What would a mojito be without mint? How would you put together pea and mint soup without it? The major problem with mint, however, is that once picked from the garden or bought from the supermarket, it has a very short life.
Can You Freeze Mint?
Yes, you can freeze mint for up to 6 months. You can freeze mint as whole leaves in freezer bags. Or, the preferred method is to freeze mint in ice cubes.
Do Does Mint freeze well? Yes
Can you refreeze Mint? No
How to Freeze Mint
When freezing mint leaves, like most herbs, there are two approaches you can use. You can either freeze mint leaves whole, or you can freeze them, chopped up, in an ice cube.
Both of these approaches are covered below:
How to Freeze Mint Leaves
If you want to freeze individual mint leaves, then this is the method for you to use:
- Clean: Take your mint stalks, remove the leaves and give them a good clean. You don’t want to freeze dirt with your mint leaves. Make sure you discard any damaged or eaten leaves as you only want to freeze the best.
- Dry: Once cleaned, give them a good dry.
- Flash Freeze: Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper, and then lay your mint leaves out on the tray. Place the tray in the freezer and give it a few hours so that the mint leaves freeze solid.
- Place into Container: Remove the tray from the freezer, then carefully remove the leaves – they will be quite brittle. Place the leaves in a container. We would discourage using a bag as there’s a chance will get crushed. You just need to use a small Tupperware pot that’s large enough to fit the leaves in but small enough that it doesn’t take up too much space.
- Final Freeze: Return the container to the freezer and pick out as many leaves as you need when you need them.
How to Freeze Mint in Ice Cubes
This is actually our preferred method for freezing mint. Ice cubes of mint are incredibly versatile.
They can be tossed into a soup and used where you would normally add mint. But they can also be thrown into a glass and topped up with water to create an instantly refreshing drink for a sunny day. Here’s how to freeze mint in ice cube trays:
1) Clean: First, you need to pick the leaves from the stalks and give them a good wash. Once washed, drying is the next most important step. If you have a salad spinner, then this can work really well to remove any excess moisture.
2) Fill Ice Cube: Take your ice cube tray and lay 6 to 8 leaves into each slot. You may need to push down on the leaves a little, but don’t push too hard as you will bruise them.
3) Cover: Fill each ice cube slot up with either melted butter, oil or water and ensure all the leaves are submerged. Wrap the tray and then freeze for several hours.
4) Freeze: Once the cubes are frozen solid, pop them out of the ice cube tray and into a freezer bag to keep them stored for the longer term in the freezer.
Now you have a decent supply of frozen mint in ice cubes.
In the above instructions, we have left the mint leaves whole. If you prefer, you can actually slice the mint leaves up. Just roll the mint leaves into a long cigar and slice finely along the length.
There’s also nothing to stop you from mixing it up and adding the leaves of other herbs. You could try mixing in some sage, parsley or coriander leaves to the cube.
3 Tips for Freezing Mint
Now you know how to freeze it, we’ve got our 3 top tips which we strongly recommend following when freezing mint to have the best results:
Freeze in Ice Cubes
The ice cube method is the best method to take when freezing mint. It ensures the flavour is retained whilst also making it super easy to use.
Make Mojito Lollies
Tip a combination of rum, mint, lime juice, soda water and brown sugar into an ice lolly mould and to create instant mojito lollies.
Pop Into Drinks
Add a minty flavour to a glass of water or lemonade by popping a cube in the drink directly from the freezer. It will help to keep the drink ice cold too!
How Long Can You Freeze Mint?
To avoid the flavour degrading too much, we would recommend freezing your mint for a maximum of 6 months. After this time, there’s a chance that the mint flavour will degrade so much that you won’t really taste much mint.
As we always recommend, make sure you label your mint with the date they need to be used.
If properly stored, wrapped in kitchen paper, mint will last for between 2 and 3 weeks in the fridge before the leaves begin to wilt.
How Do You Defrost Mint?
Because the mint leaves are so thin, you don’t need to defrost them as they’ll thaw out almost instantly when heating in a dish.
There is also the chance that you want to use the mint to flavour drinks so you can throw it straight in without defrosting to both flavour and chill your drink simultaneously.
Can You Refreeze Mint?
Although refreezing mint is unlikely to make you ill, it can ruin the flavour. Once refrozen, you may find both the texture of the mint and the flavour of the mint degrades rapidly.
Instead, opt for the ice cube method above so you can grab a cube as and when you need it.
Does Mint Freeze Well?
As with most herbs that are freshly picked from the garden, it’s going to be hard to beat fresh. But freezing mint gives you a great opportunity to lengthen the life of the mint and avoid throwing it in the big. It does freeze fairly well, however.
Related FAQs
If you’ve still got questions about freezing mint or mint in general, then these may help:
You certainly can. Your ice cube tray will come in handy here. Fill each slot with mint sauce, cover and freeze. Once frozen, you can transfer the cubes to a bag. When you need some mint sauce, grab a cube and allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge or defrost slowly in the microwave.
Yes, you can freeze mint in good-quality freezer bags without needing to add water. You only need to use a liquid, like water, if you want to freeze chopped mint leaves into ice cubes.
When it comes to making a mojito, you’ll want as much fresh mint as possible. Part of the mojito making process is bashing the leaves up. However, adding an ice cube flavoured with mint can certainly give your mojitos an extra minty hit.
