Our shrub of thyme has flowered and was ready for harvest. The plant offers a lovely corner ground cover for the vegetable garden with its tiny blue violet flowers and then gives us a season's worth for cooking and gifts. Please refer to this blog's posting, January 24, 2010, for a more detailed primer on harvesting, drying and storing various herbs.
Common culinary thyme, THYMUS vulagris, has at least a thousand uses--from seasoning meat dishes, soups, stews, game bird rubs, pasta sauces, and so forth. Don't overlook the French trick of adding a scant tablespoon to your nut bar crusts or fruit pie crusts--a mysterious element that gets everyone's attention. Also try a vanilla ice or sorbet with thyme flowers. I fondly recall the gorgeous flavor at the multi-star restaurant in St. Paul de Vence (France) where we first tasted desserts with thyme--the icy sorbet with thyme on a hot day was a memorable finish to a most memorable lunch.
Procedure
Cut your herbs, leaving about 2 inches to regrow. Separate loosely and dry in a dust free place on a clean dishtowel out of direct sunlight.
When completely dry ( 3-10 days depending on your climate's humidity) select stems and bundle (see photo). Southern European cooks keep a bundle by the stove and rub the dry leaves right into the sauce pot.
If you don't want to bother with tying, rub the whole pile between the palms of your hands over parchment paper or other clean paper, discard the stems and collect the tiny leaves in glass bottles for storage. Label and date.
Either method creates great gifts if you have more than you need.
And the workspace smells heavenly....
KGC
No comments:
Post a Comment