Caraway

Table of Contents

1. Description
2. Origin
3. Uses
4. Culture
5. Sources
6. Thanks to..

Carum carvi
Family: Umbelliferae

Description

Caraway has aromatic, feathery, finely cut leaves and a thick, tapering root. During the second year, tiny white or pink flowers and reddish brown, crescent-shaped fruits develop. Plants generally grow 75 - 150 cm high in flower.

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Origin

Europe and Western Asia: This biennial herb has a variety of uses but is mostly grown for its small aromatic fruit. Caraway has been used for centuries as a culinary spice. It was used by the ancient Arabs, Greeks and Romans. There are several cultivars available that are grown in India, the Middle East, Europe and the United States. Caraway grows wild in all provinces of Canada. Among the chemical compounds found in Caraway are: proteins, calcium oxalate, resin plus an essential oil (3-7% fresh weight) which contains carvone, limonene, and other terpenes.

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Uses of Caraway and Claims

• Culinary: seeds are used with pork, goulash, sauerkraut, cheese, breads, cakes, and many other dishes; shoots and leaves are added to vegetables, salads; roots are eaten as a vegetable; essential oil is used to flavour candy, gin, pickles, meats, and ice cream.
• Medicinal: has been used for relieving toothaches, as an antiseptic, vermifuge, carminative, antispasmodic, antihistaminic, to relieve gas and flatulence, indigestion, hysteria
• Industrial: the essential oil has been used to flavour mouthwashes and scent soaps and aftershaves.

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Culture

• Propagation: Germination takes about 10 to 14 days. Seed is best sown on early autumn. Direct-seed in rows 10-50 cm apart and thin to 15 cm between plants. To grow caraway as a root crop, thin to 20 cm apart. Caraway roots are comparable to a small, thin parsnip.
• Soil Type: Fields should be in full sun with fertile, well drained soil with a pH of 7.5. This crop will tolerate most soil types but seed germination can be poor on clay if the soil surface crusts.
• Cultivation: For an acceptable flovour caraway should be grown in full sun. A complete fertilizer or composted manure should be applied in the first year before planting plus an additional sidedress in the second year.
• Harvest: Caraway is a hardy biennial. It will grow to 20 cm in the first year and 60 cm in the second year. Harvest seeds just before the first seeds fall. Harvest roots in the autumn of the second year. Caraway can tolerate light frost.

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Sources

• Bremness, L. 1994. Herbs. Dorling Kindersley Ltd. London.
• Brown, D. 1995. Encyclopedia of Herbs and Their Uses. Readers Digest press.
• Halva, S, L.E.Craker. 1996. Manual for Northern Herb Growers. HSMP Press.
• Small, E. 1997. Culinary Herbs. National Research Council of Canada.
• Keville, K. 1994. Herbs an Illustrated Encyclopedia. Friedman/Fairfax

Thanks to

This demonstration garden was a result of the efforts of Dr. Alan McKeown, Vegetable Scientist, University of Guelph and was made possible with grants from the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association and the Tobacco Diversification Program.

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