What is Thyme?

Thyme is one of the most essential and widely used herbs, common in cuisines from the UK to the Middle East.

What does Thyme taste like?

Thyme has a well balanced flavour with mildly minty notes, slight citrus flavours and a herbaceous character reminiscent of rosemary.

What is Thyme used for?

It is probably easier to list the recipes where thyme is not used as opposed to where it is used. Thyme is one of the key components of the bouquet garni (a mixture of thyme, parsley & bay leaf) and it fins itself into many Western, Middle Eastern and Caribbean recipes.

For vegetarian cooking, thyme adds lovely flavour to a potato salad and compliments well the flavour of both corn and green beans. It adds a savoury depth to tomato sauces and makes a surprisingly good partner for chocolate. added to this it is an integral part to some of our favourite blends including; jerk, barbecue & za'atar.

Names and origins

Indigenous to the Mediterranean but now used the world over, thyme has many varieties to excite the palate. Most widely used is garden thyme (t.vulgaris) that we grow and use regularly here in the UK but equally pleasing are rarer varieties such as pine scented Thymus broussonetii, tangerine-tasting T caespititius. Alongside these there is also wild thyme otherwise called Za'atar which is a key component in the Za'atar blend, a regular seasoning used in Middle Eastern cooking. 

Thyme has has great representation throughout history both used for embalming by the Egyptians and as incense by the Greeks. It is from the latter use that its name derives, the Greek word thymon means to fumigate. Further throughout history thyme was given to warriors to bring courage and placed beneath pillows to ward off nightmares. No wonder that thyme was the go to herb during the black death in the 1340's. Such is the endearing aroma given off from thyme that among the Greeks the phrase to smell of thyme was a sincere compliment implying gracefulness.      

Woody and straggly, thyme is a perennial shrub that grows wild in varied conditions ranging from the hot, arid hillsides of the Mediterranean basin to the rainy, craggy UK countryside. That said thyme does grow much better when well drained and in a sunny area so not ideal for UK growing. If planting at home however, make sure the soil has adequate drainage by digging in extra horticultural grit or by using a soil based substrate. 

In terms of harvest, thyme is an evergreen herb that can be picked all year round for culinary or medicinal use. If the leaves are being picked for drying, pick the springs just before flowering and hang to dry or use a dehydrator on a low temperature setting.