How to Use Thyme

Thyme, a small, low-growing bushy shrub, has many varieties with different scents, leaf colors and flower colors. The standard green-leafed, white-flowered thyme traditionally used in cooking has medicinal, culinary, aromatic, cosmetic and gardening applications.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Make thyme into an infusion to treat injections of the throat and chest. For the best taste, use lemon thyme. Steep 2 tsp. of lemon thyme in 1 cup of boiling water or make an entire pot with the same proportion. The infusion will last up to 24 hours in the refrigerator. You may want to strain the infusion before drinking it.

2. Use the thyme infusion as a remedy for shortness of breath, congested lungs, flatulence, headaches and coughs. Thyme is sometimes used in commercial cough medicines.

3. Add thyme to French and Cajun cooking and add sprigs to salads, soups and chowders for a potent green taste. It is also said to have a slight aftertaste somewhat like cloves. Thyme also goes well with most meats if added toward the end of cooking.

4. Throw some thyme into an herbal bath to use its antiseptic properties. Thyme contains carvacrol, which prohibits the growth of microorganisms.

5. Plant thyme in any garden to keep away harmful insects such as cabbageworms and whiteflies. The smell of Thyme deters these insects from coming near the plant.

6. Store thyme with linen because it gives your linen a delightful herbal smell that you enjoy but insects hate. Insects will not infest your linen and you'll enjoy the fresh scent.

Tips & Warnings

• Removing the small leaves from woody stems is made easier by sliding the stems in between the thongs of a fork.
• Use caution with the essential oil of thyme. If taken directly, it can cause diarrhea, headache, dizziness and nausea.