Thyme is distributed throughout the world. Its popularity is associated with the presence of a pronounced aroma, a sharp spicy-bitter taste, which, however, impose certain restrictions on the amount of application.
Title in English: thyme
Name in French: thym
Synonyms: thyme, thyme, Bogorodskaya grass
In what form is it sold: fresh and dried leaves, young branches, ground
Where is thyme used?
In the Mediterranean, not a single cuisine can do without this spice. Cumin thyme is a constant and popular supplement.
Pickled olives without the addition of thyme oil will not reveal their delicious taste, and pizza will not cause traditional delight. In the state of Louisiana, thyme is a constant companion of the legendary Creole dishes gumbo and jambalaya.
Seasoning is suitable for any plant food, so vegetarian cuisine "prays" for it! Spice used:
- for infusion of vegetable oil intended for dressing salads and snacks, additions to sandwiches;
- in recipes for soft drinks, among which tea with thyme is especially famous, as well as liqueurs;
- in the manufacture of canned food, cheeses, sausages, pates, marinades (salting of tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, squash, etc.);
- for fried and boiled dishes (traditionally combined with rosemary) from fish, meat, poultry, game, including those with breading;
- for soups and broths, green salads (fresh);
- for making bread and other unsweetened pastries - pies, pies and other products (one of the most popular spices among bakers).
Lemon thyme is a well-known addition to the Gascon confit dish. Mistresses lay the plant among the clothes to scare away the moth. Thyme is one of the most popular ingredients in the creation of perfumes. In addition, this honey plant is valued among beekeepers.
What does thyme pair with?
Thyme is one of the main spices in French cuisine. It is invariably included in the composition of Provence herbs, goes well with pepper, even enhances its flavor. It is a component of the Jordanian spice zakhtar, the Egyptian dukka. Thyme is ideal with:
- potatoes, cabbage and other vegetables;
- beef, pork, poultry and game;
- seafood (especially with lemon thyme, wild);
- offal;
- eggs;
- cheese of all types.
Thyme opens up during prolonged heat treatment, so cooks lay it at the beginning of cooking.
What can not be combined with thyme:
Thyme is used in recipes for a variety of dishes, but any cook will tell you not to combine it with mushrooms and sweet desserts. Thyme is irritating to the stomach, liver, and kidneys, so limit or omit it altogether from any food for ulcers.
Useful properties of thyme:
Thyme herb contains essential oils, tannins and bitter substances. Salts are part of the spice. The leaves of the plant are able to compensate for the lack of vitamin C, potassium, calcium, magnesium.
In their ancient treatises, Theophrastus and Avicenna always included plant seeds in the composition of medicines made on the basis of numerous natural components. Since ancient times, this plant has been revered. They called him divine. According to beliefs, thyme more than once returned even life. In ancient Greece, it was used for fainting, they gave it to a person who had lost consciousness to smell.
Thymol and other components of the essential oil give the plant bactericidal properties. Based on it, antihelminthic and analgesic drugs are created. It relieves neuralgia, pain in the joints, heart, is indispensable for sciatica.
Thyme is part of inhalations and expectorants, which are prescribed for bronchitis and whooping cough. In folk medicine, the plant is used as a rinse for sore throat and dental diseases.
Thyme aids in digestion. It is recommended for certain diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. It is part of the choleretic, diuretic drugs, it will help cleanse the blood and forget about insomnia. This unique plant will relieve suffering from itchy skin and fungal infections.
Contraindications for use:
Thymol in the composition of thyme often causes hyperthyroidism. It is contraindicated in certain disorders of the cardiovascular system. It increases pressure, and the increase appears gradually, accumulates and persists for a long time, so that hypertensive patients should refuse food prepared according to recipes using this spice.
Thyme should be used to a limited extent in pathologies of the liver and kidneys, gastric and duodenal ulcers. Avoid it during pregnancy. Baths with it are unacceptable with an increase in temperature and pressure. Excessive consumption of spices sometimes leads to nausea and vomiting.
- For the first time, written about thyme is mentioned in written sources of the 3rd millennium BC. Researchers read about it on cuneiform tablets, where ancient recipes were immortalized.
- The Sumerians used the plant as an antiseptic, and the ancient Egyptians used it for embalming.
- The European name of the spice comes from the Greek thymiama - "incense". In ancient Greece, it was invariably associated with Aphrodite and used in her temples as incense, which served as a divine sacrifice. Other sources claim that the name comes from thymon - "strength". The Latin word thymus has a similar meaning. In many countries of the world, he was identified with male power.
- Since ancient times, it has been noticed that the use of Bogorodskaya grass forms a rejection of alcoholic beverages.
- In nature, there are about 4 hundred types of thyme. Most often cultivated and used species are ordinary, capitate, creeping.
Thyme has been used in cooking for a long time and often. The special taste properties of this spice allow you to surprisingly reveal the taste and aroma of meat and fish dishes, as well as emphasize the freshness of salads. In recipes, you can often find both options using fresh thyme, and using it in dried form.
Professional cooks most often use spices in combination with other herbs, as thyme has a rather strong aroma and taste. It is impossible to imagine cooking an excellent beef steak without adding a few sprigs of thyme and rosemary. Consider what this seasoning is used for.
What can replace thyme in cooking?
Unfortunately, it is not always possible to purchase fresh or even dried thyme in the store, and its presence in the recipe is mandatory. What can replace this seasoning?
The easiest replacement will be a ready-made mixture of Provence herbs. It can often be found in supermarkets. The composition of the mixture always includes thyme, and the rest of the herbs will perfectly decorate any dish.
If you need fresh thyme, you can use basil to replace it. It also has a bright pronounced taste and goes well with meat and fish.
Rosemary is also good. It pairs especially well with beef and lamb. For marinades, instead of thyme, it is best to use coriander. It is able to kill any unpleasant aroma and improve taste.
In addition, tarragon will be a good substitute for thyme. It also has a bright taste. However, you should not combine it with white fish and game. For salads, instead of thyme, it is most logical to use any of your favorite herbs.
Thyme is most often found in recipes for the famous herbes de Provence spice blend. Such a mixture is easy to prepare at home, independently determining which spice to add in what proportion, depending on your own preferences and desires.
For cooking you will need:
- salt;
- oregano;
- rosemary;
- basil;
- sage;
- thyme.
All spices must be ground. In the classic recipe, all ingredients are added in the same proportion, however, dosages can be varied to your own taste.
Many housewives use thyme as a seasoning for preserving vegetables. If you add a few pinches of spice to the marinade, cucumbers and tomatoes are much more spicy and aromatic.
Olive oil with spices can also perfectly decorate your table. To prepare such a sauce, you need extra virgin oil and a few sprigs of thyme. Put the leaves in a dark glass container and fill with oil. The oil will be infused for ten days. You can add garlic or hot pepper to taste.
The correct use of thyme as the main seasoning will allow any housewife to make her dish more original and interesting. Experiment and find where to use the spice and delight your guests!
Thyme has an exquisite taste and aroma. It is used both fresh and dried. Fresh chopped sprigs of thyme are put in soups, main dishes and sauces. This spice improves the taste of meat and fish dishes. It also goes well with poultry dishes.
In home canning, it is used for pickling tomatoes and cucumbers.
The use of common thyme in cooking
Thyme ordinary has a pleasant strong aroma and a sharp spicy bitter taste. In cooking, its leaves are used as a spice. It works very well on the taste and smell of vegetable dishes, especially potatoes and cabbage. Thyme is a wonderful seasoning for soups made from legumes - peas, beans and lentils.
Giving a slight bitterness, common thyme makes spicy fried dishes of fatty meat (pork, lamb and poultry) and poultry (duck, turkey, goose). This spice is flavored with offal dishes, game. It is put in egg dishes and various cheeses. It is also well suited for meat pies from pork, pork liver. This type of thyme is often used in baking, which improves the taste and aroma of pies, pies and other pastry products.
In the food industry, it is added when smoking meat and fish products. In home canning, fresh and dried common thyme is used as a spice when pickling tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, squash, etc.
Depending on the dish, the norms of laying this spice can vary significantly.
The use of creeping thyme in cooking
The fragrant leaves and upper parts of the creeping thyme plant (thyme), as well as common thyme, are used in cooking both fresh and dried. In ground form, they are added to salads, meat and vegetable soups, chicken broths, fish and game dishes, as well as sauces and marinades to add flavor. This spice goes well with fried dishes.
In the food industry, it is used in cheese making and canning vegetables. Mixed with other spices, common thyme is used when pickling tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, eggplant, squash, etc. Thyme is often added to various teas and flavored drinks.
Since creeping thyme has a strong aroma, it is used in small quantities during cooking. The average bookmark rate is 1 - 2 g fresh, 0.2 - 0.3 g dried per serving.
Thyme is a creeping perennial that grows as a subshrub of the mint family. This plant is often identified with thyme. In fact, thyme and thyme are close relatives belonging to the same genus. Each of them has its own varieties, some differences in color, smell, slight differences in the shape of the leaves and stem. But their similarity allows us to take them for the same plant, their use by man is the same.
What properties creeping thyme has, why it is harvested and how it is used - this will be discussed in the article. You can use herbs only knowing all their properties, only then it will be beneficial and will not cause harm.
Thyme (thyme): chemical composition and nutritional value
The chemical composition of thyme contains a powerful plant antibiotic - carvacrol. He can defeat Staphylococcus aureus. Also in the composition of the plant there is an essential oil containing a lot of thymol, linalool, caryophyllene.
The plant contains the following elements:
The nutritional value of thyme is 276 kcal per 100 grams of product. The largest part of the calorie content falls on carbohydrates, their grass contains 63.94 grams, which is equal to 256 kcal. Proteins in thyme 9.11 grams - 36 kcal, fat - 7.43 grams or 67 kcal. Benefits of thyme
Thyme has the following beneficial properties:
- anti-inflammatory;
- antiseptic;
- diuretic;
- anticonvulsant;
- antipyretic;
- painkiller;
- hypnotic. Active substances - resins, essential oil, tannins, mineral salts, flavonoids and bitterness, acids - provide a wide range of herb effects on the human body.
Creeping thyme is also useful because it is a good honey plant. Honey from it is very fragrant. The beneficial properties of thyme are manifested when brewed in tea - it is considered a natural stimulant used for stress, for the treatment of depression, migraines, neurasthenia. The use of thyme in tea is very useful for children suffering from anemia.
Dry herbs used to be used in worship for incense. Today, the aerial part of the plant is very much in demand in the perfume industry.
Pharmacological properties of thyme
The thyme plant has medicinal properties due to its chemical composition. Thymol, which is abundant in thyme, is a phenol derivative. But thymol has less toxicity and a milder effect on the mucous membranes, is a good bactericidal agent in the fight against coccal flora. Thymol is highly active against pathogenic fungi, whipworm, tapeworms.
The healing essential oils contained in the plant are effective in bronchitis and other lung diseases, especially whooping cough and asthma. They are also useful in infectious inflammation of the intestine.
The diaphoretic properties of creeping thyme make it an effective diaphoretic that is relevant for colds, runny nose and flu. The ability to regulate the activity of the nervous system is useful for people suffering from insomnia.
Fermentation in the intestines is removed with decoctions and infusions from thyme. Therefore, it is taken when eating fatty, heavy foods, to normalize digestion.
Thyme has beneficial properties in the treatment of arthritis and rheumatism. In this case, it is used externally. Thyme is also used externally in the form of lotions, compresses and ointments, which are effective for skin diseases.
Did you know? Thyme infusion causes a strong aversion to alcohol, so it is used to treat alcohol addiction.
Thyme is also useful for men. It concentrates trace elements important for men's health. Selenium in the composition of the plant is necessary for the synthesis of testosterone, molybdenum activates the enzymes responsible for the normal sexual function.
How is thyme used in folk medicine
In folk medicine, thyme is often used due to its availability, taste and, in fact, medicinal properties. The simplest form of application is tea with thyme. To prepare this, you can use a fresh plant or dried. A teaspoon of herbs is poured into a glass of hot water, insisted for five minutes - and the tea is ready, you just need to strain it. You can also mix the herb with black tea.
In the fight against alcoholism, a decoction of thyme is used. It is prepared by pouring 15 grams of raw material into 500 ml of boiling water. The mixture is kept for 15 minutes in a water bath, filtered and boiling water is added to obtain 500 ml at the exit. Such decoctions are effective for withdrawal from hard drinking. You can take a decoction of 50 grams for two weeks, and after it drink a little alcohol. A persistent gag reflex helps to turn away from alcohol.
With radiculitis, joint diseases, thyme tincture is prepared. To prepare it, you need to take 8 tablespoons of raw materials, pour 0.5 liters of vodka into them. Insist in a dark place for two weeks, shaking. Then strain the mixture and rub it on the affected parts of the body. You can also take baths for such diseases - take 200 grams of thyme for 2 liters of boiling water and insist. Take a bath for 15 minutes for two days.
With female diseases, douching can be done. For them, you need to pour one part of the raw material with three parts of water, boil for a couple of minutes, cool and strain. Douching is carried out at night.
For sexual weakness in men, the following recipe is used: 2 tablespoons of herbs are poured into 500 ml of boiling water, insisted for 2-3 hours. After strain and take half a cup half an hour before meals twice a day.
You can gargle with thyme for inflammatory diseases of the oral cavity, pharynx. The crushed grass is poured with boiling water, insisted for an hour, and after straining, rinse your mouth with warm infusion. It also helps with toothache.
Thyme decoctions are taken in the following conditionsyah: Gheadaches, insomnia, nervous excitement, neuralgia, epilepsy, fright, stress, pneumonia, anemia, bronchitis, intestinal diseases, stomach diseases, and so on.
thyme oil found application in cosmetology. It is used for the beauty and strength of hair. Apply it before washing your hair - you need to rub it into the scalp or mix the oil with shampoo, about 5 ml per 20 ml of shampoo. It will help get rid of dandruff, normalize the sebaceous glands, reduce oily hair.
Also, to prevent hair loss, decoctions of thyme are used - pour 4 tablespoons of herbs into 400 ml of water, boil for 10 minutes, strain, cool. After washing their hair, they rinse their hair. It doesn't need to be washed off.
Herbal medicine with thyme includes steam baths for facial skin. Thyme (thyme) is poured with boiling water for 20 minutes. Take a tablespoon of herbs for half a liter of water. They bend over the hot broth, covering their heads with a towel from above. Keep your face over the steam bath for 10 minutes.
Important! Safety rules must be followed. The procedure must be performed without fanaticism - if it is too hot, you should not endure it. It is necessary to ensure a comfortable temperature and the desired distance of the face above the broth.
With sagging skin, enlarged pores, inflammation, thyme compresses are used. A glass of boiling water is combined with a tablespoon of thyme, allowed to cool. After that, you can moisten a gauze or cotton napkin in a decoction and apply to your face. The procedure lasts 15-20 minutes.
The use of thyme in cooking
Thyme leaves are used in cooking. This herb is used fresh and dried. Pungent smell, spicy, slightly bitter taste - such thyme in dishes.
Thyme leaves added to dishes improve the taste and aroma, give bitterness. In baking, thyme is the leading spice. Vegetable dishes - cabbage and potatoes - are also transformed with the addition of thyme.
The use of thyme as a seasoning for fatty dishes improves digestion. Thanks to its wonderful aromatic properties, thyme is used in small quantities in cooking.
Did you know? If thyme oil is added to meat broth, it is able to inhibit the reproduction of bacteria for three days.
Procurement of medicinal raw materials
An important role is played by the area in which thyme grew. Grass collection should be carried out only in areas with good ecology, away from roads and industries.
For treatment, the aerial part of the plant is collected. The collection is carried out during the flowering period - the end of June - the beginning of August. Shoots with flower stalks are cut with scissors, placed in bags or a basket so that they do not wrinkle or compress.
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 Bogorodskaya 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 texture, 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 wrote about the properties of thyme, who included thyme seeds in complex medicines based on honey, vinegar, oil or wine, along with 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
