Wild Mint is one of my favorite wild plants to harvest and preserve for the winter.
Its wonderful aromatic qualities are a delight for the senses and a comforting reminder of the warmer seasons left behind in the winter months.
I use fresh Wild Mint in hot and iced teas, I love to dry and preserve it for my winter tea stash. In the winter months I love using it to seasoning my, soups, stews and pot roasts.
Greetings,
I have been out this morning walking the lake shore, collecting Wild Mint for my morning tea and to dry and store for the winter.
It is such a simple practice, but it fills me with so much delight and gratitude. We are surrounded by such incredible richness, quality, and bounty; what a joy it is to connect and be part of it.
In this article, I will share with you how to identify Wild Mint, the proper way to pick and harvest it, and some of the many wonderful ways you can use and preserve your Wild Mint for future use.
How to Identify Wild Mint
Mint belongs to the Lamiaceae family, along with basil, lavender, tyme, rosemary, and many of the other delicious aromatic herbs we love to use in the kitchen and garden.
The easiest way to identify Wild Mint and other members of this family is by their square stems and opposite leaf patterns. Not to mention the amazing oils that escape when you rub the leaves between your fingers.
Mint loves to grow in wet sunny locations, areas with poor drainage. So when you are out and about walking along the edges of lakes, ponds and swamps you are sure to find it.
The best time to pick it is when the plant is still young and vital, before it starts to flower. You can still harvest it when it is flowering, I just find the flavor is not quite as good.
The Proper Way to Pick and Harvest Wild Mint
The best time to pick and harvest Wild Mint and other plants especially ones that contain volatile oils is early in the morning, just as the dew is evaporating. Try to harvest before it gets too hot, and if you can, avoid washing or rinsing the leaves . You want to keep as much of the oil in the plant as possible.
When harvesting your herbs, always cut just above a set of leaves, leaving at least two to three leaf sets from the ground up.
This allows the plant to continue to grow and will supply you with much more mint to pick over the coming growing season.
Wonderful Ways to Use Wild Mint
There are so many great ways to preserve and use your Wild Mint . You can cut it up with scissors and freeze it in ice cube trays, to use in iced teas or as part of a wonderful stuffing for fish.
I really love using fresh mint for tea during the growing season; it is so simple and delicious, especially in iced lemon tea.
Just cut up your mint leaves, pour hot water over them, and leave them to steep. This makes a wonderfully vibrant, uplifting, and refreshing cup of tea. You can enjoy it hot or cold.
Mint dries very well and retains much of its aromatic oils in the process. So it is wonderful to have on hand in the winter months for tea and to use as a culinary herb.
I love to make a rub for my winter roasts using my Wild Mint and other herbs from the garden and woods. The depth of flavor is quite exquisite.
Three Different Ways to Dry Your Wild Mint
I dry a lot of different herbs over the spring and summer months. My favorite way to dry them is probably with a good drying rack.
You want to hang it in a cool, clean, well-ventilated spot out of direct sunlight (the sun will denature the herbs).
For smaller batches, you can also hang your mint upside down, tied with string. This can work quite well, as you can tie the bundles up around the house, which is beautiful and smells great too!
I also use the paper bag method quite often. To do this get a large paper bag and place your mint upside down in the bag.
The paper bag will breathe, but you want to make sure there is some air space around the drying plants and to leave the top open for air flow.
I hope this article has inspired you to get out and connect with the wild world around you and to harvest some Wild Mint for your own use and fulfillment.
That’s all for now, have a fabulous day.
Violet
