How Long Is Thyme Good For
Welcome to this post that will talk about how long you can expect your thyme to be good for. This fantastic and versatile culinary herb will stay viable for a very long time. It’s one of our favorites to use at home and provides plenty of fantastic flavors in cooking. The best part is that I won’t have to worry about not using them right away after picking the spiders.
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Of course they will taste better the fresher they are. Usually they will stay good for at least 2 weeks without any issues. But with proper storage then your thyme will most likely last a whole lot longer than that actually. In this article we will dive deeper into exactly that.
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If you want to learn even more about thyme and the best way to strip away the small leaves from the spgs then we have the article for you. Here we will provide some good tips and tricks. Find it here, How To Strip Thyme Leaves.
How Long Is Thyme Good For
Thyme will stay good for way longer than you might think. I have picked them sometimes and have them still fresh and vibrant after 3 weeks. It all comes down to storing them right after picking them. What we have found to be the best way is a container that is closed off. Keep them in this to not expose it to unnecessary amounts of moisture. That is the enemy of keeping anything for a long time. It will make for a habitable environment of mold.
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We have seen people recommending leaving them in a damp paper towel. This should be avoided. We want to have them dry. Like we said, too much moisture will make them start to go bad. They might stay good the first week this way but after that it is downhill.
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A good tip however is leaving them on paper towels in the container and lightly spread out. All bunched up will make them start molding from within and the seeds will fall off a lot faster than you want to.
How To Tell If Thyme Is Bad
The best way to check if your thyme has gone bad is by just smelling them. Are they smelling odd or even sour, then just toss them. Even though some sprigs might be good, the whole batch of harvest will have been infected.
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Usually this happens when you store the thyme after it’s been picked in a wet container with an open lid in the refrigerator. In there the moisture from all the other products will get on the thyme and make it start to decompose eventually. So using them fresh right away or otherwise storing them in a dry environment is what we recommend.
Can You Freeze Thyme
Thyme can be frozen to extend the shelf life of it but it wont make the taste any better. Unfortunately, freezing any herb will make it taste less. You really can compare it to the fresh version. But if you have an excess of thyme on your hands then you can freeze them. The most space efficient way is to remove the leaves from the sprigs and then store them in a container.
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Having them freeze as a block will make it easier to get what you want. Just take a fork and scrape the top surface of the frozen thyme block. It should come off relatively easy.
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Let’s summarize a bit of what we discussed here. Thyme can be kept in a dry container with a lid in the refrigerator for at least 3 weeks without any issues. It might even be good after the 4 month mark too. The main thing is just keeping it away from unnecessary amount of moisture.
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If you want to learn more about different thyme varieties then we have an article talking about creeping thyme. Here we give some argument both for and against growing it. Find it here, Creeping Thyme Pros And Cons.
