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Here is a link that might be useful: Herb Forum

tclynx,

I bought some fill-your-own teabags and gave away mint (also lemon balm and chamomile) in gift baskets one Christmas. Made up little tags with strings and attached them. They were a big hit --- people who might never have appreciated a gift of loose herbs found the homemade teabags to be fun and useful.

I got mine from Richter's Herbs but don't see them on the Richters website --- but lots of online stores seem to have similar things.

Oh, and of course, don't forget to make yourself some mojitos after a long day of gardening!

Z

Here is a link that might be useful: Fill Your Own Teabags

Cool, I like the fill-your-own tea bag idea!

I second the mojito suggestion!

I have the same problem. Less now that I tilled a whole little field of mint, but it will come back, and pops up here and there...and I got some growing in other places now (it seems to jump doesn't it?)

My heaviest use is to wash it, dry it (I use flat baskets since I live in a dry climate) and store for mint tea. I love the stuff. It will dry to a really small volume too, so you can put away quite a bit or mint by drying it.

Other uses I have for it fresh:

Chopped up and added to parsley in tabouli.

In salad spring rolls made with the rice paper wrappers (thai or vietnamese style).

In mint-tamarind chutney.

Chopped or whole smaller leaves in fruit salad.

...and in Mojitos, of course.

Chopped fine and stirred into partly melted vanilla ice cream with some mini chocolate chips, then refrozen in little metal jello molds - tadah! Personal sized mint chocolate chip ice cream.

Nancy

I make mint syrup for sweet tea and quick juleps (you never know when you'll need a julep quick). I learned thanks to this forum that you can can it like jelly minus the pectin, so I've been enjoying fresh mint syrup over the winter.

I have a yogurt dressing that can be made with fresh or dried mint (plus lemon balm, verbena, or whatever sounds good)-- plain yogurt, mint, honey to taste. Wonderful over fruit.

Mint ice cream-- Nancy's fast way sounds good! And I make the homemade kind where you steep in the cream first. Better with peppermint than spearmint in my opinion.

There's a Thai noodle dish I make that calls for a lot of basil and/or mint.

And dried for tea. Lots of tea, hot or iced.

I also have turtles who are willing to eat mint, so the extra goes to them (especially the marshmallow mint, which isn't so great dried and grows huge quickly).

Tried the mint jelly thing. Just didn't work out too well. First batch I tried, I screwed up and it didn't jell right. Operator error flipping the recipe sheet over and reading the wrong part of the sure jell instructions. Probably better off though since the mint I have just doesn't seem to make a minty enough flavor for mint jelly. Oh Well.

Add some mint extract?

Frosted Mint Leaves
1 egg white, lightly beaten
castor sugar
mint leaves

Lightly brush each mint leaf with the egg white, roll lightly in the castor sugar and place the leave onto a cake rack. Leave for about an hour while the egg white dries with its crust of sugar. Use to decorate cakes, pavlova etc or as an after-dinner treat.

You can also coat mint leaves with melted chocolate. Very yum, expecially if you dip/set/dip/set a few times! For cake decorating, you can just paint some melted chocolate onto a leaf, then when it's completely firm, peel off the chocolate and use that to decorate your cake. Make extra, so you can sample the mint/chocolate as you work!

Mint Cordial
1 large bunch mint
juice of 2 lemons
500g sugar
600ml water
juice of 1 orange
1 cup pineapple juice

Pick off mint leaves, crush thoroughly, add lemon juice and stand aside for one hour. Boil the water and sugar to a syrup, pour over mint and lemon. Cool and strain. Add orange and pineapple juices and serve ice cold with a sprig of fresh mint in each glass.

Mint Jelly (2)
2kg tart apples
3 cups strong mint water
2 cups white vinegar
sugar

To make mint water, steep 500g mint in 3 cups water overnight. Next day, chop apples and place in a pan, barely cover with water. Cover and simmer about 1 hour until apples are soft. Strain. Combine apple juice, mint water, and vinegar and strain again. Measure and place in a pan, adding cup for cup of sugar. Stir until the sugar dissolves. Bring to boiling and cook rapidly until the jelly will set. Bottle and seal. Serve with meat, especially lamb, or on toast, in sandwiches etc

Mint Liqueur
2 cups any fresh mint leaves, except eau de cologne
3 cups vodka
2 cups white sugar
1 cup water
1 teaspoon glycerine

Use mint leaves only, stems removed. Measure 2 cups of snipped leaves and put with the vodka in a large glass jar with a non-metallic lid. Stand for two weeks, shaking occasionally. Strain and discard leaves. Combine sugar, water and bring to the boil, then cool. Add to mint liqueur base, add glycerine and stir to mix. Pour into a sterilised jar and leave for at least 6 weeks to mature. Sip a small amount to aid digestion either before or after a meal, or enjoy with after-dinner coffee.

Mint Pesto:
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
2 cups fresh mint leaves, packed
1/3 cup honey
1 tablespoon vanilla

In a food processor, briefly chop the nuts before adding the remaining ingredients. Puree until reduced to a paste. If not using right away, transfer to a glass container, lay plastic wrap over the top so it is touching thus keeping air from penetrating the pesto. Store in refrigerator for up to a month. Use as a filling for sandwich cookies or mix some into chocolate sauce for ice cream or cake, or pipe swirls onto choc-chip cookies.

Mint Sauce
2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon boiling water
1/2 cup vinegar

Wash and dry the mint, remove stalks, chop finely and add sugar. Pour in the boiling water. Add vinegar and stir well. Serve with roast lamb. [Note: if you combine the leaves and sugar first, it will make the leaves easier to chop, so they don't cling to the cutters or knife.] This is a MUST HAVE for roast lamb!

Try freezing mint leaves in ice-cube containers with some water or fruit juice - just pop the frozen cubes into a summer punch or cold water. A nice option is to put a lemon balm leaf in with the mint.

joannaw, how do you make the mint syrup? use invert syrup? do you use fresh or dried mint leaves? what proportion of leaves to water/sugar?

Invert sugar is not cane based. Its the type that isn't ver crystaline. There are enzymes that convert regular sugar into invert. One of its primarily uses is as a fondant in candy making for fillings for chocolates.

Cabrita, here's the recipe I used:

5 c. water
4 c. fresh mint leaves (chopped or bruised)
4 c. sugar
1 tsp corn syrup (if you're canning it or using it slowly; not needed if you're using it up as fast as you can make it, like I do)

Boil the mint leaves in the water, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Strain and measure out 3 cups of liquid. Put back in pan and add sugar. Bring to boil.

I think dried would be fine too, just reduce the amount by about a third.

The link is for the earlier thread about canning the syrup-- there was some discussion of invert sugar, lemon juice, and other things to prevent crystallization.

Here is a link that might be useful: mint syrup thread

Thanks joannaw! I will try this. I made rose hips syrup a similar way, I just refrigerate without canning since I use it fast enough. 4 cups fresh mint leaves is nice, this is quite a bit.

I use lemon balm - essentially a mind - in berry and rhubarb baking to bring out the flavor. don't know why a couple of mint leaves wouldn't enhance as well. Also could taste nice in pasta salads, fruit salads, scrambled eggs (sparingly).

I ran across a recipe some time back using 4 cups shredded zucchini, a few other shredded veggies (like carrots, celery and onion, maybe potato) 4-5 eggs, and a cup of chopped fresh mint. Pour the whole thing onto a jelly-roll pan and bake until golden, then cut into squares . It was very nice!

they're using mint in a lot of unexpected meats, marinades, and 'rubs' lately on the cooking shows... and fruit salad dressings... I don't think anyone has mentioned the technique of quick freezing it on a cookie sheet, then transfering to a container = so you can keep a whole bunch of "fresh mint" in the freezer for winter treats. I don't use plastic, so I made a bunch of cotton muslin bags with draw strings (you can actually freeze fruit this way). I can add newly frozen mint anytime. I keep the bag in a cardboard box in the freezer so it doesn't get squished... 'fresh mint' year around