The use and medicinal properties of thyme. Spices and spices Thyme with what it is combined in cooking

The easiest way to enrich the taste of any, even the simplest food, is to add a pinch of spices. This article will focus on the use of thyme seasoning.

Thyme has been used in cooking in Mediterranean countries since antiquity, where it is often called thyme. In these regions, you can often find it in the wild.

types of thyme

There are four popular types of thyme that are commonly added to food:

1. Ordinary;
2. Caraway;
3. Citric;
4. Creeping.

The nuances of taste and aroma are different for each species. For example, the lemon type of seasoning perfectly complements desserts, pastries and fish dishes, caraway flavors meat and chicken.

You can find both fresh and dried thyme on store shelves. So which one is better to use? Of course, fresh. It contains a maximum of aroma and essential oils that give a special taste to food. Try to add it at the final stages of cooking, and preferably right before serving. Often it is added to fresh vegetable salads.

If you can't find fresh thyme, use dried thyme. Remember that it is better to buy herbs in airtight packages and store no more than a month after opening, otherwise all the flavor will fade. Add dried seasoning at the beginning and middle of cooking so that it has time to add flavor to the food.

Recipes with thyme

Spinach salad with feta cheese

Take:

• fresh cranberries - 150 g;
• feta cheese - 150 g;
• fresh spinach - 200 g;
• walnuts - 80 g;
• basil, thyme - a couple of branches;
• olive oil - 2 table. spoons;
• lemon juice, salt - to taste.

Wash the spinach, basil and thyme and leave to dry on a towel.

Cut the cheese into small cubes of half a centimeter. Grind the nuts in a mortar to a state of large crumbs. Mix olive oil with lemon juice, salt, thyme and basil seasoning leaves.
Divide the spinach into two equal parts, cut. Lay half on the bottom of the salad bowl, sprinkle with half of the cheese and nuts. Pour in the sauce. Fold the rest of the ingredients in the same way, fold in the cranberries and spread out to cover the entire salad.

Can be used as a fresh, dietary snack or addition to a whole meal.

Chicken with thyme

You will need:

• parts of the carcass (legs, thighs, etc.) - 1 kg;
• drain oil. - 180 g;
• fresh thyme - 50 g.

Remove the butter from the refrigerator in advance and leave until a soft consistency is reached. Rinse thyme seasoning and pat dry. Strip the leaves from the stems and add to the butter, stir and coat the chicken with the butter mixture. Place chicken on a baking sheet, wrapped in foil. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 170 degrees.

Meat with thyme

• olive oil - 4 table. spoons;
• thyme - 3 sprigs;
• steaks - 2 pcs;
• garlic - 3 pcs.

Prepare juicy medium-rare beef steaks. In this recipe, with the help of herbal seasonings and garlic, we will flavor the oil, which will nourish the meat with taste and aroma.

Peel the garlic and crush the cloves with the flat side of a wide knife. Pour the oil into a preheated pan, when it warms up, put the garlic and thyme sprigs. Fry for about a minute, stirring, then add the meat. Fry for five minutes on one side, flip, season with salt and fry for another three minutes. Remove the meat with thyme seasoning and transfer to a plate, let it rest for about fifteen minutes and serve.

To cook chicken fillet or fish steaks, follow the same instructions, changing the time depending on the thickness of the piece and the desired doneness.

Pickling with spices

For many, it is unusual to add something else to cabbage, besides carrots, cranberries or other berries. Try a new recipe next time. To do this, mix seasonings in equal proportions:

1. Cumin (whole);
2. Coriander (whole);
3. fresh thyme;
4. Allspice.

You will get a great salad or a full-fledged side dish if you stew it after sourdough.

Using thyme in soups

French cuisine has a wonderful seasoning to add flavor and aroma to soups. It's called Bouquet Garni. For several centuries, traditional soups have not been without this touch.
Now we will tell you how to prepare such a bouquet in your kitchen.

Bouquet Garni

You will need:

• wide leaf of leek;
• thyme - 4 sprigs;
• parsley - 2 stalks;
• bay leaf - 2 pcs.

Unfold a leek leaf and cut a 7-8 cm long piece from it. Wrap the rest of the spices and herbs inside, wrap and tie tightly with kitchen string.
During cooking, add such a bouquet - seasoning after boiling and remove at the end of cooking.

Since chicken and thyme go so well together, we suggest you make a classic chicken soup. This is a light soup that will appeal to both adults and children.

Soup with Provence herbs

Take:

• chicken carcass parts - 500 g;
• onion - 2 heads;
• carrots - 2 medium;
• tomatoes - 2 pcs;
• zucchini - 1 medium;
• bouquet Garni - 1 piece;
• salt, black pepper.

Cover chicken with water and bring to a boil. Add peeled onions and carrots, cut into large pieces. Cook for forty minutes under the lid. Fifteen minutes before the readiness, add the tomatoes and zucchini, cut into small cubes. Salt to taste.

Thyme with vegetables and mushrooms

Thyme is a seasoning that perfectly complements roasted vegetables and mushrooms. Its aroma stimulates the appetite, enhancing the smells of cooked foods. It is also one of the components of the famous herbes de Provence spice, which is added to fish, meat, potatoes and numerous other products.

In Italian cuisine, one can note such a feature that almost no recipe using mushrooms is complete without seasoning thyme. Here is one of them:

Risotto with mushrooms

Necessary:

• dried porcini mushrooms - 200 g (can be replaced with champignons);
• meat broth - 1 liter;
• rice for risotto - 200 g;
• dry white wine - 100 ml;
• red onion - 2 medium;
• garlic - 3 cloves;
• dried thyme - 1 table. a spoon;
• parmesan - 50 g;
• mascarpone - 50 g;
• salt pepper.

Put dried mushrooms in a bowl and soak in boiling water for half an hour. Do not throw away the water left after soaking, we will still need it. Mushrooms then cut into strips.
Combine the broth and water from under the mushrooms in a saucepan and bring to a boil and leave on the lowest heat without a lid.

Cooking process

At this time, chop the onion and garlic, put in a pan with hot oil and fry for no more than a minute. Put rice in here.
When the rice becomes translucent, add the wine and simmer for another three minutes.

Now you need to gradually pour in and evaporate all the available broth. Just add one ladle at a time to the rice. This process usually takes about half an hour.
At the final stage, when the rice is already cooked. Add the rest of the ingredients: cheeses, mushrooms and spices. Mix everything and cover for 5-10 minutes to let the cheeses melt.

Thyme is a spice that is part of most of the existing spices. Its versatility has made it a permanent fixture in many national dishes. If you like to experiment, try cooking your favorite food with a pinch of thyme.

Thyme (aka thyme) is one of the oldest spices, hundreds of species that grow throughout Eurasia, the Canary Islands, northern Africa, and even Greenland. The first mentions of seasoning thyme found in ancient Sumerian chronicles and date back to 3000 BC. e. The Sumerians used it as an antiseptic. In ancient Egypt, thyme was one of the components in the process of embalming, and the inhabitants of ancient Greek policies burned it in the temples of the goddess Aphrodite. Roman legionnaires took aromatic baths with thyme before battle, and freedom-loving Scots drank tea with this herb, since it has long been believed that thyme gives courage before battle. Even the beautiful ladies of medieval Europe embroidered a sprig of thyme on the shirts of their fearless knights for the same purpose.

Fresh and dried leaves, as well as young shoots of thyme of all kinds, are used in the production of sausages and in cooking. A small amount of this spice is seasoned, and veal tenderloin. Thyme (thyme) perfectly emphasizes the taste and aroma of lentils, beans and peas. It is important to note that only with prolonged heat treatment is it able to fully reveal its aroma, so it is recommended to add thyme to food at the very beginning of its preparation.

It is one of the main herbs in French cuisine. In Turkey, Spain and Greece, when pickling olives, the oil of the same thyme is used. This seasoning is not only popular in Europe, it is respected in Jordanian and Egyptian cuisines. In Central Europe, thyme is added to soups and egg dishes. In the United States, in the state of Louisiana, thyme is part of the signature Creole dish "jambalaya".

Jambalaya is a stewed mixture of rice, pork, vegetables, seafood, ham, chicken and a complex condiment, which necessarily includes thyme. This dish is served only with spicy chili sauce.

Caraway thyme is a fairly rare variety of thyme. It is unique in combination with wine and garlic, and is best suited to fried chicken and fish.

subspecies of the wild thyme - thyme lemon has pronounced citrus tones and is very common in cooking. Small heart-shaped leaves of lemon thyme are especially suitable for and. The citrus aroma of the spice facilitates the perception of fatty dishes, so this variety of this spice is advised to season potatoes fried in lard, minced meat, scrambled eggs, pork, smoked meats, duck, lamb, mushrooms, cottage cheese and cheeses.

Thyme essential oil is widely used in perfumery and canning industry.

In official medicine, a decoction of thyme is used as an expectorant for bronchitis and pneumonia, as well as an analgesic for neuritis and radiculitis. Outwardly, thyme is used for lotions, compresses and aromatic baths.

In the article we discuss thyme - useful properties and contraindications for use. You will learn what thyme herb heals and how it is used in traditional medicine, cosmetology and cooking. Following our advice, you will learn how to prepare infusions and decoctions of the plant. We will tell you how to drink thyme for cough, pressure, female diseases, prostatitis and alcoholism.

Thyme is a genus of perennial essential oil shrubs and shrubs of the Lamiaceae family (lat. Lamiaceae). The Latin name is Thymus. Thyme is also known as thyme. The plant is used in folk medicine, cosmetology, perfumery and cooking. This is a good honey plant.

Appearance (photo) thyme

Thyme has woody erect or creeping shoots. The shrub is strongly branched, grows up to 30 cm in height.

The leaves are hard, rounded, ovate or oblong. They are located on short petioles.

On the tops of the shoots, capitate or elongated pink-lilac inflorescences are formed. The flowering period is from June to August, depending on the region. In appearance, thyme inflorescences look like oregano. These plants are often confused. Read more about how to distinguish them in the article - Thyme and oregano are one and the same.

Fruits are boxes with small black-brown nuts of a spherical or ellipsoidal shape. They ripen from August to September.

Thyme is widely distributed in the wild. It grows almost throughout Europe, Central Asia, North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. The plant is found in the steppes, forests, tundra, on rocky slopes.

Chemical composition

Thyme contains:

• essential oils;
• gum;
• B vitamins;
• vitamin C;
• tannins;
• ursolic acid;
• oleic acid;
• bitterness;
• terpenes;
• triterpenoids;
• organic pigments;
• minerals.

Due to its rich composition, thyme has a lot of useful properties. We will tell you more about the medicinal properties of thyme herb and contraindications for use.

The healing properties of thyme

Today, the beneficial properties of thyme herb have been studied quite well, so it is widely used in herbal medicine.. The plant is used to treat diseases of the respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous and digestive systems, the musculoskeletal system and skin diseases.

Thyme is used as a sedative. When taken regularly, the plant has a sedative effect, normalizes sleep, and also eliminates increased nervous excitability.

Thyme has anti-inflammatory and diaphoretic effects. Plant-based products are used as antipyretic drugs.

Thyme is used to treat bronchopulmonary diseases. The plant has a powerful expectorant and bronchodilatory effect.

Thyme has a beneficial effect on the digestive system. It normalizes the microflora in the intestines, increases appetite, eliminates intestinal obstruction and flatulence.

Useful thyme for the kidneys and genitourinary system. It has antispasmodic and analgesic effects in urolithiasis, cystitis and pyelonephritis.

Plant-based products are used externally to treat wounds and burns. Thyme has antiseptic, disinfectant and wound healing effects.

For women

The beneficial properties of thyme on the body extend to the reproductive system. Means based on the plant normalize the female hormonal background, eliminate pain during menstruation and effectively cope with inflammatory diseases of the genital organs.

The plant is often used in dietetics. Why do women who want to lose weight drink thyme? The plant helps food to digest faster, normalizes metabolic processes in the body and removes toxins.

For men

Why do men need thyme? The plant contains selenium and molybdenum, necessary for men's health. They increase potency and improve spermatogenesis.

Thyme is used to prevent and treat prostatitis. Means based on it quickly relieve inflammation, improve blood circulation in the pelvic organs and have a diuretic effect.

For kids

Has thyme beneficial properties for children. Baths with a decoction of the plant gently calm the child's nervous system and normalize sleep. Thyme syrup effectively copes with whooping cough - the drug quickly eliminates paroxysmal cough and relieves spasms of the larynx.

You have learned the beneficial properties and uses of thyme for men, women and children. Now we will tell you how the plant is used in cooking.

Thyme in cooking

In cooking, fresh and dried thyme are used.

In cooking, fresh or dried thyme leaves are used as a seasoning. The plant has a bitter taste and a spicy aroma. The spice is added to dishes from meat, fish, vegetables, used in conservation and baking. Thyme emphasizes the taste of cheese, mushrooms, honey, apples, lentils and beans.

Thyme is included in spice mixtures, such as Provence herbs. The spice is combined with bay leaf, rosemary, tarragon, oregano, lavender, parsley and marjoram.

Thyme in cosmetology

Thyme-based products are used for skin and hair care. In cosmetology, decoctions, infusions and thyme oil are used.

Thyme tightens loose skin, tightens pores and eliminates puffiness. Based on the plant, face masks and lotions are made.

For hair care at home, rinse solutions and hair masks are prepared. Thyme infusion is added to shampoos and balms. We will tell you what thyme is used for in cosmetology.

Compress for the face

Means based on thyme have an anti-inflammatory and soothing effect on the skin of the face. With regular cosmetic procedures, they normalize the metabolic processes of skin cells, reduce its fat content and swelling.

Ingredients:

1. Thyme - 1 tablespoon.
2. Water - 200 ml.

How to cook: Pour the thyme with a glass of boiling water, cover and let it brew for 30 minutes.

How to use: Moisten a tissue base for masks or gauze in the resulting infusion, wring out and apply to the face. Wet the wipe every 5 minutes. The duration of the procedure is 20 minutes.

Result: Compress tightens pores, tones the skin and removes excess fluid.

Hair rinses

A decoction of the plant is used to rinse the hair. It nourishes and strengthens curls, eliminates split ends. Eliminates dandruff with regular use.

Ingredients:

1. Thyme - 5 gr.
2. Nettle - 5 gr.
3. Hop cones - 5 gr.
4. Birch leaf - 5 gr.
5. Water - 1 liter.

How to cook: Pour dry herbs with water, put in a water bath and bring to a boil. Simmer for 15 minutes, then remove from heat, cover and infuse for 30 minutes.

How to use: Wash your hair with regular shampoo and rinse your hair with the resulting decoction. Repeat the procedure 2 times a week.

Result: The product strengthens hair follicles, prevents baldness and makes curls more manageable and silky.

Thyme in folk medicine

In folk medicine, tea, decoctions and infusions are made with thyme.

Having considered the medicinal properties of the plant, it became clear how useful thyme herb is. It has a beneficial effect on all body systems. Means based on thyme increase immunity.

The healing properties of thyme affect the musculoskeletal system. Means based on it are used to treat diseases of the joints. At the same time, they are taken orally and applied externally in the form of compresses and rubbing to enhance the therapeutic effect. Thyme is used to treat rheumatism, radiculitis, sciatica.

At home, infusions, decoctions and tea are prepared from thyme. Depending on the disease, they are taken orally or used externally. We will tell you how and from what they drink thyme in folk medicine.

Cough and bronchitis syrup

The beneficial properties of thyme herb are widely used not only in folk, but also in official medicine. The plant is part of the pharmaceutical preparation for coughing - Pertussin.

At home, an infusion, decoction or syrup based on a plant will help to cope with a strong cough. Thyme has an expectorant, antispasmodic and disinfectant action. Read more in the article - Thyme for cough.

Ingredients:

1. Fresh thyme - 1 bunch.
2. Water - 450 ml.
3. Garlic - 5 cloves.
4. Honey - 300 gr.

How to cook: Rinse the herbs and flowers of thyme under running water, spread them on a towel, let dry. Cut the grass into large pieces, fill with water and put on a minimum fire. Simmer until the water is reduced by half, about 10-15 minutes. Remove the drink from heat, cool and strain. Add garlic juice and honey to it, mix. If the syrup is intended for children, then it is better not to add garlic. Store in a closed jar in the refrigerator.

How to use: Take 1 teaspoon 2 times a day.

Result: The syrup dilutes phlegm, removes it and relieves spasms of the larynx.

Infusion of pressure

Thyme dilates blood vessels and relieves their spasms. An infusion of the plant is used to treat hypertension.

Ingredients:

1. Dry thyme - 15 gr.
2. Fireweed - 10 gr.
3. Chamomile - 5 gr.
4. Water - 1 liter.

How to cook: Pour dry ingredients with a liter of boiling water, cover, warm with a towel and leave for 45-60 minutes.

How to use: Take ¼ cup 3 times a day.

Result: Infusion normalizes the cardiovascular system, lowers blood pressure and strengthens the walls of blood vessels.

Tea for women's diseases

Tea with thyme normalizes the hormonal background of a woman, eliminates mood swings and has an analgesic effect during PMS. The drink is taken to treat inflammatory diseases of the female reproductive system. Read more in the article - Tea with thyme benefits.

Ingredients:

1. Leaves or flowers of thyme - 1 teaspoon.
2. Water - 200 ml.

How to cook: Brew dry thyme with a glass of boiling water, insist for 10-15 minutes. Strain the finished tea through a strainer.

How to use: Take 1 glass 3 times a day.

Result: Tea effectively eliminates inflammatory processes, normalizes hormonal levels, improves mood.

Decoction of prostatitis

Thyme has bactericidal and anti-inflammatory effects. A decoction of the plant is used for infectious diseases of the genitourinary system. The tool eliminates swelling, pain and facilitates urination.

Ingredients:

1. Thyme - 2 tablespoons.
2. Water - 100 ml.

How to cook: Pour dry thyme leaves with water, put in a water bath and bring to a boil. Boil the product for 10 minutes, then remove from the stove and insist under the lid for at least 2 hours.

How to use: Take 50 ml of decoction 2 times a day before meals.

Result: The product relieves inflammation, eliminates pain and increases potency.

Infusion from alcoholism

Thyme infusion contains thymol, which provokes bouts of nausea when in contact with alcohol. The remedy causes an aversion to alcohol.

Ingredients:

1. Thyme - 15 gr.
2. Water - 500 ml.

How to cook: Pour the thyme with 250 ml of water, put on the stove, bring to a boil and cook over low heat for 10 minutes. Remove from heat, drain liquid and squeeze out leaves. Fill them with a second glass of water, after boiling it. Infuse the remedy for 30 minutes.

How to use: Take 50-70 ml of infusion 3-5 times a day. The course of treatment is from 1 to 2 weeks.

Result: With regular use, thyme infusion develops a strong aversion to alcohol. The patient develops nausea at the smell of alcohol.

You learned the beneficial properties of thyme and its use in traditional medicine. Now let's talk about contraindications to the use of plant-based products. Indeed, despite the mass of useful properties, thyme herb can have a negative effect on the body with an independent increase in the dosage or course of administration.

For more information about thyme, see the video:

Contraindications and possible harm

Contraindications to the use of thyme-based products:

• gastritis;
• stomach or duodenal ulcer;
• diabetes;
• individual intolerance.

Thyme-based products should be taken with caution in asthma and tuberculosis. The expectorant effect of the plant can provoke a complication of these diseases.

Taking funds based on thyme during pregnancy and lactation is possible only after consultation with a specialist. With self-medication, the plant can adversely affect the development of the baby. The doctor will prescribe the appropriate dosage and tell you how to take thyme correctly. Read more in the articles - Thyme for pregnant women and Thyme for breastfeeding.

What to remember

1. The medicinal properties of thyme are widely used not only in folk, but also in official medicine.
2. The beneficial properties of thyme herb and contraindications for use lie in the chemical composition of the plant.
3. Despite the mass of useful properties, thyme herb has a number of contraindications and can have a negative effect on the body with an independent increase in the dosage or course of administration.

Views: 497

24.07.2017

Or thyme(lat. Thymus, Lamiaceae family) is one of the most popular spicy-aromatic plants known in many cuisines of the world. It is a short (up to 35 cm tall) shrub or shrub. This perennial groundcover has more than 200 species. Distributed throughout almost the entire territory of Eurasia and North Africa. Cultivated in many Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, France), Germany, Austria, Romania, USA. On the post-Soviet territory, thyme is grown in Ukraine, Belarus, Russia and Central Asia.

The use of thyme is diverse: it is used as a spicy essential oil spice in cooking in the preparation of vegetable, meat, hot or cold dishes, soups, sauces. A few leaves or a sprig of thyme, added to vegetable or butter, will add sophistication and a special taste to meat, vegetable, fish dishes. Thyme is one of the classic components of the famous Herbs of Provence seasoning. It is indispensable in the preservation of olives and other products. This fragrant herb is one of the main components needed to obtain a blend in some alcoholic products. Thyme essential oils are widely used in the perfumery and cosmetic industry. Its decorative properties are also well known, so thyme is often planted on alpine hills, in rockeries, and garden and park compositions are decorated with it.

Since ancient times, among the Slavs, thyme was considered a cult plant. Even today, Orthodox icons decorate it with bouquets during religious holidays. Dry stems, leaves and inflorescences of the plant are used to fumigate rooms with incense. This tradition has been preserved since the Middle Ages, when, during terrible epidemics that claimed the lives of millions of people, bonfires were kindled, throwing thyme sprigs into them as a strong antiviral and antibacterial agent. The plant is very effective as an insecticide and repellent - it is often used to repel harmful insects.

The healing properties of thyme are associated with the essential oils found in its flowers and leaves. They contain a significant amount (20 - 54%) of thymol, known as one of the most powerful antimicrobial agents. Thyme has long been known primarily as a medicinal plant. It contains beta-carotene, vitamins (PP, C, A, B 5, B 9, B 6, B 1, B 2), minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, zinc, copper, manganese , sodium, selenium), tannins, organic pigments, essential oils, oleanolic acid, gum, terpenes and other biologically active components. In official medicine, the use of thyme as a component of antitussive and anti-inflammatory drugs (Pertussin, Pectusin syrup), preparations for the treatment of helminthiasis and trichuriasis is well known. Traditional healers use the plant as a wound healing, antiseptic, analgesic, anti-inflammatory, sedative, antispasmodic, diaphoretic and diuretic drug. Regular consumption of thyme decoction for two weeks helps to get rid of alcohol addiction.

However, it must be remembered that thyme as a medicinal product should be used with caution, since the plant has some limitations in its use. Due to the significant amount of thymol, it is contraindicated in pregnancy, cardiosclerosis, atherosclerosis of cerebral vessels, various types of arrhythmias, hypofunction of the thyroid gland, diseases of the liver and kidneys, and increased acidity of the stomach. In addition, it is important to consider his hypothyroidinfluence and remember that long-term use of thyme is not safe, and can lead to depression and dysfunction of the thyroid gland.

Thyme, growing near the house, creates a unique pacifying atmosphere during its flowering, enveloping the surrounding area with a cloud of pleasant aroma. It is not difficult to grow it, because the plant is quite unpretentious. Can grow in one place 3 - 5 years. The best conditions for thyme are sunny areas with moderately fertile, non-acidic, loose soil (sandy loam, loam). The culture is very responsive to calcium, so some lime added to the soil will have a beneficial effect on the development of the plant. You can add wood ash to the beds, which will serve as a mineral supplement.

Thyme is propagated by seeds, cuttings or division of the bush. The most effective way is to sow seeds in previously prepared soil. It is carried out in the spring, in warm weather, when the threat of return frosts has passed, and the air warms up to a temperature of at least + 13° C. Thyme seeds are very small, therefore, for convenience, they are mixed with a small amount of sand, and then sown in well-moistened grooves, equidistant from each other at a distance of 40-60 cm, no more than 1 cm deep, sprinkled on top with a thin layer of peat or sand. By covering the crops with plastic wrap, you can get shoots after 15 to 20 days. The grown seedlings with the appearance of the first true leaves are thinned out, leaving a distance between them of 10 - 20 cm. In the case of decorative carpet plantings of thyme, it is grown without thinning. For better tillering of seedlings, they resort to pinching the tops of the shoots.

Care of crops consists in easy loosening of the surface between rows and timely removal of weeds. Only in case of severe drought is it recommended to water the beds, since thyme is a drought-resistant plant. As a regular top dressing, it is enough to fertilize the beds every spring with urea (3% solution) and a universal mineral complex. For regions with a cold climate, it is practiced to cover areas where thyme grows with fallen leaves or peat.

Thyme can be harvested in early summer, during the budding period, and in autumn, in September, when the content of essential oils in the vegetative part of the plant is maximum. The upper part of the stems (1/3) is cut off, carefully tied into bunches and dried in a shaded and well-ventilated place. The healing properties of the herb persist for two years.

The strongest (from Latin Thymus, Greek thymon - strength) spice - thyme!
Thyme (Thymus) is a genus of strongly fragrant shrubs of the Lamiaceae family (Labiatae), also known as thyme, thyme, Bogorodskaya grass, mainland.
More than 400 types of thyme are known, the most commonly used are Common Thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpillum).

Use in cooking spices thyme

Thyme leaves are used in cooking. They are tough in thyme, almost leathery, short-leaved, with oblong-shaped plates.

The best cooks use thyme as a seasoning, preferring naturally to add the fresh herb, which unfortunately is not always possible. A tablespoon of fresh thyme is equivalent to a teaspoon of dry thyme.

Thyme has a pleasant strong smell, sharp, strongly spicy bitter taste.

As a spice, fragrant, vitamin-rich thyme leaves are used. It improves the taste, informs the aroma, gives bitterness. It remains one of the leading spices in baking. Improves the smell and taste of vegetable dishes, especially potatoes and cabbage.
Thyme, as a seasoning for fatty foods, not only greatly improves and enriches the taste, but also facilitates its digestion.

It can be said that it is simply necessary when cooking potatoes fried in lard, pork, lamb, fish, meat pates (from pork). They are seasoned with poultry (goose, duck), game, offal dishes. Thyme is also used in cooking oily fish.
Thyme is combined with egg dishes, cheeses. Undeniable is its popularity in smoked foods, no spice enhances the flavor of lentil, pea and bean soup like thyme. In fresh and dried form, thyme is used for pickling cucumbers, tomatoes, squash.

Leaves are added to salads, borscht, vegetable soups, chicken broths. This spice is indispensable in the manufacture of fish dishes, game. Cheeses are flavored with thyme, it is added to sauces, marinades, fried dishes (potatoes, mushrooms, eggplants), added to spicy mixtures, put when pickling vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.), healing teas and aromatic drinks are prepared with it .
The leaves are used as a spice in cooking, canning and alcoholic beverage industries.
Feel free to add Bogorodsk herb to various dishes, but keep in mind that due to the high thymol content, thyme can irritate the stomach, liver and kidneys. Therefore, if you suffer from peptic ulcer, then treat thyme with caution.
An unusual piquancy to meat dishes is also given by a rather rare appearance - caraway thyme. It is great paired with garlic and wine (an inseparable pair of Mediterranean cuisine), and is best paired with fish and fried chicken.
But a subspecies of wild thyme is quite common in cooking - lemon thyme with pronounced tones of lemon. Its tiny, heart-shaped leaves go particularly well with seafood and sweet dishes.
It is interesting to use lemon thyme in the classic French (Gascon) product Confit (confit) - a kind of canned duck, goose or pork.
Fresh and dried leaves, young shoots of all types of thyme are used as marjoram in pea and bean dishes, as well as in the manufacture of sausages. Thyme is one of the main aromatic herbs in French cuisine and is a must-have in spice mixes, bouquet garni and herbs of Provence.
In Spain, Greece, Turkey, thyme oil is used for pickling olives. Thyme is not only popular in Europe, it is also an ingredient in the Jordanian condiment zakhtar, an Egyptian dukka condiment. In Central Europe, thyme is added to soups and egg dishes, and in the cuisine of the US state of Louisiana, it is added to the famous Creole dishes "gambo" (gumbo) and "jambalaya" (jambalaya).
The aerial part of the plant before fruiting is used in the production of drinks. Leaves and young shoots of thyme are used as a salad, for pickling cucumbers. They serve to flavor sausages, vinegar, cocktails, tea. For these purposes, fresh and dry leaves are used.

Store dried thyme (thyme) in a dry, dark place in tightly closed porcelain or glassware.
Thyme fully reveals its aroma during prolonged heat treatment, so it is placed at the very beginning of cooking.
An excellent spicy seasoning for stir-fry is made from thyme and rosemary with the addition of salt.
Thyme is good to use when combined with pepper, this enhances its flavor.
In the form of a powder, it goes in large doses to all kinds of fish dishes and minced fish. When frying fish, thyme is mixed in large quantities with breading (with flour 1: 2). In addition, cheese is sprinkled with thyme, and it is also used in the preparation of homemade cheeses. It also goes well with vegetables.
Thyme is added to liquid dishes 15 - 20 minutes before readiness, in the rest - in the process of cooking.
Thyme is appreciated by lovers of vegetarian dishes. It is added to fried potatoes, mushrooms, scrambled eggs, eggplant, put in pickling, salting. Drinks with this plant are very fragrant.

In everyday life, thyme is used as a spice for salting, urinating, as a seasoning for vegetables, meat, fish and other dishes, for flavoring sausages. Sauces, cheese, jelly, tea.
In Italy, thyme is used to pickle olives.
If you lay clothes in the closet for them, he scares away the moth.
Thyme essential oil is used in perfumery and canning industry. Thyme is a valuable honey plant.

Use in medicine spices thyme
Since ancient times, thyme has been revered as a divine herb that can restore not only health, but also life to a person. The ancient Greeks used it for fainting in the form of snuff.

Thyme grass (thyme) contains 0.1-0.6% essential oil, tannins and bitter substances, gum, resin, flavonoids, organic, mineral salts. Green thyme leaves are rich in vitamin C, minerals (potassium, calcium, magnesium).
Thyme essential oil is a colorless or light yellow liquid with a strong pleasant odor, which includes thymol (20-40%), corvacol, tannins, bitterness, serpilin, etc.
The presence of thymol and other components makes thyme a bactericidal, antimicrobial agent. Numerous preparations rich in thymol are used as an antihelminthic, disinfectant and analgesic.
Thyme is used in folk medicine for gargling, for whooping cough and bronchitis, joint pain, heart pain, sciatica, and neuralgic diseases.
It is believed that thyme decoctions dissolve mucus in bronchial asthma. It is used in the manufacture of powders, cough tablets (thyme is a component of Pictusin), tinctures to calm nerves, etc.
You can simply rub fresh leaves in your hands and breathe in their aroma, since it is thyme essential oils that have antibacterial properties.
In order to fight microbes, thyme essential oil is added to an aroma lamp, bath or inhalation solution. It is best to use fresh thyme. If this is difficult - take medications, you need to store thyme in a sealed container. If dry thyme has lost its characteristic smell, then the essential oils have evaporated from it and the healing effect has weakened.
Thyme helps digest fatty foods. It provides significant assistance in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, is a choleretic, blood-purifying, diuretic. The indisputable effect of thyme in insomnia has been noted.
Thymol, originally isolated from thyme, as well as decoctions and powder in folk medicine, are used as dressings for sciatica, inflammation of the sciatic nerve. In the form of a decoction or ointment on honey, it "purifies the chest and lungs", promotes expectoration and soothes pain. Thyme aids in digestion. As a bath, thyme is useful for nervous diseases, radiculitis, rheumatism, skin rashes, diseases of the joints, muscles. As an external rubbing agent, mixtures containing thyme essential oil are used.
For gargling and mouth thyme is used for stomatitis and gingivitis.
Phenolic compounds contained in thyme irritate the mucous membrane of the gastrointestinal tract, increase the secretion of the digestive glands, and therefore are used in the treatment of chronic gastritis with low acidity.
However, it should be noted that thymol is contraindicated in cardiac decompensation, liver and kidney diseases, gastric ulcer, and pregnancy. Thymol can cause hyperthyroidism.
Thyme increases blood pressure, and the effect develops gradually and persists for a long time, so the use of a prescription with thyme is contraindicated in hypertensive patients.
In the list of diseases in which thyme helps: enterocolitis, fermentopathy, dyskinesia of the gastrointestinal tract, dysbacteriosis. They have thyme infusions and a mild diuretic effect. In kidney diseases, thyme infusions taken orally also act as a mild pain reliever.
A thyme bath has a strengthening effect on the nervous system. Baths with thyme are also very useful for the treatment of gynecological diseases. But such baths are contraindicated at high body temperature, high blood pressure, severe heart failure.
Thyme oil serves as a source of thymol, widely used for disinfection of the mucous membrane of the oral cavity, pharynx; is part of Hartmann's liquid, used in dental practice as an anesthetic, is an antifungal agent for fungal skin diseases (in particular, for actinomycosis). Thymol also has an antihelminthic effect, it is used to treat helminthic invasions (in the treatment of ankylostomiasis, trichuriasis and necatoriasis). Sometimes thymol is prescribed orally as an astringent for gastrointestinal disorders and flatulence.
In folk medicine, the plant was used as a diuretic, anticonvulsant and sedative, for whooping cough, neuralgia, stomach cramps. In the form of ointments and lotions, thyme was used for rheumatism, as a wound healer for skin diseases. A powder prepared from the herb serves as a snuff for fainting.
Thyme herb, harvested during the flowering period, has sedative, analgesic, antispasmodic, disinfectant, wound healing and aromatic properties. It is used for hypertension, atherosclerosis, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, as well as for therapeutic baths and douching.
The use of Bogorodskaya grass can create an aversion to alcohol.
Ancient Tajik medicine considered thyme an antidote for poisonous insect bites, an antiemetic and a remedy for pain in the abdomen and uterus.

Description spices thyme
The homeland of this medicinal and aromatic plant is the Mediterranean, where it grows on rocky wastelands and in evergreen shrub forests. Hundreds of thyme species of the genus Thymus of the labiate family (Labiatae) grow almost throughout Eurasia, North Africa, the Canary Islands and even Greenland.
Thyme (thyme) is a perennial shrub. The stems are numerous, creeping, thin, rooting, woody at the base with age and form erect or ascending flowering shoots 15-20 cm high. The leaves are petiolate, small, opposite, entire, oblong-oval, hard with protruding glands. The flowers are small, pinkish-purple, collected at the ends of the branches in inflorescences. The fruit is a small, spherical, smooth black nut.
Grows in dry open sandy places, on hills, near shrubs, in dry pine forests. Thyme is cultivated in Europe and the USA as medicinal, decorative, spicy and aromatic. In Russia, wild creeping thyme is harvested in the Stavropol, Krasnodar Territories and in the Rostov Region. 6 domestic varieties of thyme have been registered.
Thyme (thyme) - undemanding to soils, drought-resistant, winter-hardy plant. Under it, areas well-lit by the sun, closed from cold winds, with fertile, loose, neutral soil of light or medium mechanical composition, free from weeds, should be allocated.
Thyme (thyme) is propagated by seeds and vegetatively by dividing the bushes.
Thyme greens are dried during the summer (in July-August, cutting flowering shoots with a knife or scissors), starting from the second year of life.
For medicinal purposes, flowering shoots are cut. The fruits are harvested for seeds in the third year of life, when they turn brown. Thyme herb tied in bunches or spread out is dried in partial shade in the air. In dryers, the temperature should not exceed 35°C (as for all raw materials containing essential oils).

It is necessary to grind the greens and grind the seeds immediately before use, so that the aroma and smell do not disappear. Store in an airtight container in a cool dry place.

The plant is very fragrant, earlier it was used as an integral part of incense during worship. The plant is one of the best honey plants. Bees collect unusually fragrant honey from thyme.

Thyme is easy to grow at home, for example, in a container on a balcony or on a windowsill with medium watering.

Story spices thyme
The first written mention of thyme dates back to the third millennium BC. e. (cuneiform tablets were found with a recipe for a poultice of pears, figs and thyme) - the ancient Sumerians used it as an antiseptic.
The ancient Egyptians used thyme as one ingredient in the complex process of embalming. They also used the thyme herb for leprosy and paralysis.
The name thyme comes from the Greek thymiama (incense, fragrant smoking) - the Greeks dedicated it to Aphrodite and burned it in the temples of the goddess. The fragrant smoke rising to the sky meant that the goddess accepted the sacrifice.
It has long been believed that thyme gives courage, and another assumption of the origin of the name is from the Greek thymon - strength. Even later, there was the Latin Thymus - strength, and Roman soldiers took baths with thyme before the battle to raise vitality and courage.
The Scottish highlanders drank tea with wild thyme for the same purpose. The glory of the plant as a symbol of courage has passed through the centuries - in medieval Europe, ladies gave a sprig of thyme and embroidered it on the shirts of their knights in the hope that thyme would give them courage in battle and remind them.
Theophrastus and Avicenna also wrote about the properties of thyme, who included thyme seeds in the composition of complex medicines based on honey, vinegar, oil or wine, along with the seeds of cumin, celery, parsley, mint, valerian, hyssop, asafoetida and garlic.

An old Irish legend says: if you wash your eyes with dew collected from thyme bushes at dawn on the first of May (after Walpurgis Night), then you can see fairies later.

Even modern experts claim that "thyme helps to open up insecure, sensitive, nervous natures; restores strength and awakens emotions ..."

Thyme penetrated beyond the Alps in the 11th century. The first mention of it can be found in the "Physics" of the abbess Hildegard von Bingen, Albert the Great, in the herbalist P. A. Mattiolus (Prague, 1563).

Dishes with spice thyme

Stories with spice thyme