Time to do a little research in Harold McGee’s book On Food and Cooking (which I recommend to any one with even a pinch of food geek in them). Here’s a small sample of what I found.
Thyme keeps company with garlic, cinnamon, cloves and oregano because all of these can kill disease microbes, which is probably why people started using herbs and spices in the first place.
Define Herbs and Spices? They are plant material that is used for flavoring in small amounts. Thyme falls into the category of herb because it comes from the green part of a plant. It’s the cells on the outside that store aromas. Thyme has glandular hairs on stems and leaves that contain aromatic oils.
But how about thyme itself? Just as you will find many types of mint, sage and other herbs, the thyme varieties at the market yesterday were all beckoning. I noticed that the English Thyme was better suited to shade planting, a must for my city garden. I bought the other, full sun variety, just to see if it would survive. And the... Lemon Thyme. I’m about to suggest something a little weird, but I hope that you will trust me just enough to give this a try. It’s a flavor pairing not to be missed.
Next time you have (a small reasonable serving of good quality) vanilla ice cream, sprinkle about a teaspoon of fresh lemon thyme leaves on top. Seriously terrific. What time is it? It’s spring thyme!
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