How To Harvest Mint Without Killing The Plant

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Having fresh mint on paw to use in your favorite dishes is a real treat! If you're growing this perennial herb at home, y'all're probably wondering when to harvest mint. We'll explain that every bit well as how to harvest mint, how to store mint, and how to utilise mint. Whether y'all're cultivating English language garden mint, peppermint, spearmint, or chocolate mint, information technology'll only accept a few minutes to go this sweetness herb from garden to table.

i
Harvest just before the mint flowers for the best season. The oils are well-nigh concentrated in the establish leaves at this stage, so your mint will be the most delicious only earlier information technology flowers. However, you tin harvest any time from late leap to early fall.^[i]
- The mint will flower in the summertime. If you notice bloom buds, just pluck them off so the plant uses its energy to grow more leaves instead of to produce flowers.^[2]
ii
Option the mint in the morning. The best fourth dimension to harvest your mint is after the dew has dried but before it gets too hot. Head out to your garden in the morning to collect the stems.^[iii]
- Look until the dew dries so the excess moisture doesn't rot the leaves after you lot pluck them.
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3
Cut off individual stems if y'all only need a few leaves. There'south not much to it—just use your pruners to trim off a few stems that expect good. Wherever you clip the stems, the mint will abound new stems that branch off, leading to more mint.^[4] So, simply pluck the leaves from the stems.^[5]
- The smallest, youngest stems unremarkably have the nigh flavour.^[6]
four
Trim the plant down to the get-go fix of leaves for a larger harvest. Get out your clippers and cut the mint down to iv–half dozen inches (10–xv cm), or between the showtime and second set of leaves. The found will grow back and produce more mint, so don't worry.^[seven]
- You can practise this once or twice per season to harvest lots of mint leaves at once.
v
Keep harvesting mint throughout the growing flavor. Fifty-fifty after y'all pluck off stems or cut down the plant, your mint will just keep growing! From jump to fall, you'll take fresh mint any time you want it.^[8]
- Mint will spread and could take over your garden if you lot don't harvest it continually.
6
Rinse and dry the leaves simply before you lot employ them. Once you lot're ready to apply the mint, launder the leaves and stems gently with warm h2o to remove whatsoever dirt or debris. Make sure you dry the mint really well, as excess moisture causes them to go bad more than quickly.^[9]
- Mint has the best flavor when it'southward fresh, so but harvest every bit much as you'll employ within a day or two whenever possible.

1
Stick the stems in water if you'll employ them within a calendar week. Make full up a glass or jar with a little scrap of h2o and drop your mint stems into it. Keep the container in the fridge and your mint will be good for around 7 days.^[x]
- Change out the h2o every few days.^[11]
2

Store the mint in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to seven days. To go on the mint from drying out, wrap information technology in a clammy newspaper towel.^[12] And then, wrap it in plastic or pop it into a plastic bag. Stick it in the fridge and utilise it within a week.^[13]
3
Freeze actress mint so it lasts longer. Lay out your mint leaves on a tray in a single layer and pop information technology in the freezer. Once the leaves are frozen (at least 30 minutes), accept the tray out and dump the leaves into a plastic bag. Squeeze out all of the air and stick the handbag back in the freezer.^[14] They'll final for 1 yr.^[15]
- Some herbs need to be blanched before freezing, but yous're in luck because mint isn't one of them!^[sixteen]
4

Create mint ice cubes to pop into drinks and dishes. Chop up your mint leaves and pack them into an ice cube tray. Carefully fill the rest of the tray with water and freeze it. Y'all can either toss these minty water ice cubes in drinks or add them right to your pan!^[17]
v
Dry your mint so you lot tin use it for years to come up. Cut a agglomeration of mint stems and necktie them together virtually the cutting end. Hang them upside downward in a nighttime, dry room with a temperature betwixt seventy and 90 °F (21 and 32 °C) for about ii weeks. When all of the leaves are crispy, pluck them from the stems. Crumble them up if desired, so shop them in an airtight glass container.^[18]
- Continue your glass container out of the sun and the mint should concluding 1 to three years.^[19]

1

Toss fresh leaves into your favorite recipes. Once you've harvested your mint, information technology'due south easy to pop a few leaves or sprigs into any dish. Mint goes especially well with peas.^[20] Information technology also pairs perfectly with pork and lamb.^[21] You can even add chopped mint to sorbet or fruit salad for a tangy treat!^[22]
2

Make mint tea with your freshly harvested leaves. Y'all tin have a warm cuppa anytime you want if you've got mint in your garden! Just put a couple of leaves in a cup and pour boiling h2o over acme. Steep for upward to 5 minutes, then sweeten your tea to your liking.^[23]
3
Freshen up your drinks with mint ice cubes or garnishes. Mint is a staple in many delectable cocktails from a mojito to a mint julep, the official potable of the Kentucky Derby. Toss some mint ice cubes into water, lemonade, or your favorite cocktail. Yous tin can even muddle the mint or use it as a garnish to add together a sweetness, herbaceous flavor to any beverage.
- Y'all can even toss mint ice cubes right into your pan as you're cooking!^[24]
4

Add together frozen leaves to your dishes without defrosting them. Thawing herbs makes them limp, and then skip that step! Just toss the frozen mint right into your recipe as you're cooking.^[25]
5

Sprinkle dried mint into your recipes for a fresh taste year-round. Add together dried herbs to your dishes when you first start cooking so they take plenty of fourth dimension to impart their flavor. For your reference, one tablespoon of freshly chopped herbs is equal to 1 teaspoon of dried whole or crumbled herbs and ¼ teaspoon of dried powdered herbs.^[26]

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Mint is a creeping institute that can easily accept over a garden. Try planting it in a large container to requite the roots room to abound. Place your container in an area that gets lots of sunlight and keep the soil moist.^[27]