Although quite a few recipes talk about using a bunch of thyme, a lot of people don’t understand how much thyme is actually in the bunch. Considering that a lot of people grow their own thyme and make bunches of different sizes out of it and each store has its own preferred weight for these bunches, a bunch can vary quite a lot in size. This makes using thyme in recipes quite difficult.
As we did so many times in the past, to get a better idea of what a bunch of thyme actually means, we went straight to the closest grocery store and bought a few bunches. Based on our calculations, a bunch of thyme you can get from the store will weigh around an ounce. In this weight, you will usually get about 44 springs of thyme.
We then went ahead and tried to find out how many thyme bunches you’d actually need to get certain amounts of chopped thyme leaves. For this, we used a one-ounce bunch of thyme. Our tests led us to the conclusion that you would get a cup of chopped thyme herbs from about 2.7 bunches of thyme. If you’re growing your own thyme, then a kitchen scale might be of great help in figuring out the weight of the thyme bunches. If instead, you are buying them from the grocery store, you can always use the scale they provide there.
You might also like our articles on the weight of mint, cilantro, and onions.
As you probably know, fresh thyme doesn’t have the intense flavor dried thyme has, which is why, when trying to switch between them, you should use a ratio of 3 tablespoons of fresh herbs to 1 tablespoon of dried ones.
An interesting fact is that thyme actually belongs to the mint plant family and is one of the aromatic herbs. It was also used in ancient Egypt in the mummification process, along with other herbs.
So by now, it should be clear enough that a bunch of thyme will weigh about one ounce, which translates into about 6 tablespoons of thyme leaves. If you’re still struggling to convert between different measurements of thyme, then you can always use the converter you can find below.
Long-Term Storage of Thyme
If you want to freeze it, just remove its leaves, and then you can simply discard of the stems. Then take an ice cube tray and just fill its ice cube cavities with thyme leaves and top everything off with water. Put the tray in the freezer for the next couple of days and then take it out. remove the cubes with thyme leaves in them and move them into a Ziploc bag. Put the bag back into the freezer. where it can be kept for the next two months and used at will.
Short Term Thyme Storage
Keep in mind that thyme is somewhat woodier among herbs, which means that it should be kept either using the jar method or the paper towel method.
The jar method: This method involves filling of a water glass or jar with water and then placing the stem ends of thyme in water without washing them. Cover the jar of thyme loosely with a plastic bag and then just store it in the refrigerator. When you notice that the water is starting to discolor or several days have passed, change the water in the jar. If you store thyme in this way it will last around two weeks.
The paper towel method: This method involves wrapping fresh thyme in a paper towel that is just slightly damp and then placing it in a plastic bag that is decently large so that the leaves don’t get crushed. Then just place the bag with thyme inside the refrigerator and use it when needed. This method will help keep thyme fresh for the next 2 weeks.
Conclusion
Thyme is not only a member of the mint plant family but also an aromatic evergreen perennial shrub. Only three out of over 100 varieties of thyme are widely used inside the kitchen, although all of them have very intense flavors and smells. These are the common thyme, the caraway thyme, and the lemon thyme.