Happy
Saturday everyone! This week, take some thyme to learn about another popular
herb.
There
are over 350 species of thyme, such as creeping thyme, which is a good ground
coverer and lemon thyme which emits a strong scent resembling lemons. The kind grown most often to cook with is a
shrub reaching 1 foot tall, with small, oval, aromatic leaves, accompanied by
tiny clusters of purple flowers in summer.
A
large number of species are native to areas within the Mediterranean. The Etruscans and Egyptians used thyme for
embalming and the Greeks used it as a temple incense, as the word “Thymus”
means “courage” or “to fumigate” in Greek.
The soldiers of Rome bathed in thyme water to give themselves vigor, and
it was also thought to be a good herb for medicinal purposes. This herb was introduced to the English by
the Romans and ladies would embroider sprigs of thyme on scarves for their
knights, as it was a symbol of courage during the Middle Ages. More practically used however, branches would
be burned and thrown on the floor to cleanse homes.
As a
medicine, thyme was used to relieve asthma, bronchitis and whooping cough. Hookworm could also be ejected with this
herb, but like many essential oils, it can be fatal if a high enough dose is
ingested. When used externally, it can
also cause irritation to the skin. In a
food dish however, it is quite good with soups, eggs, meats, breads, tomatoes
and other vegetables.
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