Thyme

Due to its wide variety, thyme offers a very diverse range of aromas. The garden thyme is most commonly used. As a representative of the “Herbes de Provence”, it has a particular impact on the taste of French cuisine, but is popular throughout the Mediterranean. Thyme can be used fresh and dried in the kitchen. Since it tastes very intense, it should only be used sparingly…

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Botany
Ingredients, smell and taste
Use and preparation

Botany

The genus Thymus belongs to the mint family (Lamiacae). It offers many different flower and leaf colors. The best known and particularly rich in variety is the garden thyme (Thymus vulgaris). It is also known under the name of real or common thyme, popularly it is called tripe. In addition to Thymus vulgaris, the Austrian Food Codex also lists Thymus zygis and Thymus serpyllum as spices for the trade. The former also bears the synonyms Spanish or southern French thyme. Wild thyme, common thyme and wild thyme are alternative names for Thymus serpyllum. You can find more information under grocery book online.

Other varieties such as lemon thyme (Thymus x citriodorus), orange thyme (Thymus c. "Fragrantissimus") or caraway thyme (Thymus herba-barona) are also popular in the garden or on the windowsill. Both the leaves and the flower-bearing shoot tips of the thyme are used as a spice. The trade offers thyme mostly as a rubbed product, but also ground. Grained goods contain the stripped leaves and flowers and are freed from stems and twigs.

The real thyme (Thymus vulgaris) is a small subshrub with a size of 20 to 40 centimeters. The gray-green leaves are eight to twelve millimeters in size and are round to oblong-ovoid. The leaves are slightly curled at the edge and slightly felty at the bottom. The leaves have a very short or no stem. Older plants can be slightly lignified. Depending on the species and variety, thyme flowers light purple to pink to white. The fragrant flowers provide a coveted nectar for bees and other insects.

Tip Thyme likes it very warm and dry. In the garden, sunny or heat-storing places such as on the house wall or in the rock garden are a good location for him. Harvest just before or during flowering.

Ingredients, smell and taste

Thyme is a strong, tangy spice and tastes slightly bitter. Due to the wealth of species and varieties of the thymus family, the composition of the essential oil is very variable. Typical components that determine taste and smell are thymol and carvacrol. In the case of special thyme variants, the taste is changed by other components such as citral in lemon thyme or carvone in caraway thyme.

Thyme ingredients	per 100 g of edible portion, raw	Thyme ingredients	per 100 g of edible portion, raw
Energy (kcal)	95	Iron (mg)	5
Fat (g)	2.5	Magnesium (mg)	73
Protein (g)	3	Vitamin B1 (mg)	0.16
Carbohydrates (g)	15.1	Vitamin B2 (mg)	0.07
Dietary fiber (g)	3.3	Niacin (mg)	1.1
Potassium (mg)	270	Vitamin A (µg)	127
Calcium (mg)	630	Vitamin C (mg)	2

Use and preparation

Thyme can be used fresh and dried in the kitchen. Since it tastes very intense, it should only be used sparingly. Along with many other herbs, thyme is a typical aromatic component of Mediterranean cuisine. The French and Italian cuisines in particular have numerous dishes that use thyme. It is also an essential component of the popular French herbal blends “Herbes de Provence” and “Fines Herbes”.

Thyme goes well with meat and fish dishes. It can also be used to season vegetables such as potatoes or courgettes, soups and sauces such as minestrone or tomato sauce. Fresh thyme is best stored in the refrigerator in a plastic bag, so it will keep for a few days. Dried thyme can be stored for a long time in an airtight seal with only minimal loss of flavor.

Note You can also water fresh herbs in a glass, similar to fresh flowers. This way they stay fresh for a few days without wilting.

For more information, see Does thyme help against coughs?