Caraway, also known as meridian fennel and Persian cumin (''Carum carvi''), is a

biennial plant A biennial plant is a flowering plant that, generally in a temperate climate, takes two years to complete its biological life cycle. Background In its first year, the biennial plant undergoes primary growth, during which its vegetative structur ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Apiaceae Apiaceae () or Umbelliferae is a family of mostly aromatic flowering plants named after the type genus ''Apium,'' and commonly known as the celery, carrot, or parsley family, or simply as umbellifers. It is the 16th-largest family of flowering p ...

, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa.

Etymology

The etymology of "caraway" is unclear. Caraway has been called by many names in different regions, with names deriving from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

( cumin), the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

''karon'' (again, cumin), which was adapted into Latin as (now meaning caraway), and the

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

''karavi'', sometimes translated as "caraway", but other times understood to mean "

fennel Fennel (''Foeniculum vulgare'') is a flowering plant species in the carrot family. It is a hardy, perennial herb with yellow flowers and feathery leaves. It is indigenous to the shores of the Mediterranean but has become widely naturalized ...

".Katzer's Spice Pages
Caraway Caraway (''Carum carvi'' L.)
/ref> English use of the term caraway dates to at least 1440, possibly having Arabic origin.Walter William Skeat, Principles of English Etymology, Volume 2, page 319. 189
Words of Arabic Origin
/ref>

Description

The plant is similar in appearance to other members of the carrot family, with finely divided, feathery leaves with thread-like divisions, growing on stems. The main

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

stem is tall, with small white or pink flowers in compound

umbel UMBEL (Upper Mapping and Binding Exchange Layer) is a logically organized knowledge graph of 34,000 concepts and entity types that can be used in information science for relating information from disparate sources to one another. It was retired ...

s composed of 5–16 unequal rays long. Caraway

fruit In botany, a fruit is the seed-bearing structure in flowering plants (angiosperms) that is formed from the ovary after flowering. Fruits are the means by which angiosperms disseminate their seeds. Edible fruits in particular have long propaga ...

s, informally called

seed In botany, a seed is a plant structure containing an embryo and stored nutrients in a protective coat called a ''testa''. More generally, the term "seed" means anything that can be Sowing, sown, which may include seed and husk or tuber. Seeds ...

s, are smooth,

crescent A crescent shape (, ) is a symbol or emblem used to represent the lunar phase (as it appears in the northern hemisphere) in the first quarter (the "sickle moon"), or by extension a symbol representing the Moon itself. In Hindu iconography, Hind ...

-shaped, laterally compressed

achene An achene (; ), also sometimes called akene and occasionally achenium or achenocarp, is a type of simple fruit, simple dry fruits, dry fruit produced by many species of flowering plants. Achenes are monocarpellate (formed from one carpel) and Dehi ...

s, around long, with five pale ridges and a distinctive pleasant smell when crushed.Tutin TG. 1980. Umbellifers of the British Isles. BSBI Handbook No. 2. It flowers in June and July.

History

Caraway was mentioned by the early Greek botanist

Pedanius Dioscorides Pedanius Dioscorides (, ; 40–90 AD), "the father of pharmacognosy", was a Greek physician, pharmacologist, botanist, and author of (in the original , , both meaning "On Medical Material") , a 5-volume Greek encyclopedic pharmacopeia on he ...

as a herb and tonic. It was later mentioned in the Roman ''

Apicius ''Apicius'', also known as ''De re culinaria'' or ''De re coquinaria'' (''On the Subject of Cooking''), is a collection of Food and dining in the Roman Empire, Roman cookery recipes, which may have been compiled in the fifth century CE, or ea ...

'' as an ingredient in recipes. Caraway was known in the

Arab world The Arab world ( '), formally the Arab homeland ( '), also known as the Arab nation ( '), the Arabsphere, or the Arab states, comprises a large group of countries, mainly located in West Asia and North Africa. While the majority of people in ...

as ''karawiya'', and cultivated in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

Cultivation

The only species that is cultivated is ''Carum carvi'', its fruits being used in many ways in cooking and in the preparation of medicinal products and liqueurs. The plant prefers warm, sunny locations and well-drained

soil Soil, also commonly referred to as earth, is a mixture of organic matter, minerals, gases, water, and organisms that together support the life of plants and soil organisms. Some scientific definitions distinguish dirt from ''soil'' by re ...

rich in organic matter. In warmer regions, it is planted in the winter as an annual. In temperate climates, it is planted as a summer annual or biennial. It is widely established as a cultivated plant. The Netherlands, Poland and Germany are the top caraway producers.

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

supplies about 28% (2011) of the world's caraway production from some 1500 farms, the high output occurring possibly from its favorable climate and latitudes, which ensure long summer hours of sunlight.

Nutrition

Caraway seeds are 10% water, 50%

carbohydrate A carbohydrate () is a biomolecule composed of carbon (C), hydrogen (H), and oxygen (O) atoms. The typical hydrogen-to-oxygen atomic ratio is 2:1, analogous to that of water, and is represented by the empirical formula (where ''m'' and ''n'' ...

s, 20%

protein Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residue (biochemistry), residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including Enzyme catalysis, catalysing metab ...

, and 15%

fat In nutrition science, nutrition, biology, and chemistry, fat usually means any ester of fatty acids, or a mixture of such chemical compound, compounds, most commonly those that occur in living beings or in food. The term often refers specif ...

(table). In a reference amount, caraway seeds are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of

B vitamins B vitamins are a class of water-soluble vitamins that play important roles in Cell (biology), cell metabolism and synthesis of red blood cells. They are a chemically diverse class of compounds. Dietary supplements containing all eight are referr ...

(24–33% DV),

vitamin C Vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid and ascorbate) is a water-soluble vitamin found in citrus and other fruits, berries and vegetables. It is also a generic prescription medication and in some countries is sold as a non-prescription di ...

(25% DV), and several

dietary minerals In the context of nutrition, a mineral is a chemical element. Some "minerals" are essential for life, but most are not. ''Minerals'' are one of the four groups of essential nutrients; the others are vitamins, essential fatty acids, and essen ...

, especially

iron Iron is a chemical element; it has symbol Fe () and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, forming much of Earth's o ...

(125% DV),

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

(81% DV), and

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

(58% DV) (table).

Phytochemicals

When ground, caraway seeds yield up to 7.5% of volatile oil, mostly S-carvone, and 15% fixed oil of which the major

fatty acids In chemistry, in particular in biochemistry, a fatty acid is a carboxylic acid with an aliphatic chain, which is either saturated or unsaturated. Most naturally occurring fatty acids have an unbranched chain of an even number of carbon atoms, ...

are oleic, linoleic, petroselinic, and palmitic acids. Phytochemicals identified in caraway seed oil include thymol, o-cymene, γ‑terpinene, trimethylene dichloride, β-pinene, 2-(1-cyclohexenyl), cyclohexanone,

β-phellandrene Phellandrenes are organic compounds with the formula . They have a similar molecular structure and similar chemical properties. α-Phellandrene and β-phellandrene are cyclic terpene, monoterpenes and are double-bond isomers. In α-phellandrene, ...

, 3-carene, α-thujene, and linalool.

Uses

The fruits, usually used whole, have a pungent, anise-like flavor and aroma that comes from essential oils, mostly carvone,

limonene Limonene () is a colorless liquid aliphatic hydrocarbon classified as a cyclic monoterpene, and is the major component in the essential oil of citrus fruit peels. The (+)-isomer, occurring more commonly in nature as the fragrance of oranges, ...

, and anethole. Caraway is used as a

spice In the culinary arts, a spice is any seed, fruit, root, Bark (botany), bark, or other plant substance in a form primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices are distinguished from herbs, which are the leaves, flowers, or stems of pl ...

bread Bread is a baked food product made from water, flour, and often yeast. It is a staple food across the world, particularly in Europe and the Middle East. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cu ...

s, especially rye bread.Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs
/ref> A common use of caraway is whole as an addition to rye bread – often called ''seeded rye'' or Jewish rye bread (see Borodinsky bread). Caraway seeds are often used in Irish soda bread and other baked goods. Caraway may be used in desserts,

liquor Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through ethanol fermentation, alcoholic ferm ...

casserole A casserole (French language, French: diminutive of , from Provençal dialect, Provençal , meaning 'saucepan') is a kind of large, deep cookware and bakeware, pan or bowl used for cooking a variety of dishes in the oven; it is also a categor ...

s, and other foods. Its leaves can be added to salads, stews, and soups, and are sometimes consumed as herbs, either raw, dried, or cooked, similar to

parsley Parsley, or garden parsley (''Petroselinum crispum''), is a species of flowering plant in the family Apiaceae that is native to Greece, Morocco and the former Yugoslavia. It has been introduced and naturalisation (biology), naturalized in Eur ...

. The root is consumed as a winter

root vegetable Root vegetables are underground plant parts eaten by humans or animals as food. In agricultural and culinary terminology, the term applies to true roots, such as taproots and root tubers, as well as non-roots such as bulbs, corms, rhizomes, and ...

in some places, similar to parsnips. Caraway fruits are found in diverse European cuisines and dishes, for example

sauerkraut Sauerkraut (; , ) is finely cut raw cabbage that has been fermented by various lactic acid bacteria. It has a long shelf life and a distinctive sour flavor, both of which result from the lactic acid formed when the bacteria ferment the sugar ...

, and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

's caraway seed cake. In

Austrian cuisine Austrian cuisine consists of many different local or regional cuisines. In addition to Viennese cuisine, which is predominantly based on the cooking traditions of the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburg Empire, there are independent regional traditions ...

, it is used to season beef and, in German cuisine, pork. In

Hungarian cuisine Hungarian or Magyar cuisine (Hungarian language, Hungarian: ''Magyar konyha'') is the cuisine characteristic of the nation of Hungary, and its primary ethnic group, the Hungarians, Magyars. Hungarian cuisine has been described as being the P ...

, it is added to goulash, and in

Norwegian cuisine Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

and

Swedish cuisine Swedish cuisine () is the traditional food of Sweden. Due to Sweden's large north-to-south expanse, there are regional differences between the cuisine of Norrland, North and South Sweden. Historically, in the far north, meats such as reindeer, ...

, it is used for making caraway black bread. Caraway oil is used to for the production of Kümmel liquor in Germany and Russia, Scandinavian akvavit, and Icelandic

brennivín Brennivín (), the common style of brännvin in Iceland, is considered to be the country's signature distilled beverage. It is distilled from fermented grain mash and then combined with Iceland's very soft, high-pH water, and flavored only with ...

. Caraway can be infused in a variety of cheeses, such as havarti and bondost to add flavor. In

Latvian cuisine Latvian cuisine typically consists of agricultural products, with meat featuring in most main dishes. Fish (food), Fish is commonly consumed due to Latvia's location on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Latvian cuisine has been influenced by o ...

, whole caraway seeds are added to the Jāņi sour milk cheese. In

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, where the plant appeared to have become naturalised in a meadow, the seeds were formerly offered on a tray by publicans to people who wished to disguise the odour of their drinker's breath.Mabey R. 1996. ''Flora Britannica''. Sinclair-Stevenson

References

External links

* {{Authority control Carum Edible Apiaceae Flora of Europe Flora of North Africa Flora of Western Asia Root vegetables Spices Medicinal plants of Africa Medicinal plants of Asia Medicinal plants of Europe Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus