Thyme

use:
Game, lamb, mutton dishes, fish terrines, liver dumplings, fillings, stews, soups, potato, noodle, egg dishes, vegetables

Thyme smells strongly aromatic and tastes characteristically bitter-spicy. It is definitely one of the "Fines Herbes" of French cuisine and is used to season meat and fish dishes, soups, sauces, salads, vegetables and potatoes. In Italian cuisine it is used to season pizza and lasagne. Herbal vinegar also tolerates thyme well. In addition to its seasoning properties, the herb has antiseptic and preservative properties that are beneficial in sausage products. That is why many sausage seasoning mixtures, especially those for cooked sausages, contain thyme. Thyme is also used as a spice in the beverage and cosmetics industries. It also has a special significance in the pharmaceutical industry. It is particularly suitable for the treatment of bronchitis and whooping cough.

tip:
Dried thyme has a stronger seasoning power than fresh thyme

Recipe suggestion:
Pork fillet with herb filling: In a frying pan fry some butter, 1 onion and 2 garlic cloves finely chopped. Cut 2 slices of toast without rind into small cubes and add thyme leaves. Let it boil down with sweet cream. Season to taste with a little sherry, salt and pepper. Pour everything into a pork tenderloin, fry in a pan and cook in the oven at 200° for 20 minutes.

knowledge:
Medicine: Used in the treatment of bronchitis, whooping cough and catarrh of the upper respiratory tract. Also used externally for itching of various dermatoses.

Botany:
The persistent thyme belongs to the labiates and grows to a height of about 20 to 40 cm. The more or less strongly lignifying, upright stems carry tufts of greyish-green, very short-stemmed, elongated-lanceolate, whole-edged leaves, which are curled down at the edges and are felt-hairy on the underside. The thyme flowers are pink to violet.

Home & Spread:
Thyme grows wild on mountain slopes in southern Europe and is a typical plant of the rocky heaths there. Besides the wild occurrences, thyme is cultivated in North Africa, Spain, Portugal, Southern France, Italy, Yugoslavia, Greece, Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Austria, Germany and England. There are also thyme cultures in the warmer North America.

cultivation & extraction:
Thyme is grown in the herb garden for domestic use. In large-scale cultivation, the cuttings, mostly grown from seeds, are put outdoors and harvested later in the 2nd year. The planting is usually renewed in the 3rd year. Harvesting just before or during flowering is done with sickles or scissors. From the stems, which are cut as deeply as possible, the leaves and shoot ends are stripped off and dried in the shade. It is also possible to dry thyme in bundles with the stems. Dried thyme retains its aroma for a very long time. It is usually sold on the market grated, sometimes coarsely crushed and even less frequently ground. Thyme is one of the spices that develop a particularly intense aroma when dried.

history:
In the time of the pharaohs, as finds in burial chambers in Egypt prove, a fine perfume was prepared from thyme and used to embalm the dead. The name thyme is derived from the Greek word thymos, which can be translated as "courage" or "strength". It refers to the meaning and appreciation of the healing and spicy herb that it was enjoyed in ancient times. The Greeks used it even then to season certain types of cheese and various drinks or, according to Hippocrates, prescribed it as a draining vegetable. Although thyme was known and appreciated in southern Europe long before the reckoning of time, it was not until monks of the Benedictine order arrived over the Alps.