How to Dehydrate Mint
How to dehydrate fresh mint from the garden or the store for tea and cooking. Mint is easy to grow so there is no reason not to harvest some and dry in a dehydrator to keep on hand in the pantry.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 bunch fresh mint
- 8 cups water
Instructions
- Harvest or buy fresh mint. If harvesting fresh mint do it early in the morning before the sun is high in the sky.
- Repeatedly rinse the fresh mint in a large dishpan or in your sink with cold water. Rinse until there is no more dirt floating in the water.
- Arrange the mint leaves and stems on a dehydrator tray. Repeat until you have loaded all of the mint on multiply drying trays.
- Set the dehydrator temperature control to 95 to 100 degrees. Place the cover on the appliance and turn it on.
- If your dehydrator has a timer set the timer for 4 hours.
- Around 3 hours check the mint leaves and see if they are crisp and crumbly. If they are they are done.
- Once the mint has finished drying allow it to cool until it is cold to the touch.
- Strip the dried mint leaves from the stems.
- Transfer the dried mint leaves to an airtight container until needed. Store the dried mint in a cool dark cabinet out of direct sunlight
- Makes about 1 cup of dried mint. The finished amount will depend on how much fresh mint you start with.
Video
Recipe Expert Tips
- Harvesting mint: Always harvest fresh herbs early in the morning. As the sun rises and the temperature starts to get hotter some of the mint essential oils will evaporate. The herb will have the highest concentration of essential oil when harvested in the cool morning or a cloudy overcast day.
- Dehydrator temperature for herbs: Fresh herbs like mint should be dried at a low temperature so the essential oils do not evaporate completely from the heat. Dehydrators with a temperature setting usually go as low as 95 degrees. Some models may have a low temp of 100 degrees. Use the lowest temp available. If your model does not have a temperature control you will need to watch the herbs closely because they will dry much faster. Remove the herbs once they are crispy dry.
- How much dried mint?: When drying herbs it can be hard to determine how much of the dried herb you will end up with. Keep in mind that the fresh herb will dry down to about 50% of what you started with.
- Dried herb stems: You can save the dried herb stems and toss them in a bonfire for a sweet treat in the colder months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1teaspoonCalories: 0.1kcalCarbohydrates: 0.01gProtein: 0.003gFat: 0.001gSodium: 2mgPotassium: 0.5mgFiber: 0.01gVitamin A: 4IUVitamin C: 0.03mgCalcium: 1mgIron: 0.004mg
Tried this recipe?Share a picture on Instagram and tag @flouronmyface2