How to Harvest Mint – Prune, Dry, Enjoy Your Mint

Mint is a very fast growing herb and can withstand many harvests throughout the season. In fact, when you properly cut back mint, you encourage it to grow fuller and bushier. Never, ever pluck individual leaves here and there. Plucking leaves at random will, over time, weaken the plant as you slowly strip it bare.

Instead of plucking individual leaves, collect the tips of each stem of mint.

HOW TO HARVEST MINT Harvesting sounds like there should be one day at the end of the season where you cut all the mint at once. That’s not the best strategy for mint or most herbs. It’s best if you harvest or prune your mint all season long. I start harvesting as early as June to encourage growth and harvest tasty, beautiful mint before it flowers or the bugs get at it.

HOW TO STORE FRESH MINT

Bouquet Style – Store your mint stems in a jar of water, just like you would a bouquet of flowers. Avoid putting leaves in the water, just the stems. If you keep your bouquet in the fridge it will last a little longer than on the counter top, although that will work too.

Wrap Style – Wash and pat dry. Roll in a slightly damp paper or cotton towel. Place in plastic bag but do not seal. Keep in crisper drawer of fridge. Be sure the inside of the bag does not get too damp, replace with a dry towel if that happens.

USING AND ENJOYING MINT Mint is a very versatile herb that can be used in sweet and savory dishes. Here are a few of my favorite recipes using mint. If a recipe simply calls for mint, choose spearmint, it is the most commonly used cooking mint. Peppermint will have an overpowering menthol (think cough candy) flavor and other mints will introduce other flavors – not necessarily bad, but likely not what the recipe developer had in mind.