Carum carvi

Caraway is a resilient plant from the umberlliferae family, native to Asia and Northern and Central Europe. It is grown as a biennial plant, not only in the countries where it originates, but also in Morocco, the USA and Canada.

The Romans used it with vegetables and fish, and medieval cooks used it to season soups and dishes made from beans or cabbage. In the 17th century in England, it was popular in bread, cakes and in roasted vegetables, and sugar coated seeds were used to make candies.

Nowadays, the biggest producers are the Netherlands and Germany.

Essential oils add flavor to alcoholic beverages such as aquavit and Kummel.

FLAVOR

Caraway has a sharp aroma, which, like the taste, is warm and bittersweet, sharply spicy, with a hint of dried orange peel and a slight but lingering hint of anise.

USED ARE dry seeds and sometimes young leaves.

PURCHASE AND STORAGE

Caraway seeds can usually be bought ground, but it is best to use and buy them whole, and they can last for at least 6 months in a well-closed container. The seeds are easy to grind or pound as needed, but once ground they lose their strength quickly.

USE IN COOKING

In Central Europe, especially in the Jewish cuisine of that area, caraway is used to season black or rye bread, crackers, poppy seed cakes, sausages, cabbage, soups and casseroles. It gives many South German and Austrian dishes their characteristic flavor, whether in wholemeal bread or roast pork; it is used in coleslaw (cabbage salad) and in combination with juniper for sauerkraut.

It goes with Munster cheese in Alsace, and is also used in making Gerome, another local cheese.

Caraway is used in North African cuisine, mostly in vegetable dishes and in spice mixes such as Tunisian tabil and harissa. In Morocco, there is a traditional caraway soup - as well as in Hungary, where it is visibly expressed in goulash.

The mention of caraway in Indian recipes often comes from a mistranslation of the word for cumin; caraway itself is only used in northern India – it grows wild in the Himalayas. Turkish recipes may list "black caraway" which is not true caraway but nigella.

Young leaves, less pungent than seeds, and which taste and look similar to dill, are an interesting addition to salads, soups, or fresh white cheese. They are a good decoration for lightly cooked young vegetables and other dishes in which parsley can be used.

IT IS ESSENTIAL for tabil and harissa.

GOOD WITH apples, bread, cabbage, duck, goose, noodles, onions, pork, potatoes and other root vegetables, sauerkraut, tomatoes.

COMBINED WELL with coriander, garlic, juniper, parsley, thyme.