Indigenous to the Mediterranean, thyme can still be found growing wild in the high mountains and valleys, in barren rocky fields, sparse grasslands and heaths. Like most herbs with a long history of traditional use, this robust, tiny shrub has much to offer.
Thyme has always been an important part of Mediterranean cuisine and culture. The ancient Greeks are said to have bathed in it, used it to make liqueurs, and burnt it in their temples.
Indeed the herb derives its name from one of two Greek root words, either thuo meaning “to fumigate” or “perfume”, or thumus signifying “courage” or “strength”. Perhaps the Greeks intended the double entendre when they named it, as both derivatives seem historically well-deserved.
In ancient and medieval times, thyme was thought to invigorate and thus inspire courage. Roman soldiers bathed in water prepared with thyme to ready themselves for battle, and during the Middle Ages, the Crusaders received scarves from their wives or girlfriends embroidered with a sprig of thyme to inspire courage and lift the spirits.
The country folk of France, Spain and Italy have traditionally grazed goats and sheep on thyme to impart its flavour to the animals’ meat, and added the herb to their richer dishes to counteract the processes leading to gout.
