Flavor and Chemical Composition of Thyme

Flavor and Chemical Composition of Thyme - Glass jar with transparent liquid placed on white table

What is the flavor of Thyme? What chemicals give it this flavor?



Best Answer

Thyme is dominated by the phenolic compound thymol, with the terpenes pinene, cymene, and linalool adding additional pine, citrus, and flowery flavors, respectively.

Source: On Food and Cooking (revised edition), pp 391, and table on 392. If you're into the chemistry of flavor, I highly suggest buying a copy, because the same table lists main flavor compounds for dozens of common ingredients and flavorings.




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Flavor and Chemical Composition of Thyme - From above of colorful tasty alcoholic drink with tomato juice and thyme sprig on top of glass
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Flavor and Chemical Composition of Thyme - Spice Bottles on Shelf



Quick Answer about "Flavor and Chemical Composition of Thyme"

Thyme is dominated by the phenolic compound thymol, with the terpenes pinene, cymene, and linalool adding additional pine, citrus, and flowery flavors, respectively.

What is the chemical composition of thyme?

In northern California (USA), the major constituents of thyme are thymol, carvacrol, linalool, a-terpineol and 1,8-cineole (Seung-Joo et al., 2005). Thymus praecox in the south of England can have as major product hedycaryol, linalol/lynalyl acetate or germacral-10, 4-dien-6-ol (Schmidt et al., 2004).

What are some of the chemicals that are present in thyme leaves?

Three compounds, namely linalool (1.8-60.4%), geraniol (0.1-50.5%), and thymol (1.6-58.4%), are usually found more than other compounds in essential oil of various thyme species [9].

What aroma is thyme?

Hailed by aromatherapists and herbalists as a potent natural antiseptic, Thyme Oil exudes an intensely fresh, spicy, herbaceous scent that can be reminiscent of the fresh herb. Thyme is one of the few botanicals that display characteristically high levels of the compound Thymol in its volatile oils.

What is the chemical class of Thymus?

The GC\u2013MS of the Thymus oil resulted in the identification of 24 compounds. Chemical compounds found in T. vulgaris were terpenes and aromatic compounds. The major compounds were thymol, camphene, caryophyllene, humulene, \u03b1-terpeniol and para-cymene.



12 Things About Thyme and Its Unique Uses




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