A Brief History of Thyme
Aug 31, 2026 · 32 min · 14 segments
Send us Fan Mail **Today we're talking about one of our absolute favourite herbs—one that's been grown, cherished and written about for thousands of…
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Aug 31, 2026 · 32 min · 14 segments
Send us Fan Mail **Today we're talking about one of our absolute favourite herbs—one that's been grown, cherished and written about for thousands of…
Um, I think, to be honest, thyme is one of those plants that most people take for granted.
I would...
Yeah, I would agree with that.
I mean, it's, if you go into the supermarket, you will probably find it there.
Yeah.
It's definitely in roast dinners.
We love it in roast dinners.
[laughs]
It's growing between paving slabs in, like, a Mediterranean village.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
But actually, despite this common and lovely little plant-
[laughs]
... lies one of the richest histories of any culinary herb.
So just to give you an idea, this has actually been carried by Roman soldiers.
It's been planted by medieval monks, stitched into cushions, and associated with bravery-
Mm-hmm
...
in the medieval world.
It's, uh, believed to have warded off evil spirits, and also it's just been treasured in cottage gardens for centuries.
[laughs]
You know, you'd find mentions of thyme plants in Agatha Christie murder mysteries and stuff like that.
Absolutely.
So today, we're taking a quick journey through the history of thyme-
Um, I think, to be honest, thyme is one of those plants that most people take for granted.
I would...
Yeah, I would agree with that.
I mean, it's, if you go into the supermarket, you will probably find it there.
Yeah.
It's definitely in roast dinners.
We love it in roast dinners.
[laughs]
It's growing between paving slabs in, like, a Mediterranean village.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
But actually, despite this common and lovely little plant-
[laughs]
... lies one of the richest histories of any culinary herb.
So just to give you an idea, this has actually been carried by Roman soldiers.
It's been planted by medieval monks, stitched into cushions, and associated with bravery-
Mm-hmm
...
in the medieval world.
It's, uh, believed to have warded off evil spirits, and also it's just been treasured in cottage gardens for centuries.
[laughs]
You know, you'd find mentions of thyme plants in Agatha Christie murder mysteries and stuff like that.
Absolutely.
So today, we're taking a quick journey through the history of thyme-
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