Cooking Tips for Lemon Thyme

Selection

• Look for stems with clean, healthy leaves without any discoloration when selecting fresh lemon thyme at the grocery store, farmer's market or from your garden. Since fresh herbs lose flavor quickly after harvest, snip stems of homegrown lemon thyme as close to cooking time as possible, cutting only as much as the intended recipe requires. To store, refrigerate unwashed lemon thyme with a damp paper towel inside a plastic bag or airtight container. Store herbs in the crisper drawer.

Preparation

• Rinse lemon thyme stems in a bowl of cool water right before you cook them and pat them dry. To remove the tiny leaves from hardy lemon thyme stems, hold the stem's tip secure between the thumb and index finger and run the opposite hand's thumb and index finger along the stem's shaft toward the root. Use lemon thyme leaves whole, or chop them finely to fully unleash the herb's oils and citrus fragrance. If the stem is young and tender, mince the stem along with the leaves. Always use a sharp knife to prevent mashed and mottled leaves.

Cooking Applications

• Fresh lemon thyme can enhance risottos, roasts, breads, vegetable dishes, salad dressings and cheese spreads. The herb harmonizes particularly well with seafood dishes. When you cook with chopped or whole leaves, wait to add lemon thyme until the last 20 minutes of cooking.

  Bundle lemon thyme stems with parsley, bay leaf and celery leaves in a bouquet garni to simmer in soup stocks. Place woodier herb stems on the grill to flavor fish, poultry or vegetables. For baked goods, mix finely minced leaves into the batter or dough.

Preservation

• Drying is the most popular method of preserving fresh herbs for year-round use. Tie lemon thyme stems together in a bouquet and hang them upside down in a dark, dry and airy location. Remove dried leaves from stems and store them in a glass jar. When you replace fresh herbs with dry herbs while cooking, decrease the amount to a third of that called for in the recipe.

  Other means of preserving lemon thyme include steeping the leaves in white wine vinegar, or combining the leaves with olive oil for herb-infused oil.