Thyme is sold both fresh and dried.
While summer-seasonal, fresh thyme is often available year-round.
The fresh form is more flavourful but also less convenient; storage life is rarely more than a week. However, the fresh form can last many months if carefully frozen, and thyme retains its flavour on drying better than many other herbs.
Depending on how it is used in a dish, the whole sprig may be used, or the leaves removed and the stems discarded. Usually, when a recipe mentions a bunch or sprig, it means the whole form; when it mentions spoons, it means the leaves. It is perfectly acceptable to substitute dried for whole thyme. Leaves may be removed from stems either by scraping with the back of a knife, or by pulling through the fingers or tines of a fork.
