Thanks to its wonderful aroma, mint has been known to mankind for a very long time, but the ability to properly dry mint, to prepare this plant for the winter, so that it does not lose any aromatic and medicinal properties, is not given to everyone.
To date, peppermint is a cultivated hybrid of two wild plants, grown everywhere in the gardens and vegetable gardens, loving fertile, moist, loose soil and plenty of sun.
When to collect mint
Collect this plant for only two months a year - from June to July. Cut is at a time when the plant has already fully blossomed, otherwise its aromatic properties will not manifest to the full. However, if buds appeared on young shoots of mint, then separate leaves can be collected from them. Dry as whole stems, and only leaves.
Air humidity at the time of collection is very important, so the best time for mint harvesting, as well as other medicinal herbs, is dry weather. If you collect mint in the day, when even the late morning on the leaves there is dew, then after drying it will not get green, but a brown color. Also, the cut stems of mint should be immediately removed from direct sunlight. Of course, one should be wary of preparing medicinal plants on plentifully fertilized territory, as well as on land in the immediate vicinity of motorways and cattle-breeding complexes.
How to dry the mint house
As we said above, freshly cut mint stems should be immediately removed from the sun, because under the action of direct rays from the plant valuable essential oils evaporate, thereby making the billet useless. Collected stems with leaves should be collected in large, but rare bundles, bandaged and suspended in a ventilated indoor area, for example, on a veranda, attic or balcony. Such blanks dry faster and do not preyut.
Leaves harvested separately from the stems are dried in a shady place on paper or a clean rag, occasionally turning over.
Is it worth it to dry mint in the oven?
Despite the fact that theoretically such a method takes place, in practice it is better not to use it, because quickly dried in this way the vegetative collection loses its aromatic bouquet almost completely.
Best storage of dried peppermint
. From completely dried stems, inflorescences and leaves are removed, then they are finely grinded into powder and packed in tightly closed dry containers. Stored in a cool and dark place, the mint leaves its aroma throughout the winter.
Unmilled mint can also be stored for storage, for this, it is packed in cotton bags, in which the plant can "breathe".
How to use dried mint
Traditional healers value peppermint and consider it a medicinal plant for high content of essential oils and tannins in it.
For example, from heartburn, nausea and flatulence helps mint tea - one tablespoon of well-dried mint should be poured with one glass of hot water and let it brew for 10 minutes. The same tea with the addition of honey facilitates the symptoms of angina pectoris. A child who suffers from skin rashes, it is useful to bathe in the bathroom with the addition of mint broth.
There are mints and some contraindications. Thus, representatives of the stronger sex, who are addicted to mint tea, endanger their masculine strength. Mint infusion, in turn, is not recommended for hypotonic use.