Got mint? I love this prolific grower, even if it sometimes wants to take over the garden. You may feel like you’ve got enough mint to feed the entire state of Rhode Island, but fear not — here are some fresh ideas to help you make the most of the harvest.
1. Whip up some mint whipped cream and put a dollop (a word that deserves to be used more often) on strawberry mousse, mini flourless chocolate cakes, cookies and cream ice cream, brownies, hot chocolate, etc.
2. Mint pairs wonderfully with basil in this Mint Pesto recipe, which is so tasty tossed with hot pasta or drizzled on a pizza. (Everyone who tries it prefers it to regular pesto!)
3. Roll up some of these colorful, mouth-watering Vegetable and Mint Spring Rolls with Peanut Sauce from Damn Delicious.
4. Bake a batch of mint chocolate cupcakes from Homespun Seasonal Living.
5. Indulge in a creamy bowl of Fresh Mint Chocolate Chip Ice Cream.
6. For an easy lunch or side dish, make the Barefoot Contessa’s Tabbouleh salad.
7. Cool off with a mojito cocktail, the classic combination of fresh mint, club soda, fresh squeezed lime juice and simple syrup. Love and Lemon’s mojito recipe is beautifully balanced, and how often do you get to “muddle” something? Not nearly often enough.
8. Make some of Martha Stewart’s homemade mint jelly. Enjoy a jar at home and give some as holiday gifts.
9. Make a batch of Fresh Mint Chocolate Truffles. Oh, yes yes yes. If you have extras, I can easily provide you with my shipping address.
10. Make minted naturally sweetened iced tea.
11. Who needs a still in the back yard when you can make homemade hooch in your kitchen? Brew some homemade Creme de Menthe and you’ll be able to make Grasshopper Pie whenever a craving hits.
How to Store Fresh Mint
If you have store-bought mint, or have picked mint sprigs and want to keep the leaves fresh, here’s how:
First, give the mint a good rinse under cool water and pat it dry with a paper towel before you store it. You don’t want any excess moisture hanging around, as that can cause the leaves to wilt.
Once your mint is dry, wrap it loosely in a damp paper towel and store it in a plastic bag in your fridge. The damp towel will help keep the mint hydrated, while the plastic bag will keep it from getting too much air exposure. Just make sure you don’t wrap the mint too tightly – it needs a little room to breathe!
Freezing Fresh Mint
Another option for storing fresh mint is to freeze it. This is a great option if you know you’re not going to use all of your mint right away.
To freeze fresh mint, chop it up into small pieces and spread it out in a single layer on a baking sheet. Pop the sheet in the freezer for a couple of hours until the mint is frozen solid, then transfer it to a freezer-safe bag or airtight container.
The frozen mint will keep for several weeks, and you can easily grab a handful whenever you need it for cooking or making drinks. Plus, frozen mint is great for adding to smoothies or blending into pesto!
How about you? What’s your favorite way to enjoy fresh mint? Drop a comment below!
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Eliza Cross is the creator of Happy Simple Living, where she shares ideas to help busy people simplify cooking, gardening, holidays, home, and money. She is also the award-winning author of 17 cookbooks, including Small Bites and 101 Things To Do With Bacon.
Great timing for this article. Our mint is growing like a weed (go figure!). It is a kind of choco-mint. Mrs. SPF loves it.
We really do need to harvest it and put it to good use so this article gives us some great ideas!
I’ve read about the chocolate mint variety and now I want to try it. Thanks for stopping by, and all my best to you and Mrs. SPF!
I always hear that fresh mint has a lot of uses…This is additional to them…
Great tips! I drink mint tea pretty much every day, but I’ve never tried making it from scratch. Sounds like a fun challenge!
I just made mint jelly, sans food coloring! I was trying to think of some other uses for it that I could give as Christmas gifts. Now, I am going to make some of the foot scrub to give! Thanks for the great ideas!
I love fresh mint and sometimes, I include it in my recipes…
I love mint and will try adding to the whip cream.
Fresh mints are awesome…They add flavor to recipes…
I haven’t tried using mint in my recipe…
What I do is dip the leaves in melted semisweet chocolate chips and refrigerate to make a pretty after meal refresher! So delicious!
Sound interested with the mint scrub n the semi chocolate dip as I grow my mint n at times I give numerous pot of mints plants away to plenty in my community…
I love the idea of the choc dipped leaves! Thanks for all the ideas.
Thanks for sharing I will be trying the mint jelly for sure! I like to use my mint in a variety of Greek recipes. Tzatziki sauce calls for fresh mint and we look forward to it every year!
I add mint to spaghetti sauce, and it is delicious, not a lot, just enough to taste. Experiment!
Oooh, that sounds fresh and delicious. Thank you, Corey – must try!
Minted ice water can gently relieve constipation. Check with your Doctor if you aren’t sure.
Lots of Thai and Vietnamese recipes call for a spicy basil. We found the mint to be milder and FREE! It has inspired us to learn to grow the basil.
Ice cream, anyone?
These are all great ideas, Angela – thank you so much!
Try Indian Mint Chutney! You can eat it as a condiment with so many things. It goes great with grilled meat or tofu. It also freezes really well. Recipe: http://bit.ly/1g9qNXk
I love this recipe so much, and your blog is beautiful! Thanks, Nimi. xo