how to make mint extract?

[automatically]

i'm curious if anyone has tried their hand at making a homemade mint extract. if so, could you post how it's done?

i'll soon have an abundance of chocolate mint that i'd like to blend with some peppermint for a 'different' kind of mint extract.

i was thinking of putting the chocolate mint in some vodka and checking it from time to time and then straining the mint out when (and if) it reaches a desirable consistency. don't know if there's should be a concern for botulism since i'm soaking it in vodka, but if there's a chance of that, i'd like to know about that as well.

thanks!
-chris

[ErinM]

I have no advice, all I can say is...if that works, that will be some AMAZING desserts you can make! I love chocolate mint!


Yum...

[Leisa M]

can't you put vanilla beans on vodka?

[Beth]

I don't remember seeing instructions or a recipe for mint extract.

Chocolate mint is a great mint to try this with. I had some at my last house and it was so concentrated that I really had to cut back on the amount I used in anything. Carefully wash and dry the mint before using it -- and no pesticides while growing it (I never had bug problems with the stuff anyway). You'll have to test and try to see how the strength of your finished product compares to store bought. I think even with a recipe, the variety of mint and other factors would leave you experimenting to some degree.

Let us know if you try this. My son loves mint in brownies and other things, so I might try it too. Unfortunately, the pot of chocolate mint I brought from the other house didn't come back this spring. I have English mint, which is fine for other things, but if this works for you, I may have to get another chocolate mint plant.

[sneezles]

There's this recipe for Mint liqueur but you wouldn't need to add the glycerin or sugar syrup...

Mint Liqueur

Ingredients
12-14 tablespoons fresh or 6 teaspoons dried, well crumpled mint, peppermint, or spearmint leaves or 2-3 teaspoons pure mint or peppermint extract
3 cups vodka
1 teaspoon glycerine (optional) but nice for sipping
1 cup sugar syrup*-see below (for creme de menthe add 2 cups)


Instructions
With fresh or dried leaves: steep the leaves in vodka for 10 days and shake the bottle occasionally. Strain and filter. Be sure to press all the juices from the leaves with a spoon against the strainer. Mature 2 weeks. With the extract: combine all ingredients. Shake well. Mature 24 hours minimum. A week or 2 will enhance the flavoring. If any of these recipes results in too weak a mint flavor, add more of the extract or leaves and repeat the steeping, straining, and maturing procedures. Should any globules of oil form on the surface of the liqueur, remove with a bit of blotting paper or paper toweling, dabbing them gently. Seal in a decorative decanter.

*Sugar Syrup:
A sugar syrup is made of two parts sugar and one part water, boiled together for about five minutes until the sugar dissolves. It is then cooled and added to the flavored alcohol.

Credits
Recipe from: Homemade Liqueurs by Dona and Mel Meilach (Contemporary Books)

[Beth]

That sounds like a good indication that it should work, but I would think you would want it stronger than sipping strength. Maybe use that much for 1 cup of vodka?

I'd probably stuff mint leaves into a pint canning jar and then pour the voldka over them (easier to clean when it's done that the vodka bottle, if you want to strain and keep it, but wouldn't matter as much if you plan to decant into another bottle and pitch the vodka bottle anyway).

[Leisa M]

Write down your recipe as you go along. That way you can share it with us.

I have a question. What is chocolate mint?

[automatically]

thanks to everyone that has responded so far.

erin: i know, i'm really excited about this. i already have about five different ideas on what i'd like to use it in once this gets finished. if you have any too, please post them.

leisa: yes, you can make your own vanilla extract in either vodka or a good dark rum. this was actually the starting point for me wanting to make my own extracts. as we speak, i have some vanilla 'experiments' going as well. i'm making homemade extracts with mexican, madagascar bourbon, and tahitian vanilla beans. when they're all done, i'm going to make vanilla ice cream with each of them and have a blind taste test with my friends and see which extract is universally preferred... but i digress..

in response to your second post, i don't have my research in front of me on chocolate mint (i'm at work now) but it's a mint that, when crumbled between your fingers smells just like a peppermint patty. it's really something that has to be seen and smelled to be believed. if i can make an extract out of it, the sky is the limit on some new and interesting flavors. check your local garden centers to see if they have any you can bring home. none of my local nurseries had it (i'm from n.j.) so i had to go to the union square greenmarket in nyc to find some. i grabbed the last four plants!

beth: i'm definitely going to give this a go. since, at the moment, i have a lot more peppermint, i'm doing some initial experiments with the peppermint. when, and if, i get that worked out, then i'm on to the chocolate mint.

sneezles: this is the direction i should have been going in! modifying liqueur recipes so that they're more concentrated. thank you! this gives me some hope that this just might work.


i'm writing down everything as i go along with the mint extract experiments. i'll keep you posted with what happens as i learn more.

everyone, thanks again for writing.
-chris

[Beth]

You're going to have me looking for the chocoalte mint again. I bought mine at a charity plant sale, and that's a once a year deal. I may have to wait until next spring. My English mint is very good for cooking with and using fresh, but I think the chocolate mint would be great for the extract since it is so potent in it's natural state.

Leisa, the chocolate mint is a small, dark leafed variety of mint. It really does smell like a peppermint patty (think York, Junion Mints, etc.) and the minty flavor is very strong. I planted it in the back yard at my old house and had volunteers even after we took out the raised herb bed -- it's now ground cover in the new beds.

I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out.