Caraway
Parts Usually Used
Seed
Description of Plant(s) and Culture
Caraway is a biennial or perennial plant; the hollow, furrowed, angular, branched stem grows in the second year from a white, carrot-shaped root. The leaves are bi- or tripinnate and deeply incised, carrot-like, the upper ones on a sheath-like petiole. The small white or yellow flowers grow in compound umbels, with 5-12 very unequal stalks, outer flowers larger than inner ones, appear in May and June, forming a compound umbel with rays of unequal length.
The fruit is dark brown, oblong, flattened, and two-seeded. Strongly scented when rubbed. Full sun to light shade. Zones 3-4.
Where Found
Cultivated and found wild in the northern and northwestern United States, Europe, and Asia. Seen growing as a weed in waste places from Newfoundland to Alberta and south to Pennsylvania and Colorado. Native to Eurasia.
Medicinal Properties
Antispasmodic, appetizer, carminative, emmenagogue, expectorant, galactagogue, stomachic.
Biochemical Information
Essential oil with arvene and limonene, fatty oil with linoleic, oleic and petroselinic acids, nitrogenous materials, tannins, coumarins, resin.
Legends, Myths and Stories
The famous Ebers Papyrus, an ancient Egyptian scroll containing medical notes and recipes from 1550 BC, lists 20 plants used as both medicines and seasonings, including anise, fennel, thyme, mustard, wormwood, and caraway. From this we know that caraway has been in use for at least 3500 years. The medicinal effect of caraway is due principally to the carvon contained in the essential oil.
Dioscorides advised the oil of caraway for pale-faced girls. Caraway was an ingredient in love potions as well as an additive to the feed of homing fowl. And true believers held that any object that contained a few caraway seeds would be safe from theft; if any thief tried to steal such an object, the staying power of caraway would seize and hold him on the spot until the owner reached the scene.
The 17th century herbalist advised: The roots of caraway, being boiled, may be eaten as carrots. The oil of caraway is used for making Kummel and L’huile de Venus and other cordials. Kummel is used as a digestive. A vodka-like Scandinavian liquor is made with grain or potatoes and flavored with oil of caraway. ”
Uses
Historically, herbalists utilized caraway to stimulate the appetite and aid digestion. Traditional accounts recorded its use for encouraging menstruation, easing uterine cramps, supporting milk production, soothing inflammation, and acting as a mild expectorant. Practitioners also recommended it for flatulent colic, coughs, colds, and settling the stomach following the consumption of nauseous medicines.
Externally, caraway was prepared as a poultice for bruises and employed as a wash for rheumatism. Beyond its medicinal applications, the seeds were widely used as a culinary flavoring, notably in rye bread in the United States, as an ingredient in vermouth, and as the primary botanical base for the traditional German liqueur known as Kümmel.
How Sold
Seeds, seed oil
Warning
Never give seeds to infants or young children; give extract. Caraway (to some, considered of the carrot family) is very much like the carrot foliage, which includes many poisonous species that can be easily mistaken for this plant. For this reason, do not collect wild caraway under any circumstances! Caraway, in appearance, is very similar to fool’s parsley and poison hemlock.
Bibliography
, Loma Linda, CA 92354, Original copyright 1939, revised edition 1994 The Herb Book , by John Lust, Bantam Books, 666 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY. copyright 1974. Eastern/Central Medicinal Plants , by Steven Foster and James A. , Houghton Mifflin Company, 215 Park Avenue South, New York, NY 10000 The Nature Doctor: A Manual of Traditional and Complementary Medicine , by Dr. A. , 27 Pine Street (Box 876) New Canaan, CT.
06840-0876. Copyright Verlag A. Vogel, Teufen (AR) Switzerland 1952, 1991 Indian Herbalogy of North America , by Alma R. , Lotus Press, PO Box 325, Twin Lakes. , 15 Columbus Circle, New York, NY 10023 An Instant Guide to Medicinal Plants , by Pamela Forey and Ruth Lindsay, Crescent Books (January 27, 1992). The Magic of Herbs in Daily Living , by Richard Lucas, Parker Publishing Co.
(1988). The Healing Plants , by Mannfried Pahlow, Barron’s Educational Series, Inc. , Hauppauge, NY 11788, 1992 The Yoga of Herbs: An Ayurvedic Guide to Herbal Medicine , by Dr. David Frawley & Dr. Vasant Lad, Lotus Press, Twin Lakes, Wisconsin, Second edition, 1988. The Rodale Herb Book: How to Use, Grow, and Buy Nature’s Miracle Plants (An Organic gardening and farming book) , edited by William H.
Hylton, Rodale Press, Inc. , 1974