# Mint leaves, what to do???



## sg1strgt (Jun 19, 2017)

I have a question for anyone who has ever worked with mint leaves before. A coworker just gave me a tall kitchen trash bag packed fairly tight with mint leaves that she picked for me. Leaves only, no stems or branches, etc. now to make wine. I don't want just a plain old mint flavored wine, I wanted something more. Something like a Mojito flavor or a raspberry mint (no chocolate mint please, I'm one of the few people that don't like chocolate). Looking for ideas AND recipes.


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## mikewatkins727 (Jun 19, 2017)

By now they should have started to wilt. Fire up the dehydrator to preserved the mint until you find a recipe. My mint wine recipe calls for a quart of mint leaves per gallon. Once dried you should only need 1 1/3 cups of dried leaves. Wish I could help you with different recipes.

Mike


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## sg1strgt (Jun 19, 2017)

Awesome suggestion but I do not have a dehydrator. Any other suggestions? I don't want to go buy one that I will probably never use again. Can I use my oven?


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## the_rayway (Jun 20, 2017)

Either google drying mint in the oven (I think it's in the 175f range), or place it on racks in a well ventilated area and allow it to dry on it's own.


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## Mismost (Jun 20, 2017)

I think I would decide how big a batch. Then I would boil water, add the mint leaves, slow simmer a bit, then cover and allow to cool. Strain into your fermentation bucket, add sugar to your desired ABV level, pitch some yeast and see what happens. Bananas, white grape concentrate for body mouthfeel, acid to taste, are other considerations.

I see it as like you are making a tea wine except using mint instead of tea....and in fact tea could be a nice addition just for the tannins. I would save and freeze some the "mint tea" you may want to add some back in at secondary or bottling stage for more flavor. 

Mint wine does sound interesting. I have been think of making a Sugar Wine, just plain old sugar water fermented and bottled. THEN...add a sprig or Mint or Rosemary or whatever for flavoring right to the bottle as you need or want.


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