Cooking thyme is the normal thyme that we all know and use, this is the variety of thyme that you would buy on the super market shelves and in a dried form. I personally dislike the name “cooking thyme†as it sometimes creates the impression that this is the only thyme you can cook with; this is off course NOT the case. Cooking thyme has a very stable scent and lends itself beautifully to red meat dishes. One of my favourite dishes that I grew up with was Thyme meat balls. Just add a tablespoon of freshly chopped leaves to any meatball recipe. As with other thyme species, the leaves can be added to sauces, dips, cheese dishes and stuffed eggs. A tea made from the leaves can be used as an antiseptic splash for wounds and cuts. It contains thymol although lemon thyme has the highest concentration of thymol. A lotion can be made with thyme that can be massaged onto sore and stiff muscles as its anti-inflammatory properties will quickly soothe and easy thee pain.
