What To Use Thyme For In Cooking

Thyme is one of my favorite herbs. Its very distinctive taste goes really well with fish, chicken, pork, beef, and even a ton of vegetables and side dishes. Dried thyme has its uses, and I've always got a jar in the cabinet, but I'll go to fresh thyme just as often. If you're looking for a more subtle taste and/or you're going to cook the thyme for just a few seconds (not giving the time the dried version needs to release it flavors) I suggest using the fresh stuff. Peeling the leaves off the stem can be a bit of a pain, as they are so delicate, but in this cooking video, I show you how to do it.

How to Clean Thyme

For some uses (like a bouquet garni) you can use the entire thyme stem; but assuming you just want the leaves, you'll want to follow the below steps, which are also shown in the video
Removing the leaves is a bit tough because they are so small, and the stem can be very delicate, breaking away easily when trying to pull the leaves off
To get them off, first determine in what direction they are growing. Like all leaves they'll tend to grown up, towards the sunlight
To remove them, hold the top of the stem between your thumb and forefinger
Then with your other thumb/forefinger very gently grab the stem just below where you're holding it, and slide your fingers downward
The light pressure won't be enough to break the stem, but it will be enough to peel away the leaves as you move down
You should be left with a clean stem in one hand, and the leaves, separated on your cutting board
Generally the leaves are so small I don't even bother cutting them

Hope you find this useful.