Several summers ago an older member of my church invited me over for dinner. She was turning the running of a committee over to me and wanted to discuss the details over a meal. She offered me a glass of mint-infused water with my plate of pasta salad, homemade bread and sliced tomato (dessert was a plate of cookies that she admitted to having purchased). The meal was generally memorable for it's tasty simplicity, but the thing that stuck with me the most was that mint-infused water. I asked her how she made it and she said that simply kept a bunch of mint in a pitcher, continually refreshing the pitcher with water as the level decreased.
The last few months have been my summer of mint, as several of my friends have large patches of it in their yards and gardens and like to pass along large bunches of it to me. I have made mint-flecked salads, tossed it with melon and a sprinkling of sugar and have kept a pitcher of mint water in the fridge steeping in the fridge. I have found that on the days when I want a slightly stronger mint flavor you can increase the intensity by gently bruising the leaves. A single bunch of mint can flavor a water for up to a week (if it starts to look slimy, it is time to change it). It is refreshing, inexpensive and has helped me kick the juice/sparking water habit almost entirely.
photo by Marisa McClellan
8-29-2007 @10:13AM Alex said... When I was a teenager I used to put a bunch of mint in a spray bottle and fill it with water. I would take it with me to the pool or beach and when I got too hot would spritz myself with the mint water. It always felt very nice.
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8-29-2007 @10:27AM rachel b. said... it doesn't get bitter? when i leave lime slices in a water pitcher, it gets bitter after less than a day.
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8-29-2007 @10:41AM jsmylie said... What a nice idea! I'm a big fan of mint, so maybe I'll try this once I can get to the farmer's market...
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8-29-2007 @11:02AM Noah Oliphant said... Mint is so refreshing. I add it to a lot of different drinks. I especially like it macerated in lemonade.
http://www.reciperate.com
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8-29-2007 @11:40AM Ian said... Cucumber water is also really good. A combination of mint and cucumber might be good too, but I haven't tried it .
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8-29-2007 @4:41PM geekpdx said... I've got a patch of peppermint just outside my front door. Whenever I'm on my way out with my Nalgene, I got a handful and toss it into my bottle. Mmmm... tasty water at work!
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8-29-2007 @5:31PM Joanna said... Cucumber, peeled and sliced.. really try for the organic, along with some mint sprigs, slices of lemon and lime is my essential drink in the summer. It is always in the fridge. If you use slices of lemon or lime, they need to be changed in a couple of days or it does tend to get bitter. I make a batch about every 3 days and it's perfect.
another great thing is add 2-3 cups of green tea to the same pitcher.. it increases the antioxidants into my diet and is delicious along with other ingredients listed above. :)
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8-29-2007 @6:39PM MJ said... I have had this at a middle eastern place and it was very refreshing also sweetened. their lemonade was good too. served warm over ice in a tall glass wth lots of mint. Great way to end a meal ,especially after having lamb.
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8-31-2007 @1:09PM Andrea said... I always keep a pitcher of water with herbal tea bags in it. Usually it's green tea but right now the pitcher contains Stash Tea's raspberry white tea.
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