Lemon thyme.

To: Dustin L LaMascus <dustinl.ionet.net>, herbs.teleport.com
Subject: Re: lemon thyme
From: Colette Dunkley <gb81.dial.pipex.com>
Date: Sat, 02 Mar 96 05:35:10 GMT

> I really like the taste and smell of lemon thyme. Anyone out there have any good recipes for its use?
> I use it to make garlic bread and charcoaled chicken. I haven't tried making tea with it though I'm sure it would be good if used in the right amounts.

Lemon thyme is a herb that I would definitely include with rosemary,marjoram basil and perhaps a sigle leaf of sage in th oil for marinading /storing cubes of feta cheese in the greek manner.

From: Robin Greene <gringo.interaccess.com>

> I really like the taste and smell of lemon thyme. Anyone out there have any good recipes for its use?

Here is a recipe that was in the Herb Companion. I apologize to those who cannot read attachments.

Lemon Thyme Cookies

Recipe By : The Herb Companion, Oct/Nov95
Serving Size : 36

½ Cup butter
¼ Cup sugar
1 ⅓ Cups flour
2 Tablespoons fresh lemon thyme

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Beat the butter with the sugar untl fluffy, then add the flour and thyme. Roll the dough ¼-inch thick and cut out shapes. Place the cookies on ungreased baking sheets and bake 10 minutes. Cool on racks.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 1492

From: Esther E.Czekalski.m.bull.com

> I really like the taste and smell of lemon thyme. Anyone out there have any good recipes for its use?

Hi Lynette,

I like to make a mayo based potato salad with lots of mild chopped onions, lemon thyme, and garlic chives. I leave the leaves of the lemon thyme whole and cut the garlic chives not fine, about as long as they are wide. That gives you bursts of contrasting flavors as you bite into the (otherwise bland) salad.

I also put the same into fried potatoes but I add the onions early enough to brown with the potatoes, the thyme and garlic chives at the end.

From: Esther E.Czekalski.m.bull.com

> Chopped lemon thyme is fine on fish. Somewhere I read that any thyme that has a culinary "first name" can be used in that manner, such as lemon thyme where lemons would be used, caraway thyme where caraway would be used. I don't know the source, but does anyone know if this is true? I'm apprehensive about using coconut thyme where coconut would be used. Sounds icky.

Hi Margaret,

My experience is pretty limited to a couple of these but I don't think that flavored thymes transfer their flavor enough to replace, for example lemon, if it is called for in a recipe. The flavors are so mild that I imagine they would disapear if they were boiled or used in other processes that extract flavor from some of the stronger herbs.

That's one reason why I advocate using the leaves fairly whole. So that you get a bite of it and a clear taste. However, using them with the stronger flavorings, as long as they are not overwhelmed, or for color or as a garnish makes perfect sense.

Fish is another good example. The thyme doesn't transfer its flavor to the fish so much as provide flavor contrast when you bite it.

I would be interested in hearing other experiences.

From: jeason.midway.uchicago.edu (James Eason)

> I would be interested in hearing other experiences.

I think it depends on the fish and the method of preparation. A trout, stuffed with lemon thyme and poached, assuredly does taste of lemon thyme (I take the thyme out of the cavity and pitch it before serving). Lemon thyme with salmon doesn't seem to work as well, tho I put it in mayonnaise sometimes (you have to use a fair amount or the olive oil will kill the flavor) to use with salmon. On broiled or grilled fish of every kind I've tried, it does seem to be the contrast of flavors, and also the smell of the burning herb.

I've found that the strength of the flavor of my thymes varies quite considerably, from plant to plant, from day to day, and depending on when I pick it. I test it before using it, because of this variation. I suppose this is normal for herb users who know their stuff, but I was pretty surprised the first few times I tried using herbs from my own garden!

From: Laura Michaels Laura.aol.com

>Anyone out there have any good recipes for its use?

Sometimes I just throw a sprig or two of it in various foods like pizza or especially fish. I also made a tea with it a few times. I picked some leaves of lemon thyme, lemon basil, lemon verbena, lemon balm and lemongrass and placed it in a tea infuser. I thought it came out pretty well. I didn't bother with measuring quantities or anything though. Just tried to make sure I had a few leaves or sprigs from each plant.

From: bastinkk.cuci.nl (Roger Bastin)

> My experience is pretty limited to a couple of these but I don't think that flavored thymes transfer their flavor enough to replace, for example lemon, if it is called for in a recipe.

There are Lemon Thymes that have hardly any lemon scent and others can be really strong in flavour. Thymus x citriodurus 'Lemon' is the one we grow for restaurants. It grows in a fresh green bush like common thyme but lighter green and has rounded leaves. An even stronger scented is officially no lemon thyme; Thymus herba-baronne 'Lemon Scented' it's lemon freshness is stunning. It grows flat and has very fine leaves and thin stems. The later is exactly identical to caraway thyme wich is called Thymus herba-baronne 'Caraway' and has a stunning caraway scent.