Backyard mint too grassy
I just moved into a house with a large quantity of mint growing in the yard.
It is late in the season and a lot of the mint is going to seed.
I picked two packed cups of leaves and trimmed off all the stems. I pulsed the leaves in the food processor with granulated sugar until it was a paste. I then used the paste as the flavoring for homemade ice cream.
The ice cream texture was fantastic but the flavor wasn't. It was weirdly grassy and not very minty at all. The kids wouldn't even eat it until I added a good quantity of mint extract to fix it.
I thought the mint leaves themselves were minty enough.
This is my first time using fresh mint this way. Did I use the mint improperly or is mint only used very young?
Best Answer
While it is true that there are a variety of mints, I think your biggest challenge is that it is "late in the season." I find that here (Philly, USA), in August, all of my herbs tend to develop a bitterness that is not there in spring and early summer. While it may be the variety, I don't think it is the age of the plant, as my mint comes back each year as well. It seems that the "soft" herbs are just past their prime now. My rosemary and sage are fine, thyme is ok, but softer herbs like basil and lovage have a higher bitter component. Try your mint again in the spring.
Another thought: Pulsing into a paste my also bring out flavor components that are not desirable. What about steeping the leaves in the milk and cream (this would work if you are making a custard based ice cream and heating the cream), then straining them out?
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How do I fix scraggly mint?
Obviously, you will need to stop fertilizing your mint plant if you think it has too much fertilizer and nitrogen. Then, let the soil around the plant dry. Follow up by watering it heavily. You should water the mint so heavily that the water can exit the drainage holes for 10 to 15 seconds.Does mint outcompete grass?
In the technical sense though, it is easy to classify mint plants as weeds because of how rapidly they spread, as well as how resilient they are. They will also outcompete most other plants if soil resources are low. It is also easy for spreading to spiral out of control.Why is my mint scraggly?
Keeping the plant full and compact improves its appearance and ensures that the leaves develop the best flavor. Mint tends to spread quickly, which can result in weak stems and a leggy, scraggly mint plant.Should you tear or chop mint?
Without the tender leaves attached they freeze well, and they're a great addition to your stock pot, or pureed into pestos.) For Mint, Basil, or Sage:Pick the leaves off their woody stems, then gently tear into pieces (this avoids the bruising you can get with knife-chopped herbs).Creeping Bent Grass #4 Seeding // Backyard Chipping / Putting green
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Answer 2
I think you might get better, less-grassy results by steeping the mint in the cream (heat the cream first) but not actually including the leaves in the ice cream. You want to get the aromatic oil to provide the mintiness, but leave out the actual greens which are making it grassy and herbal.
Another option, as suggested in comments, would be to make a syrup with the mint and sugar. This would probably increase the liquid in the recipe so would require adjustment.
I wonder if you could make mint sugar as you would vanilla sugar or if the mint leaves would go moldy instead of drying out in the sugar? I think it would be worth trying... Start with a layer of sugar covering the bottom of the container, add a layer of leaves, completely cover with sugar, add more leaves, cover, etc. Seal and store in a cool, dry place. When the leaves have dried up, remove them and hopefully the sugar will be minty.
Answer 3
haha you posted this a long time ago but there are different types of mints. the mint in your backyard is not spearmint (the kind of mint that has that menthol, cool flavour) and instead you probably have peppermint (which is always grassy tasting).
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