Greetings!

I thought it was time to spice things up again around this blog… which means time for the next installment of Spice up your life! on meri-goes-round.

And if you somehow didn’t figure it out from today’s title, the spice of the day is…

Thyme! 

source

1. Origin: a perennial, part of the mint family (who knew?), grows in hot, sunny locations, but is quite hardy and can withstand mountain climates or being frozen. Possible origin in the mediterranean.

2. Side Job: thyme has been used over time (heh heh) for bathing (Greece), embalming (Egypt), as an insect repellent (yess!!), to bring courage (as incense or a gift given to knights during the middle ages), for sleep/fighting nightmares (placed under pillows during the middle ages), and of course, for culinary usage.

3. Nutritional/ medicinal benefits: Thymol is the active ingredient in many mouthwashes and hand sanitizers. Thyme has been used as an anti-fungal and in bandaging wounds.

4. In good company: “when in doubt, use thyme” is a common cooking adage. Some of my favorite flavors/ foods to pair with thyme are: with lemon, in soups, with parmesan cheese, on potatoes (baked, scalloped, mashed), cream sauces, with veggies.

5. Thyme for dummies: can be dried or frozen. can be substituted for many herbs (in my opinion) such as rosemary, oregano, basil, parsley. when removing individual leaves it helps to hold the bottom end with one hand and slide fingers on your other hand up the length of the stalk, and the leaves should fall off.

6. Claim to fame: That old Simon and Garfunkel song, Scarborough Fair has a famous lyric, “parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme…”also a short lived TV show called “Cooking Thyme,” and more pun-tastic shops and restaurants around the country than I can count.

Do you use thyme in cooking? Do you use more fresh or dried herbs/ spices?

Meri