Garden Thyme
Wild thyme is unjustly considered a poor relation of garden thyme. It is less commonly cultivated and yet is widely distributed not only throughout Europe, but also in Asia, north Africa and North America, generally occurring in open, sunny situations and thus often found on loose, sandy anthills.
The best quality seasoning is obtained from the black truffle which grows in the oak woods of southern France and northern Italy. Of all the edible truffles it is the most prized for its flavour.
The principal component of the volatile oil of thyme is thymol, which gives the herb its characteristic aroma and is responsible for its medicinal action. Thyme oil is a component of cough medicines and thyme’ is also added to toothpastes, mouthwashes and soaps, not only for its pleasant fragrance but also for its antiseptic properties.
Fenugreek is an annual herb growing up to 60 cm (2 ft) high and related to clover. It is valuable as a forage crop in the Mediterranean region. The exact translation of the botanical name ‘triangular Greek hay’ refers to the triangular appearance of the flowers and bears testimony to the fact that it was grown in the Mediterranean region as far back as antiquity. To this day it is found naturalized in Greece and Egypt and is also raised in Ethiopia, Lebanon, India, China and Argentina.
The hard, golden-brown seeds are used as a food flavouring. These are about 4 mm ( in) long and are contained in long, slender, long-beaked pods, as many as 20 to a pod. Ground, ripe seeds have a penetrating and rather unpleasant scent and for this reason are never used by themselves but as an ingredient of pungent mixtures, mainly in certain kinds of curry-powder. In India the roasted seeds are used as a substitute for coffee.
The seeds germinate very rapidly and the seedlings may be used in winter to make a tasty and refreshing salad, the same as the seedlings of garden cress or mustard. Fenugreek grows best in a sunny location in a well drained sandy soil with ample lime. The seeds should be sown in spring directly in the ground where the plants are to grow and the seedlings thinned later on. The whole plants are harvested when about two-thirds of the pods are ripe and arranged in bunches to further ripen and dry. After this the seeds are hulled and dried. The seeds contain up to 3% mucilages, which are used in the pharmaceutical industry and to give a finish to cloth in the textile industry.
