Smallholders Insurance from Greenlands

Author Topic: preserving mint  (Read 19277 times)

ellisr

  • Joined Sep 2009
  • Wales
Re: preserving mint
« Reply #30 on: May 12, 2011, 03:37:18 pm »
I have always used an old washing up bowl, cracked the bottom to let water out and then buried it in the garden and planted the mint into that it seems to keep it contained.

Greenerlife

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Leafy Surrey
Re: preserving mint
« Reply #31 on: May 12, 2011, 04:37:18 pm »
I put my mint in a big pot to stop it invading my garden. Last year it was absolutely hopeless - never grew further than 2 inches tall!  Just turfed it out of the pot and split it.  There was absolutely no soil at all, just a mass of roots.  Hope it gets back to being good this year - I need it or all the Pimms I expect to be drinking this summer!   :yum:

Sandy

  • Guest
Re: preserving mint
« Reply #32 on: May 13, 2011, 10:20:52 pm »
 ;) Pimms, lovely, reminds me of warm summer nights around the Bar B Que!!!! I use mint in loads of things, especialy new baby spuds!!!!

Plantoid

  • Joined May 2011
  • Yorkshireman on a hill in wet South Wales
Re: preserving mint
« Reply #33 on: May 18, 2011, 10:45:12 pm »
does anyone have any tips how to preserve mint which also preserves the flavour- obviously other methods than drying it  ;D?
there is only so much mint sauce one can eat and freezing which works fine with parsley and chives did turn my mint into a tastelss mush last year... :&>

 What are the reasons for wanting lots of mint .. is it as a falvouring essence ? Is it to be able to reproduce mint flavoured leaves as if off the plant ?

If it is the former besides all the various preserves already mentioned try layering a screw top jar with lots of quality tip  leaves and then once full with pressed down leaves fill up the jar with honey to get a sweet mint honey for all sorts of drinks and adding to soups , stews etc or making mint honey glazes .

I'd also have ago at doing the same again but this time use a bottle of decent vodka to leach out the oils ..gotta be a good night cap neat and pudding /ice cream falvouring but I suspect it will taste slightly bitter in heated food cooking ( it does when added to shrimps that are cooked in butter and beaten egg )

 I'd also try another way if you have  a vacuum sealer ( £ 20 or so from the likes of Aldi , Lidel ,Wilkinsons perhaps a store that sells JML products or even look on line ) I have a four year old Biffinet jobby and use heavy duty embossed v ac bags as they last well and can be reused abiet in a smaller size.
I'd wash ther mint tips and fil a bag then vacuum seal them and bung them in the freezer .. the volatile mint oils /escence will not evaporate on the vac sealed bag .

 Those heavy duty bags come from a company called weschenfelder.co.uk          /catalog/848/embossed_ribbed_bags]

 I seal up a new bag when it is empty then cut in in half then quarters  then seal up the free edges to make smaller bags and then use the smaller bags to store small amounts of Nescafe instant coffee ( I'm the only one that drinks coffee in my house ) I also store  small packs of ground up home grown corriander seed, dried parsley , sage , tyme  and a whole host of other stuff .


Finally if you have a pressure cooker like mine I can attach a small high temp reinforced clear  hose to the  pressure outlet nozzle where the weight  fits on and from there it's an easy step to distill the steam and oils coming off a boiling pan of minh and water down into a  glass bottle having run the pipe in a couple of coils immersed in a sink of cold water to condense the distillate & get a strong mint essence .
« Last Edit: May 18, 2011, 10:58:09 pm by Plantoid »
International playboy & liar .
Man of the world not a country

Red

  • Joined Mar 2011
  • North Yorkshire
Re: preserving mint
« Reply #34 on: October 21, 2011, 08:27:26 pm »
I know this thread was replied to months ago but I've only just seen it! I preserved my mint this year in rape seed oil and it worked! I just put as much as I could cram into a jar then filled with the oil, left of the window for about 2 months, shaking every time I walked past and it worked! the mint is lovely in tea and general cooking with lamb and also the oil is lovely to use! :wave:
Red

Plantoid

  • Joined May 2011
  • Yorkshireman on a hill in wet South Wales
Re: preserving mint
« Reply #35 on: October 29, 2011, 06:27:14 pm »
Red...
Help me out please ....mint that's been infused in veg oil and then put in tea    ???????
International playboy & liar .
Man of the world not a country

Greenerlife

  • Joined Mar 2009
  • Leafy Surrey
Re: preserving mint
« Reply #36 on: October 29, 2011, 08:18:01 pm »
I am so glad you asked plantoid.  I thought the same... :-\

 

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