Is it safe to eat the stems of Thyme?

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Is it safe to eat the stems/woody portion of the thyme herb if they are diced up?I often use the little stems in my cooking.They can be used to make salt rubs.

Great question.My wife and I spend a lot of time plucking the herbs from their stems.The texture of the stems of herbs varies from a stick-like one to a softer one.parsley and cilantro have a softer texture and are more stick-like.

This is a matter of personal preference.I prefer not to use the more stick-like herb stems in my recipes, but I would not hesitate to include something like parsley or cilantro stems.

Depending on your preference, there are a few ways to approach this.It's a good idea to put whole herbs in your recipe.You can simply remove the stems when you are done cooking if the leaves come off.You can add the leaves to your dish by plucking them.The stems can be dried and used for salt rubs.

Adding whole stems to a dish for an herb will not work.The stems are hard to remove from the dish.I prefer to discard the stems.You don't have to discard the stems.There is no reason to not chop the stems along with the leaves when chopping parsley, basil or cilantro.You might want to discard the first few inches of the stem if they are less delicate than the root.

Salt rubs are a great idea.They bring a lot of flavor to your dish, especially things like grilled or broiled seafood.If you want to make a powder out of your leftover stems, you can dry them in an oven at 170F for about an hour, crush them with a mortar and pestle or blender, and then mix with an equal amount of salt.It is a good idea to experiment with one or two stems at a time.