In winter, we especially miss the bright summer flavors. Fortunately, modern household appliances make it possible to freeze many foods without losing their taste and healing qualities.
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This also applies to mint. These spicy greens can easily be frozen fresh and then used in winter to prepare various dishes.
In this article we will talk about ways to freeze mint.
How to Freeze Whole Mint Leaves
Some dishes will benefit from keeping the whole leaves.
We collect all the greens in one or more bunches and soak for several minutes in cold water.
Then rinse with running water, shake off excess moisture and lay out to dry on a towel.
NOTE! There is no need to pile up the greens; the thinner the layer, the faster the mint will dry.
Drying will take about half an hour in total. To speed up the process, stir the leaves. There is no point in drying it longer, as the mint will become wilted.
Now we select large, beautiful leaves and put them in flat containers. Bags are not the best idea, as frozen leaves in them can break.
We put the containers in the freezer.
Mint can be frozen in bunches if necessary. It is not necessary to pick off the leaves. And the freezing technology is exactly the same.
Selection and preparation of raw materials
During the harvesting season, you can dry and freeze any variety of mint. If possible, it is very good to use several types of herbs at the same time. For example, adding lemon balm gives a wonderful combination of menthol with a pronounced lemon aroma.
The greatest health benefits come from grass grown outdoors or in containers under the summer sun.
The herbs are collected in warm sunny weather immediately before flowering or at its beginning (July - August), because the content of essential oils is lower in too young shoots and faded plants. Only twigs with fresh leaves without signs of disease (gray or white coating, small black dots or spots of rust) are suitable for freezing. To prevent cut aromatic herbs from wilting, they should be placed in a jar of water before starting work or placed in the refrigerator, wrapped in a damp towel.
You should not make preparations from herbs purchased in the supermarket.
After sorting and removing bad stems, the raw materials are thoroughly washed. To do this, completely immerse it in a container of cold water and leave for about 10-20 minutes. Using warm or hot water leads to a decrease in the amount of aromatic substances and a loss of fresh appearance.
Having shaken off excess moisture well, the branches are laid out in one layer on a kitchen or paper towel, blotted on top and turned over several times so that the raw materials are completely dry.
If you plan to freeze the stemless greens, remove or cut off the leaves and tender tops.
Freezing mint in ice cubes
An interesting way is to freeze the spice in ice cubes.
For freezing you need molds.
Tear small leaves, prepare them properly and place them on the bottom of the molds.
Next, add cold boiled water and place in the freezer until completely frozen.
Further - at your discretion. You can leave it frozen in the mold, or you can transfer the cubes into bags to make several more batches.
Mint frozen this way can be used to make cocktails at parties.
Flavored sugar
You can preserve mint for tea for the winter by preparing sugar with the addition of perennials. In addition, green-based sweets are used for baking, drinks, fruit salads and desserts. Thanks to this preparation, the sugar will be saturated with beneficial microelements, and the mint will remain fresh for a long time.
Greens and sugar are taken in equal quantities, after which they are crushed until smooth. The mixture is then poured into clean jars and stored in the refrigerator.
Harvesting this plant will not only allow you to enjoy fragrant mint for a long time, but also save a lot of money, since in the cold season the prices for perennials increase 2-3 times. Thanks to the simple recommendations presented in the article, you can provide yourself and your loved ones with healthy greens for the whole year.
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How long does frozen mint last?
The shelf life of spices directly depends on the temperature inside the freezer.
At -20 and in a vacuum bag, the grass will last for more than six months. But it is not recommended to leave ice for longer than 3 months.
The spice that is stored in containers and bags is used for a month, a maximum of one and a half months.
When to prune lemon balm. Application of lemon balm
Nature is rich in useful plants. Many of them are actively used in official and alternative medicine, used in cooking and everyday life. One of nature’s popular gifts is lemon balm, an unpretentious but very useful plant that has a number of beneficial properties. You can often find another name for the herb – “lemon mint”. This is due to some similarities with mint, and the lemon flavor of lemon balm tea cannot be confused with anything else. The herb is a spice and is actively used.
Where is lemon balm used?
The range of uses of the plant is very wide. Melissa feels good in shaded areas, grows quickly, and is unpretentious. Many people add the herb to their tea. The drink has a pleasant menthol taste, helps to relax, and has a calming effect on the body. The leaves contain essential oils, tannins, and organic acids. The high content of vitamins and minerals has a positive effect on the body. The plant is beneficial for humans and is often used in medicine, everyday life and cooking.
In medicine
Melissa helps get rid of many diseases. The plant is used mainly by adherents of alternative treatment, but representatives of official medicine confirm the effectiveness and usefulness of the medicinal plant.
- Improvement in diseases of the heart, blood vessels, and nervous system. Melissa is considered a natural antidepressant that effectively copes with many painful conditions: migraines, poor sleep, anxiety, nervous overexcitation. The components of the plant help strengthen vascular walls, reduce the risk of cholesterol plaque formation on the walls of blood vessels, and improve the blood count.
- Benefits for the digestive tract. The herb improves the processes of digestion and assimilation of food, normalizes appetite, and normalizes metabolic processes. Melissa helps relieve cramps in the intestines or stomach, eliminates excessive gas formation, and fights constipation.
- Benefits for skin diseases. External use of lemon balm helps eliminate skin diseases of various types: rash, lichen, dermatitis and much more.
- Benefits for respiratory diseases. The leaves and flowers of the plant have antiviral and bactericidal properties. For this reason, tea with lemon balm helps the body quickly cope with a cold and recover as quickly as possible.
In cooking
In the cuisines of European countries, lemon balm is used much more actively than in our country. The plant goes well with fish and meat products, first courses, and gives the finished dish a specific taste.
Important! Preparing drinks with lemon balm allows you to tone the body, while relieving nervous tension and fatigue.
Vitamin teas with the addition of ginger, lemon, strawberries are recommended during sweltering heat, cold or as a warming tea.
Melissa is increasingly used in cooking. It is added to baked goods and used fresh to make salads.
At home
The plant is actively used in everyday life. If you want to get rid of moths, you should wrap fresh plant branches in gauze and place them on shelves. Dumka filled with dried plants will help improve the quality of sleep and get rid of nervous anxiety. It is possible to create a pleasant aroma in a room thanks to several branches of lemon balm placed on cabinets and shelves.
For weight loss
Melissa is used to combat excess body weight. It has the ability to accelerate metabolism, accelerate the removal of toxins, and remove excess fluid from the body. This helps normalize metabolic processes and speed up weight loss.
Reference! The sedative ability of the plant helps to relax and relieve nervous tension. This allows you to avoid overeating, as many people’s body reacts to stressful situations.
Useful tips for use
Melissa has a positive effect on the human body and has a minimum of contraindications: individual intolerance and persistent hypotension.
Reference! The plant has beneficial properties and helps normalize many pathological conditions, but before using lemon balm you should consult your doctor.
It should be understood that the benefits of using beneficial herbs can only be obtained in moderation.
How to defrost correctly
Freezing is only half the battle. After all, no one is going to chew frosty leaves.
In order for mint to be tasty and not lose its healing properties, it must be properly defrosted.
ON A NOTE. For tea, as well as cocktails and alcohol, the spice does not need to be defrosted.
This is how you defrost greens.
Pour water into a saucer and place it in the main compartment of the refrigerator. Then put mint in a saucer and wait until it thaws.
Harvesting for harvesting
In order for the perennial to retain its benefits, it is necessary to follow the collection rules:
- It is recommended to cut the mint rather than tear it. Individual leaves or bushes will do, do whatever is more convenient. If possible, tough stems should be removed or the main part cut off.
- It is necessary to collect perennials in June or July.
- To prevent rotting, collection should be carried out in dry weather. Otherwise, moisture will accumulate in the leaves, causing the color and properties of the greenery to change.
- Only plants that have already bloomed are suitable for harvesting. The inflorescences should be pink or lilac in color.
- Immediately after cutting the mint, you need to put it in the shade. Direct sun exposure will cause essential oils to evaporate.
Of course, you can freeze mint for the winter in several ways that will help preserve the plant for at least a year. Below we present common freezing methods.
What can you cook with frozen mint?
Frozen mint is widely used in cooking:
- for preparing confectionery products;
- for making cocktails;
- for decorating dishes and alcoholic drinks.
Frozen mint is also used in tea ceremonies, for making compotes, fruit drinks, smoothies, etc.
The spice is indispensable when preparing dietary dishes, some types of meat, cakes and pastries.
In addition, you can make mint puree from greens, which will be an excellent dressing for fruit salads.
Why do you need to freeze mint?
This is the only way not to lose the natural color and fresh menthol aroma. Drying mint, canning, and other options are not suitable. The plant loses its properties and cannot be used in cooking. At low temperatures, greens will retain up to 90% of their nutrients.
Why do you freeze mint?
- preparing drinks. Alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, lemonades, tea, compote;
- sweet sauces, ice cream, other desserts;
- decoration of sweet, meat and other dishes;
- application in folk medicine, cosmetology.
In the chamber, delicate plants may lose their elasticity, become softer, and darken. Therefore, it is important to freeze according to all the rules. Then there will be an elastic leaf in a glass of refreshing lemonade. It is indistinguishable from its fresh counterpart.
At low temperatures, menthol crystals are released from mint. The aroma becomes much brighter.
Is it possible to store lemon balm in the refrigerator and freeze it for the winter?
Melissa is an aromatic medicinal plant common in central Russia. When a few leaves are added to ordinary tea, it becomes therapeutic: it normalizes the functioning of the nervous system and stabilizes blood pressure. But this decoction can only be consumed in the summer; keeping the plant fresh for a long time is quite difficult.
Homemade lemon balm collected at a summer cottage retains its freshness for about 7-10 days. The concentration of beneficial properties is constantly decreasing. To preserve lemon balm for a week, it should be placed in a vessel with water immediately after collection. The container is sent to the refrigerator. It is not recommended to freeze plant stems. Under the influence of low temperatures, the bulk of the beneficial properties are destroyed, therefore the optimal solution to ensure long-term storage is drying.
