Drying Spearmint

[SheltieDogsForever]

We bought this house last summer and inherited a flower bed full of spearmint. I was wondering how I could preserve this for use later or possibly for sale. Does it need to be dried or dehydrated? How do you extract just the oil, and can that be preserved?

So many questions and absolutely no idea what to do.

 

[Chef Munky]

We bought this house last summer and inherited a flower bed full of spearmint. I was wondering how I could preserve this for use later or possibly for sale. Does it need to be dried or dehydrated? How do you extract just the oil, and can that be preserved?

So many questions and absolutely no idea what to do.

It can be dried whole leaves still attached to the stems, hung upside down.
In a dehydrator, remove the leaves from the stems. Lay the leaves on the tray. Treat spearmint like you would if you were drying parsley. Low and slow. Store away from direct sunlight. Mason jars work great.
Oven method, lowest temp keep an eye on it. Leaves burn easily.
You could also add a few leaves to ice cube trays and freeze
Smells very nice in soaps.
Mint jelly?

Aromatherapy and Essential Oils Blog - AromaTalk: Growing and Enjoying Peppermint, Spearmint and Other Mint Plants

How to Preserve Peppermint and Spearmint by Drying or Dehydrating | eHow.com

Spearmint Leaves, Dehydrated

Munky.

 

[sparrowgrass]

You could sell pots of it--this time of year especially, you can just pull stems up--they will already be rooted. Put in a small pot and sell at the farmer's market.

(You might want to include a warning to keep it contained--as you know, it will take over the whole yard.)

 

[vyapti]

I just tie it, stem and all and hang it upside-down. Its easy to just crumble off some leaves as you need them.

 

[Yakuta]

In order to dry mint, I like to remove the leaves and then dry them on a clean towel overnight or until it's dry. I then pack them in a ziploc and it's ready for use.

Another trick to preserving mint is to grind it with some water and then freeze the paste. It's intense and can be used as a flavor enhancer in many dishes.

Growing up in India mint was widely used for it's medicinal qualities. To make mint oil, you follow this process.

Pluck the leaves out from the mint and wash them and let it dry on a towel. Use a mallet to tap the leaves and then put them in a glass bottle (should have a broad mouth). Pour in almond oil and let it sit for an entire day over 24 hours and then strain and discard the mint. If you want it super strong, take more mint leaves, tap them again with a mallet, put them in the same jar and pour the same oil you strained. Keep repeating this 3 times for 3 days. It will be super strong.

You can store it in the refrigerator and it should last for a long time.

Hope that helps.