I'm a mintaholic. Hold the chocolate, unless it's very minty that is! Mint ice cream, mint tea, I love it all.This year I'm growing mint. Mmmm... I love to smell it in the garden.
Did you know that you can use that mint in the garden to make your own extract? Try it!
Mint Extract:
To make mint extract, obtain a pound or so of fresh spearmint or peppermint leaves (harvest them at noon time on a sunny day), wash them well and crush/bruise the leaves. Add these to a quart sized canning jar of vodka and place in the sun. Using a piece of well-washed, new cheese cloth, strain (and discard) the leaves from the infusion after three to four weeks.
(Taken from Cooks.com)
****Post update 9/09:
My mint extract turned out SO WELL! Especially the "chocolate mint" variety. It smells great. Think ahead and make some up now in pretty bottles for the holidays. Tie a ribbon on and viola! instant hostess gift. The only cost is some cheap Vodka, at about $10 a bottle at the liquor store, it will make you several smaller bottles of extract. Many gifts for less than a dollar each!
6 comments:
everything I have read about mint says, 'be careful...this plant is so prolific it will overtake your garden if you don't keep it trimmed back..." Bla...bla....bla! All I did was snip a few leaves from my little plant for mint in my green tea a couple of mornings in a row and it is looking very puny indeed. You know you are hopeless when you can't even grow mint!
Hey,
Thanks for stopping by my blog. I had the same thing happen to my lettuce. With the cut and come again, you can only really get 3 to 4 good harvest off of it before it is "grown out". Mine bolted and became too bitter to eat. I had a few of the mesclun that I left and it actually headed up and I had some of the hugest heads of lettuce ever!!
My daughter is addicted to mints! I am going to show her your post!
Stephanie@inspired
www.homeschoolblogger.com/inspired
ooh, this is a great idea! I have mint threatening to take over my yard, and this sounds like a lovely holiday gift. Did you use regular 80 proof vodka, or 100 proof?
Hmmm... I don't know what kind I used. The cheapest, so probably the regular, 80 proof.
I'd like to make this in a smaller quantity - how did you calculate an lb. of mint?
thanks for this. i have so much mint, i don't know what to do with it. now i'll make some extract!
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