Caraway

Caraway is indigenous to all parts of Europe and may be native to parts of Asia, India and North Africa. The ancient Egyptians and early Greeks and Romans recognized its properties and it has been found in Egyptian tombs and at the ancient caravan stops along the Silk Road trade route. Popular in the middle ages and in Shakespeare's 'Henry IV'. Caraway comes from the Arabic word for seed 'karawya', it is said to ward off witches and prevent lovers from straying. In Victorian England it was associated with 'seed cake' and also used to make sweet toppings for Bath buns.

Pick leaves while young and before flowering. Harvest the seeds when they are brown in colour, which will be in late summer the year after sowing, by cutting the seed heads just before the first seeds fall and hang them upside-down with a paper bag over the head.

The seeds are used to flavour breads, cakes, biscuits, boiled or baked onions, potato dishes, baked fruit, cream cheese, soups and stews. They may also be sprinkled into the pot when steaming turnips, beetroot, parsnips, carrots, cabbage and cauliflower. The leaves, which have a mild aniseed flavour, are used in salads, soups, stews and with spinach. The roots can be boiled and eaten like parsnips with melted butter or white sauce. 

Pigeon fanciers claim that tame pigeons will never stray if there is baked Caraway dough in their coot. The aroma from the seeds increases with age and the essential oils are used in making soaps and scented sachets.