Portuguese thyme has an aroma similar to Greek oregano, it is a very spicy herb, and is best used in dishes that require a highly-seasoned taste such as meat stuffings, beans, lamb roasts and Italian sauces. This thyme is a favourite amongst French Caribbean cooks. Its one of those ugly brown but very tasty slow. This herb is ground and used as a chutney with East Indian delicacies, its also called “podina”’, but it is a wonderful aromatic when added to seafood, especially conchs, lambie and fresh fish at the very end of cooking. This dish was commonly found in northern Spain and was always cooked in the spring with the new lamb season. Spanish thyme grows to shrub-like size, and has a wonderful musky aroma enhanced by lemon. Spanish thyme is quite the opposite to French thyme, it has large, bright-green, serrated-edged leaves almost two inches in diameter, the leaves and stems are quite soft and watery. It’s also quite good when included in long, simmered tomato-based sauces and local soups. It’s wonderful when solely included in baked chicken, or roasted fish. This post discusses thyme benefits and how you can enjoy them. However, excess intake of thyme may cause some side effects. It is easy to incorporate into one’s diet. Seldom does it grow much past ten inches in height. The intake of thyme may improve heart health, help fight cancer, treat inflammation, boost immune health, treat dyspraxia, and improve digestive health. Why not take the time to enjoy the wonderful flavours of each individual thymeįrench thyme or our fine-leaved thyme is a classic herb, small leaves, tough stems, tiny mauve flowers, it smells warm, earthy and flowery, it is a little pungent and has a lovely clove-like aroma. Thyme is a great culinary herb and is a classic addition to many Caribbean pots, there are three varieties distinct to the Caribbean, each variety bringing its own distinct aroma and flavour to every recipe they’re included in. Why? Because when this cornucopia of fresh herbs is ground together, the stronger overpower the more delicate with not very pleasing end results. The home cook who proudly produces his/her own version of freshly-ground seasoning will sooner or later find that the food will have flavour distinct to none, and everything cooked will have the same flavour. This has become such a ritual that food manufacturers offer a bottled ground seasoning, which really has been so processed that the “concept” of fresh seasoning in a bottle is lost. This will always include a bunch of chadon beni (which flavours like cilantro), more celery, and a bunch of French thyme (fine thyme as it is also known), Spanish thyme (broad leaf thyme) and sometimes Portuguese thyme (oregano), some pimento peppers and even ginger root. More often than not, more herbs are added to the mixture. On arriving home the cook would then proceed to wash and cut the herbs, then grind them in a food processor or blender. This bundle usually includes a few bunches of chives with roots attached, a small sprig of French thyme, and a few leaves of celery and maybe on occasion, parsley. CARIBBEAN cooks love to cook with herbs, a weekly trip to the market will always include a few bundles of “seasoning” as we know it.
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