How to Dry Mint and Melissa at Home

Peppermint and lemon balm are widely used in medicine, cooking and at home. Essential oils are obtained from these plants, and tea mixtures and drinks are prepared. Fresh leaves are used for salads, and dry leaves are included in the composition of medicinal plant charges. Knowing how to dry peppermint, melissa, villagers, gardeners and enthusiasts of "vegetable gardens on the windowsill" provide the family with useful leaves for the entire autumn-winter months.

Peppermint and lemon balm (lemon balm)

We need to properly prepare fresh raw materials, so that old friends of man - food and medicinal plants - do not lose their useful properties. Peppermint, lemon balm and other essential oils require careful attention to the collection, drying and storage of raw materials. Plants with improper methods can lose a wonderful aroma and their valuable healing properties.

Of course, chemical analysis of each portion of dried leaves to conduct at home is not necessary. It is enough to follow the rules when harvesting fresh plants, drying and storing. The question of the timing of all these works is also important. When to collect and dry mint and lemon balm? We shall understand in intricacies of the reference with favorites of national and scientific medicine.

How to procure raw materials

Mint leaves and lemon balm are harvested in June-August (the period depends on the geographic location of the region). The signal to the beginning of the billet is budding and the beginning of flowering. Gather mint in dry weather. As a rule, billets are cooked until lunch, after the evaporation of drops of past rain or dew. Otherwise you will not have time to think about how to dry the mint, the raw materials will be spoiled, and all the labors will go to nothing. It happens that the leaves are covered with a layer of dust, then they spray the plants in advance and collect them after evaporation of the water drops.

If the plantation is large, then you can cut off the shoots to the base or to the lower leaves. Then from the remaining kidneys on the rhizomes grow new stems. Use a sickle, scissors or a special pruner to work. Small plants in the "kitchen garden" require careful handling. In this case, only the mature, intact leaves are manually cut off.

How to Dry Mint and Melissa

The cut and harvested plant mass is folded into small bundles or sheaves, left in the shade so that the leaves are tied, but not lost color. Then you need to decompose the raw materials in a thin layer under the canopy, on the balcony or the terrace.

It is important to observe the temperature regime when drying. So, indoors and outdoors should not be more than +35 ° C. It is better to place bundles of plants in a suspended state in fresh air or in a ventilated room (with the ends cut upwards).

If the leaves are harvested separately from the shoots, then they are laid out in one layer on a clean cloth or paper, left on a table, a window sill. Occasionally, the raw materials must be turned over and inspected so that there is no blackening. Under favorable conditions, the plant harvest will be ready sooner than in a week. Direct sunlight should not fall on the leaves, otherwise valuable essential oils will escape!

How to dry mint in the refrigerator and microwave

Each of the methods of harvesting, drying plants has disadvantages and advantages. The main thing is that the finished collection has a natural color and aroma. This result can be obtained in the shade, in the attic, in a ventilated room or on the balcony. On the issue of how to properly dry peppermint, lemon balm, there are often disagreements between beginners and experienced collectors.

Some suggest placing leaves for a short time in the oven or microwave. Others say that with this method, a significant part of the active substances is lost. You can use the oven, but the vegetable collection will really lose its natural flavor and benefits. Preserves useful substances when storing washed and withered twigs in the refrigerator. Degraded by a thin layer of plants gradually lose water.

How to dry mint in a microwave? The plant collection is prepared in the same way as for the method described above. Leaves should be laid out in a thin layer on cotton textiles, covered with the same cloth on top, placed on a plate in a microwave oven. Turn it on for about 2 minutes, plus or minus 20-30 seconds. When the leaves dry completely, you can still hold them in the room for another day, then put them in a glass jar or tissue pouch for storage.

How to distinguish qualitatively dried peppermint

The signs by which it is determined that the herb of mint and balm is ready for threshing and consumption:

• Natural green color;
• Stems dry, break with light pressure;
• There is a specific flavor;
• Preserved burning, spicy taste.

Raw materials, ready for use after threshing dry shoots, are whole or partially crushed leaves. If you put them in a glass jar, close them, store them in a dark and cool place, then wonderful herbs - peppermint and lemon balm - will not lose their properties for two years.