Make Cocktail Syrup With Inedible Thyme Stalks
There is never too much thyme, but I often find that I have a lot of leftover thyme stalks. These woody, inedible, yet fragrant little parts of the plant may seem unusable, but you can restore every bite of your thyme by adding them to cocktail syrup.
This is part of the Lifehacker Eating Trash With Claire series in which Claire Lower convinces you to turn your kitchen waste into something edible and tasty.
The process is no more complicated than making regular simple syrup. Simply heat a cup of sugar and a cup of water in a saucepan until the sugar dissolves, then toss the (washed) stems and leaves into the saucepan and close the lid. You can also throw citrus peels in there if you have them, but be careful as they can crush thyme very easily. Cover the pot with a lid, let it brew for an hour (or overnight), then strain the syrup through a fine sieve into a pretty bottle. Use in any cocktail with which you want a little more thyme; I like to spend a lot of thyme and gin.