Culinary uses
Fresh or dried leaves and flowering tops of thyme are used to flavour soups, fish, meat, sausages, marinades, vinegar, stuffings and baked or sautéed vegetables.
Properties
An aromatic, warming, astringent herb which is an expectorant. It improves digestion, relaxes muscle spasms and controls coughing. It is strongly antiseptic and anti-fungal.
Medicinal uses
Internally used for dry coughs, whooping cough, bronchitis, bronchial catarrh, asthma, laryngitis, indigestion, gastritis and diarrhoea and enuresis in children. Externally used for tonsillitis, gum disease, rheumatism, arthritis and fungal infections.
How to grow
Thyme should be planted in well-drained soil in sun. It prefers neutral to alkaline soil and thrives in stony or rocky situations. Plant in spring from seed, or create new plants by division.