Mint leaves simply air dry
Dry air is the healthiest and cheapest preservative in the world. In order for fresh leaves to turn into dried mint, do the following:
- whole shoots to harvest on a dry morning, just before the blossom
- Leave a third of the branch so that a new shoot can flourish
- Rinse the mint thoroughly under cold running water
- Pat dry carefully with a kitchen towel
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Tie the prepared sprigs of mint into small bouquets with bast or rubber twists. Hang upside down in a dark, dry place. The leaflets are dry within 14 days. Now these can be picked and stored in an airtight container.
The oven functions as a drying machine
If you don't want to wait 14 days for dried mint, you can speed up the process in the oven. How to do it properly:
- Spread fresh, clean mint leaves on a baking sheet
- Leaves with a white covering sort out
- Preheat the oven to 50-60 degrees Celsius with a fan oven
- leave it at the heat level for 5 minutes and switch off
- put the baking sheet in the oven
In the following 20 minutes you will repeatedly check the progress of the process. Dried mint can still be green. When the leaves rustle and curl, the process is complete. Pull out the baking sheet so that the mint doesn't turn brown after all.
Comfort drying in the dehydrator
The luxury version for dried mint offers a practical dehydrator. This is an electrically operated device with an integrated convection heating and several sieve trays. Then distribute the prepared mint leaves so that they do not touch. Set the thermostat on the lowest level.
Check the degree of dryness of the mint at regular intervals over the next few minutes. As in the oven, crispy leaves indicate that the dried mint is ready.
Mint dry every second - that's how it works in the microwave
You have dried mint at high speed using your microwave. To do this, take a suitable plate and place the fresh papers on it. Place the plate in the device. Let the microwave run on the lowest watt setting every 10 seconds. If the dried mint turns brown, it is still suitable for making tea.
Store dried mint in a safe place
Moisture is the greatest enemy of dry herbs. If the process went smoothly, immediately put the leaves in a suitable container. These include jars with screw caps, airtight Tupperware jars or vacuum bags.
Tips & Tricks
Do the mint bouquets just don't want to dry in the basement or in the attic? Then add your dehumidifier without further ado. With this little trick you accelerate the process considerably and effectively prevent annoying mold growth.
GTH
The garden journal freshness-ABC
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