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Spices & |
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| HERBS | |
| SPICES |
Ajwain
:: Allspice ::
Bay Leaf ::
Black Cardamon ::
Green Cardamon ::
Cinnamon ::
Cloves ::
Cumin ::
Cayenne Pepper
|
| VEGETABLES |
Thyme is indigenous herb that is distributed to the Mediterranean parts
and also growing in southern Europe, western Asia and North Africa.
Ancient Egyptians and Greeks employed thyme for various authentic
purposes such as for embalming and anti-fungal medicine.
History of thyme also retorts culinary uses and even today it is been
widely used in middle and western eastern cuisines.
Thymus vulgaris is one of the widely used species of thyme and imparts a
strong flavour to the preparation.
Thyme is delicate herb with enchanting fragrance and the leaves are
curled, elliptical, and small measures upto half inch long with one
sixteenth inch broad.
In some of the species the upper leaf is green grey in colour whereas
underside is white. However in most species normally the leaves are borne
only with green colour.
Thyme is a plant which prefers well-drained fertile soil and best
cultivated in hot sunny locations.
Thyme is drought resistant, perennial plant which is propagated either
through seeds, cuttings or dividing rooted sections.
Today it is widely cultivated for its culinary and medicinal uses in
western and Middle East, southern Europe, parts of Asia and Africa.
Dried leaves and stem.
The main and active constituents found in thyme are phenols thymol,
carvacrol, thymol methyl ether (2%), cineol, cymene, a-pinene, borneol and
esters.
Thyme is a sweet smelling and aromatic herb used various cooking
preparations in cuisines of Indian, Arab, Siberia, Italian, French,
Albanian, Spanish, Greek and Turkish.
Thyme is used as condiment in various cooking dishes due to its aromatic
flavour which blends with the dish.
It is usually added to flavour savoury soups, meat and stews.
In medicinal purposes thyme is considered as antiseptic and used as
main ingredient in mouth washes.
Earlier Thyme was used in medical bandages when there were no
antibiotics.
Thyme also works anti-fungal for fungus infected toenails.
