Caraway - Herbs And Spices Lexicon

Caraway seed

The small, sickle-shaped fruits have it all: The intensely aromatic caraway is one of the oldest spices in Europe. In order to fully exploit its aroma, the fruits should best be freshly ground or crushed (spice mill, mortar). Since caraway has a digestive effect, it is often given to heavy, fatty foods such as roast pork, duck, but also to flat-faced dishes with cabbage or cabbage…

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• Botany
• Ingredients, smell and taste
• Use and preparation

Botany

The caraway (Carum carvi), also known as real caraway, belongs to the umbelliferae family (Apiaceae) together with aniseed, coriander and dill. The biennial plant grows about one meter high and has thin, pinnate, pointed leaves. More rarely, caraway is cultivated as an annual. The many white or pink flowers are in typical double umbels. Later the fruits divide into four to six millimeters long, sickle-shaped cleft fruits with the typical longitudinal ribs. Caraway is not to be confused with cumin, which is another aromatic plant.

Tip Caraway can also be grown in the garden itself: it prefers deep, nutritious soil and likes it very moist.

Ingredients, smell and taste

Caraway has a spicy to sweet aroma and a slightly burning, bitter taste. It contains a lot of essential oil with the main component carvone, which determines its taste and smell.

Use and preparation

Caraway seeds can be used whole or ground in the kitchen. In order to fully exploit its aroma, the fruits should best be freshly ground or crushed (spice grinder, mortar). Not only the split fruits, but also the fresh leaves and roots are edible, for example in a salad.

Since caraway has a digestive effect, it is often added to heavy, greasy dishes such as roast pork, duck, but also to flat-faced dishes with cabbage or cabbage, such as cabbage rolls or sauerkraut. It also goes very well with potato dishes such as boiled potatoes or potato pancakes. It is also popular as a tea and is a traditional ingredient in bread spices. The caraway flavor also harmonizes very well with cheese, for example in Gelundener cheese or cooked cheese.