Thyme is a Mediterranean native of the mint family; it is one of the most widely used herbs. Its tiny grayish-green leaves rarely are greater than one-fourth inch long. It has a pungent and distinctive favour. While there are over 100 varieties of thyme, all of which are fragrant to some extent, there are three that have a special place in the kitchen: lemon thyme, caraway thyme and common thyme. Thyme is a favourite culinary herb and is one of the ingredients in the traditional French bouquet garni along with marjoram, parsley, and bay leaf. It imparts excellent flavour to all kinds of red meat dishes, soups, sauces and vegetable dishes and is a favourite ingredient in stuffing's for poultry.