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I'm trying to figure out at which stage of cooking should I add finely chopped dried pepppermint leaves to get some minty flavor in my cooking...

I tried a few times and all I get is the smell of mint but not the flavor, so I wonder if I been adding them in the wrong stage.

So do dried pappermint leaves lose flavor quickly while in cooking?

Glorfindel
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calvin_0
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  • Your question is somewhat unclear. "All I get is the smell of mint but not the flavor" - in the case of dry mint (and also fresh mint added to cooked dishes such as soups and stews), its smell is all it contributes to the dish's flavor. You might have to check if you don't have the wrong expectations. In any case, the linked questions explain all you can do to maximize your flavor outcome. If that's not enough for you, then you will have to consider something other than dried mint. – rumtscho Aug 17 '21 at 12:03

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Generally speaking, music is a useful metaphor for this situation. In most cases, I think of dried herbs as bass notes. The deep, underlying flavor/aroma. Often dried herbs are added earlier in the cooking process, so that have a chance to rehydrate and contribute those underlying flavors to the dish. On the other hand fresh herbs are more frequently the provider of those bright, clean, high notes, especially when added at, or very near the end of the process.

Resinous herbs (rosemary, thyme, oregano) have a higher concentration of volatile compounds than fine herbs (mint, basil, parsley). So, mint, when dried, doesn't hold its flavor and aroma as well as the resinous herbs. It has a lower concentration of volatile compounds to begin with. You probably are not going to get the fresh, minty flavor that you are imagining.

Your best solution, if you want minty flavor, is to use fresh mint. By the way, it's easy to grow, even indoors. If that is not an option, I would add the dried mint at the end of the cooking process. That will preserve what little volatile compounds are left until that final moments.

moscafj
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  • as suggested, I add my dried peppermint on the final stage of cooking and I got the mint flavor that I'm after. I'm growing my own peppermint and harvest them monthly, but I dont always use mint in cooking, so I decide to air dried them. – calvin_0 Aug 19 '21 at 08:28