Preparation

Tea (infusion)

Covering is not a detail. The essential oil is volatile and escapes from the cup with the steam — so keep a saucer or a lid on while it steeps.

Always brew it fresh.

Syrup

A traditional home method: fresh herb is layered with sugar or honey, or left to macerate and then pressed. These procedures come from folk practice and are not standardised — families do them differently and exact ratios are not recorded.

Bath

It was traditionally used in the bath as well: about three or four handfuls of dried herb per 10 litres of water, steeped for roughly an hour in a cloth bag, and the infusion added to the bath.

Tincture and oil

The herb macerated in spirit (typically around 40 %) for several weeks, or macerated in vegetable oil. Both come from folk practice and are not standardised preparations.

In the kitchen

Wild thyme is used as a spice much like garden thyme. The flavour is milder and less sharp, slightly bitter. It suits meat, fish, minced meat, vegetable dishes and sauces. In most recipes garden thyme can be replaced with it.

Use it sparingly — the herb carries essential oil and in excess it covers the other flavours.