Mint leaf processing method and equipment

Abstract

The invention discloses a mint leaf processing method and equipment. The mint leaf processing method comprises the technological processes of mint leaf harvesting, cleaning, preliminary drying, enzymedeactivating, rolling, drying and the like, and is invented based on botanical characteristics of mint tea. According to the method, after rolling, the rolled mint leaves are subjected to two-stage drying in a constant-temperature fermentation room, wherein 30-40 minutes of drying is carried out at the temperature of 80-90 DEG C for the first time; 40 to 50 minutes of drying is carried out at thetemperature of 90 to 100 DEG C for the second time; the loss of nutritional ingredients caused by too high temperature and too fast drying speed in mint leaf drying process is avoided, the nutritional ingredients in mint are preserved to the maximum extent, mint tea mouthfeel is improved; and in addition, mint leaves in a cleaning tank are cleaned by using a cleaning roller and a stirring block,traditional spraying type cleaning conducted on a mint leaf planting base is abandoned, water resources are saved; the cleaned mint leaves are preliminarily dried in a drying box, time and labor are saved, and the processing efficiency of the mint leaves is greatly improved.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of mint processing, in particular to a mint leaf processing method and equipment. Background technique [0002] Mint is a perennial herb belonging to the family Lamiaceae. Because it is rich in volatile components such as menthol, it is often used as a natural fragrance, and its peppermint extract, peppermint essential oil, is also widely used in the food, cosmetics and pharmaceutical industries. In addition to volatile components such as menthone, menthol, and menthyl acetate, peppermint also contains rich sugars, lipids, proteins, and trace elements. It contains a class of acidic polysaccharides combined with protein, which has various effects such as lowering blood sugar, lowering blood pressure, enhancing immunity, anti-inflammation, and anti-cancer. So mint has good health care development value. [0003] During the processing and preservation of mint leaves, fresh mint leaves are dried to make mint ...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0004] 1. In the existing processing of mint, due to the botanical characteristics of mint, mint is prone to dehydration and oxidation, resulting in wrinkles in the shape of mint leaves, which easily leads to the loss of nutrients in mint leaves and reduces the quality of mint tea ;

[0005] 2. In the existing mint leaf processing and production, fresh mint leaves are usually cleaned by spraying the mint leaf base before picking. This cleaning method not only wastes more water resources, but also cleans the mint leaves. It is not thorough enough, resulting in many stains remaining on the mint leaves after picking. When there are stains on the mint leaves, it will inevitably lead to manual cleaning. Not only the processing cost is high, the labor intensity of the operators is high, but also after manual cleaning The mint leaves need to be dried naturally, which is time-consuming and laborious, which greatly reduces the processing efficiency of mint leaves

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