomes brown. In this form, the grass is odorless and useless for health.
Storage rules for dried mint
Mint with sugar for the winter is often harvested by zealous housewives. This method is best for adding it to tea.
If you just dry it, then at room temperature it must be done for several days. To determine the readiness of a plant, simply press on its leaf. When it easily separates from the stem and crumbles in your hands, drying can be safely completed. After that, grind the raw materials and pack for long-term storage.
After drying, it is important to store peppermint correctly. Of course, chopped greens takes up little space, but at the same time more intensively loses color and aroma. Therefore, it is best not to grind it into powder ahead of time. And if it still comes down to grinding, then do not use a coffee grinder. Use gentle manual methods instead.
For storage, glass jars are best suited. They must be dry with a tight-fitting lid. So neither moisture nor pests penetrate inside. In a dry place, spicy herbs will retain their aroma for up to six months.
Is it possible to freeze mint?
This question can immediately be answered in the affirmative. This became possible with the advent of powerful freezers in everyday life. At low temperatures, mint seems to be preserved. All processes in it stop. As a result, you get spicy grass that retains its color and most of its taste and aromatic properties.
When you already know whether it is possible to freeze mint, it will be useful to understand the methods. This is best done in bunches. But it is possible and separate leaves. They are packaged by pre-washing and drying. You need to store such mint in foil or plastic containers.
Frozen mint is a real find for fans of aromatic hot drinks on long winter evenings. Mint leaves are often used in portions, freezing them in ice cubes.