Thyme is a Mediterranean herb commonly used in cooking. Dried thyme can be made at home or purchased in stores, and can be substituted for fresh thyme in most recipes. The herb is typically dried by hanging the stalks upside down in a cool, dark place for up to two weeks.
Dried thyme is an herb that is commonly added to meats, marinades, and just about any dish that needs seasoning. Fresh thyme and dried thyme can usually be used interchangeably, albeit in different proportions. Dried thyme can be made at home with fresh sprigs. It is also widely available in grocery stores and specialty spice stores.
Thyme is a staple of many European and North African foods. It is a herb native to the Mediterranean region, from Spain to Greece and Morocco to Tunisia. Thyme typically has a long growing season in these warmer climates, but it’s not a perennial. Drying thyme in the summer saves it and preserves it for the winter, cooking with thyme is a year-round option.
Home cooks and gardeners can dry thyme in small batches rather easily. Thyme generally grows on tall stalk-like stems, which should be cut back near the base just before the plants flower, usually in late summer. Gardeners should tie the stems upside down, then hang them in a cool, dark place to dry for up to two weeks. Cooking or roasting at a low temperature can achieve similar results in less time.
Cooks can follow the same drying method for store-bought thyme. A person who doesn’t grow their own thyme can often find fresh sprigs for sale in the produce section of their grocery store. More often than not, prepackaged thyme contains more sprigs than you need for a single recipe. Instead of discarding excess thyme, many cooks choose to pat it dry to save for future use.
Once dried, the stems can be stored in airtight containers for later use or, as is more common, the individual leaves can be removed, crushed and stored. Thyme stalks are edible, but they don’t have much flavor and are usually hard to chew. The leaves are the only parts of the thyme plant that are used in cooking.
Dried thyme is usually also available for sale pre-dried. In most parts of the world, thyme has become a ubiquitous kitchen herb, and dried thyme is a staple of the spice shelf in most stores. Most commercially prepared thyme is dried in large dehydrator machines. Cooks who are serious about drying herbs can often purchase dehydrators for home use, although these can be quite expensive.
In most cases, cooks can substitute dried thyme in recipes that call for fresh thyme. If the thyme has only recently been dried, its flavor is likely to be quite strong. In dried form, however, it takes up less space, meaning equal measurements of fresh thyme and dried thyme can actually contain different amounts of the herb. More often than not, cooks use about half as much dried thyme as they would fresh. You may need to make adjustments to thyme that has been dried a long time ago or has been sitting on the shelf for some time, as the intensity of the flavor dissipates over time.
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