Mint is one of the most popular herbs and great for lots of recipes like roast leg of lamb or pasta meals, etc.
There are 2 ways to store surplus mint:
- In a fridge – will last 1 to 2 weeks
- Or a freezer – will last 3 months or longer
If you want to store it in a fridge then the key to keeping it fresh is to treat it like fresh cut flowers.
Just let it stand in a glass of water and it will stay fresh for up to 10 days. However do make sure you change the water every few days and also trim the leaves from the bottom – so that it’s only the stem in the water.
How to freeze mint
However if your homegrown mint is getting to large (or you have bought to much) then there is a very easy way to store mint and make the taste last longer.
It takes only a couple of minutes and the fresh taste will last at least 3 months. If you have to much mint then freezing it is very easy to do
Ingredients
- Minimum of 1 stalk of mint with 4 leaves
- Some fresh water
Equipment
- Ice cube tray
- Freezer bags (optional)
Instructions
- Wash the mint
- Remove the mint leaves
- Put 3 or 4 leaves in an ice cube tray
- Add water
- Freeze
- Put in freezer bags (optional)
Why put it in a freezer bag ?
It is not essential to put in a freezer bag – but it’s a lot easier to keep track of when you froze it (as you can write the date on the label) and also which type it is.
If you are growing mint then it can be very useful to grow a variety of different types
For example
- Apple Mint – Strong flavour great for tea or adding to salads
- Spearmint – Ideal for recipes like roast leg of lamb or pasta meals, etc
- Peppermint – With a stronger flavour it’s ideal for lamb recipes.
- Orange Mint – Ideal for salads and mexican recipes like Salsa
The advantage is that (when frozen) you will different types of mint available for different meals and recipes.
How to Freeze Mint and use the Ice Cubes
Yes, some of the mint ice cubes are great to use in drinks like orange mint iced tea
But in most cases the easiest option is to thaw out the ice cubes just before using the mint. Just put the ice cube in a bowl and use a strainer to separate the mint.
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How to freeze mint
Equipment
- Ice cube tray
- freezer
Ingredients
- 4 leaves Fresh Mint Leaves
- 50 ml Water
Instructions
- Wash the mint leaves in water
- Remove leaves from stalk
- Put leaves in ice cube tray
- Cover with water
- Freeze
Video
Why grow your own Mint?
If you go into most supermarkets you will probably be able to find a bag of ‘fresh’ mint.
When you are cooking fresh herbs tend to make a real difference to the results. Herbs are really easy to grow at home and many of them grow really fast.
But there are 3 main advantages of growing your own mint:
- It will be fresher with more taste (even the ‘fresh’ mint in supermarkets will be at least 1 day old)
- You can grow mint varieties (like apple or orange mint) not available in most shops
- You will save money
Growing mint is very easy to do at home – and now you know how to freeze mint you can save lots of use throughout the year. More details in our article on how to grow mint indoors
We add mint recipes on a regular basis.
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