How to Make Your Own Dried Mint

Drying mint by hanging it up for natural air-drying is something not all of us have the space for, but another method offers good results. You can use your oven to make dried mint in much less time. Here's how to do it. 

What You'll Need

• Fresh mint
• Paper or other absorbent towels
• Cookie sheet
• Storage containers

Here's How

1. Wash the mint thoroughly and carefully in cold water without removing the stems.
2. Dry the mint well using paper towels or other absorbent towels.
3. Carefully remove the leaves from the stems when the mint is dry. 
4. Place the leaves on a cookie sheet in a single layer. Warm them in the oven at 180 F or 80 C for two hours, then check them to see if they've dried out completely. If so, they're done. Otherwise, continue checking them at 15-minute intervals so they don't burn. It can take as long as four hours for them to dry completely. 
5. Store the dried mint in an airtight glass, plastic, metal, or ceramic container away from light and heat.

Grow Your Own Mint 

You can easily grow your own mint if you'd like an ongoing supply. Buy a mint plant and replant it in a much larger pot. Place the pot in a sunny place and make sure the plant gets plenty of water, watering it at least once — if not twice — a day so the soil stays nicely damp. When the plant grows and flourishes, cut off one or more sprigs and place them in a glass of water until they grow roots. This will probably take at least a week. Now plant the rooted sprig or sprigs in their own pots.

It's recommended that you repot your plants at least once a year because these plants really like to grow and they'll need more room as they do. Pluck off the leaves you need for tea or a recipe and dry them. If you do this regularly, you'll have a never-ending supply.