Maybe your plants are growing very fast , or maybe you have a lot of thyme left over.

Store thyme or use it in recipes?

The problem I’ve had is that my thyme plants have grown very fast and I’ve ended up with a lot leftover.

There are 2 options of what to do:

• Option A – store it
• Option B – use it in recipes

Taking them in turn:

Option A – 7 ways to store thyme

We’ve got a step by step guide showing 7 ways to store thyme.

But as a quick summary there are 3 main options:

1 – Store thyme in a fridge

If you’ve haven’t got much this is the easiest solution.

Using this method it should last at least a couple of weeks.

3 Methods:

1. Simply put the thyme is a sealed container (shortest method).
2. Or place the stems in a damp paper towel and put in a plastic bag (better).
3. Or put it a glass keeping the stems in water (best method)

2 – Store it in a freezer

This is the easiest way to store a lot and still keep the fresh flavour.

There are 2 main ways:

1. In a sealed container – Wash & dry the thyme and freeze
2. Or as ice cubes – for a step by step video have a look at the 7 ways to store thyme.

3 – Dry the thyme

If you dry it then it will keep most of the flavour – but it’s not as good as freezing it.

There are 2 options:

1. Microwave – very quick and easy. Or use a food dehydrator for much better results.

Follow the link above for more details.

Option B – use it in recipes

This is one of the most popular herbs and great for use in lots of different recipes.

However when cooking do note that there are over 100 different varieties, with different uses. But the 3 most popular ones are:

• French  – Ideal for stews, soups, meat and fish dishes.
• Lemon – Ideal for chicken and fish dishes.
• Orange – Ideal for duck, dessert & carrot recipes.

Below you will find examples of recipes I’ve cooked from my own thyme (I will be adding more). The fresh passata Bolognese one is great because it freezes well. Or there are a lot more recipes on the BBC site.

Kitchen tools that might help: