# What to do with all this fresh mint?



## farmergirl (Aug 2, 2005)

I have spearmint, peppermint and chocolate mint coming out my ears. I'd love some ideas for cooking with it. Of course we can make tea, but that won't even put a dent in the amount of mint I have growing in my front yard :help:


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## Kim_NC (Sep 5, 2007)

mint jelly and mint julieps


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## Just Little Me (Aug 9, 2007)

I love the mints on fresh meats. The chocolate is good in baking.


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## culpeper (Nov 1, 2002)

Think 'savoury' for spearmint: tabouli, mint sauce or jelly for lamb; mint pesto; chopped into meatballs with a yogurt sauce to go with it; chopped up and sprinkled onto a bowl of watermelon or strawberries; mint julep; added to potato salad. 

Goes well in/with: Meat, fish, vegetables, salads, fruit salads, stewed pears/apples. Use in lamb dishes, jellies, with cold cuts, cheese, peas, Middle Eastern dishes. Carrots, new potatoes. 

Think 'sweet' for peppermint: cakes, cookies, confectionery. Also think 'chocolate' when you think of peppermint.

Chocolate mint: Well, anything with chocolate or peppermint! Cakes, cookies, confectionery, sweet sauces. 

Frosted Mint Leaves
1 egg white, lightly beaten
castor sugar
mint leaves

Lightly brush each mint leaf with the egg white, roll lightly in the castor sugar and place the leave onto a cake rack. Leave for about an hour while the egg white dries with its crust of sugar. Use to decorate cakes, pavlova etc or as an after-dinner treat.

Or coat mint leaves with melted chocolate!

Spearmint recipes:
[ame]http://www.google.com.au/search?client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&channel=s&hl=en&q=%22spearmint%22+recipes&meta=&btnG=Google+Search[/ame]

Peppermint recipes:
[ame]http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&hs=M9R&q=%22peppermint%22+recipes&btnG=Search&meta=[/ame]

Chocolate Mint recipes:
[ame]http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&hs=VU7&q=%22chocolate+mint%22+recipes&btnG=Search&meta=[/ame]

Mint recipes in general:
[ame]http://www.google.com.au/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-GB%3Aofficial&hs=7U7&q=%22mint%22+recipes&btnG=Search&meta=[/ame]


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## Elsbet (Apr 2, 2009)

farmergirl said:


> I have spearmint, peppermint and chocolate mint coming out my ears. :


srsly? I want to see a picture. 

You can use it in dolmas. yummmmmy. It doesn't take much, so it wouldn't put a dent in your overabundance, but it's using it a bit! 

I also love it as a green in a bouquet. It's food for the eyes as much as the mouth!

Or, you can make homemade mint chocolate chip icecream. There are recipes online for that.


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## snoozy (May 10, 2002)

Fresh Mint Chutney

Zip half an onion in the food processor along with about 4 times as much minced spearmint, a green chili, the juice of a lime, 1/2 tsp sugar and 1/4 tsp of salt (or to taste). Excellent as an accompaniment to Indian or Pakistani food, or lamb chops/roast, or stuff this in the middle of a hamburger patty for a quick kabab. You can also make this with cilantro or a combination of mint and cilantro.


Mint Raita (Indo-Paki yogurt salad)

Into 2 cups of plain yogurt stir finely chopped cucumber, 1/2 cup minced spearmint, either minced garlic or minced onion, salt and 1/2 tsp toasted whole cumin seeds.


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## Tirzah (May 19, 2006)

Here's what I do:

*Meadow Tea* 

2 cups fresh mint leaves, washed and packed
2-2 1/2 cups sugar
4 cups water
Garnish: fresh mint

Place all ingredients in a medium stockpot. Boil for 5 minutes; turn off heat and let stand for 5 hours. Strain through a coffee filter lined sieve, squeezing excess liquid from mint leaves. 

To serve: add 1-cup concentrate to 2 quarts of cold water in a pitcher. Serve with ice and a garnish of mint. Makes 4 cups concentrate; about 8 servings per one cup concentrate.

*Concentrate freezes well  I have also quadrupled the batch with no problem and just let it cook and sit a little longer. (my husband loves it  that's why I end up quadrupling the recipe and he likes it in the winter too!)

I just made a batch yesterday and it is so good! Especially after working out in the garden, so refreshing  I did find that Spearmint is better than the Peppermint, not as strong.

For the Chocolate Mint you could use it in Vanilla ice Cream, dry it for tea for Christmas gifts too .

Hope this helps


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## deaconjim (Oct 31, 2005)

I know what you mean. We have 10 acres, and I would say that 40% of it is covered in mint. We have apple mint, field mint, and spear mint. I'm in mint heaven!


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## Karen (Apr 17, 2002)

Okay, James that does it! When I come next month I'm bringing my shovel along. No one should have to be subject to that much mint -- nor all those gorgeous hostas. Someone will just have to relieve you of the burden of having so many. It's a nasty job, but some one's got to do it. LOL! :nana:


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## ajaxlucy (Jul 18, 2004)

We decided to have a "Beverages made with Mint" Party (any excuse, right?). Here's a recipe I'm going to try:

1-1/4" fresh ginger root
2 sprigs fresh mint
juice of 1/2 lime
1 bottle champagne or prosecco

Peel the ginger and grate to obtain ginger juice. Put 3 Tbsp ginger juice and the lime juice in a pitcher, add the mint sprigs and muddle together. Slowly add champagne and stir. Taste, add more ginger juice if needed. Serve immediately.


If anyone has any more favorite mint beverages, please post them for me.


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## snoozy (May 10, 2002)

Here's another recipe:

*Watermelon Gazpacho*

Puree 3 cups of cubed watermelon and pour into a bowl, then add...

1c watermelon cubes

1 each diced:

cucumber
red bell pepper
yellow pepper
1/2 small red onion

1 minced jalapeno
juice of 2 limes 
1/2 c red wine or other vinegar
1/2 c minced mint
1 t salt

Chill and serve with a dollop or sour cream or plain yogurt. This also works fabulously as a salsa/relish for BBQ pork, if you're using a dry spice rub on the meat. No need for BBQ sauce.


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