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Caraway as an Herb
(Carum carvi)
Caraway is a member of the group of aromatic plants like anise, Cumin, dill and fennel. Caraway is known less for medicinal properties of the fruits, or 'seeds,' than for use as a flavoring in cooking, confectionery and liqueurs.
The use of caraway in a medicinal form is no longer as common as it once was; however, there are long-standing uses that refuse to fade away.
Medicinal Uses for Caraway
Caraway aids digestion. It can help promote the menstrual cycle, and is used to help increase a mother's milk. It is added to cough remedies as an expectorant.
For flatulence, from 1 to 4 drops of the essential oil of Caraway given on a lump of sugar, or in a teaspoonful of water, will be found helpful. You can also make a combination tea for flatulence:
- 4 parts Caraway
- 3 parts Fennel
- 3 parts Anise
- 1 teaspoon of the combined crushed seeds added to 1-cup of water just off the boil and steeped 10 minutes.
Distilled Caraway water is still considered a useful remedy in the flatulent colic of infants, and is an excellent enhancer for children's medicine. When sweetened, its flavor is agreeable to most.
One ounce of the bruised seeds infused for 6 hours in a pint of cold water makes a good Caraway julep for infants, given in doses of 1 to 3 teaspoonsfuls.
The bruised seeds, pounded with the crumb of a hot new loaf and a little spirit to moisten, was an old-fashioned remedy for bad earache. The powder of the seeds, made into a poultice, will also take away bruises.
For high blood pressure, Caraway seeds have been combined with equal parts Fennel, Anise, and Yarrow, plus 2 parts of Chamomile and Peppermint leaves in infusion form (1 teaspoon of the mixture placed in in 1/2 cup boiling water and taken 1 to 1-1/2 cups daily, a mouthful at a time).
In Henry IV, Squire Shallow invites Falstaff to 'a pippin and a dish of caraways.' The custom of serving roast apples with a little saucerful of Caraway is still kept up at Trinity College, Cambridge, and at some of the old-fashioned London Livery Dinners, just as in Shakespeare's days - and to this day in Scotland, a saucerful is put down at tea to dip the buttered side of bread into and called 'salt water jelly.'
Folklore
In old times, an unusual superstition was held about the Caraway. It was deemed to prevent the theft of any object which contained caraway while holding a thief in custody within an invaded house.
In like manner it was thought to keep lovers from forming an ingredient of love potions, and also to prevent fowls and pigeons from straying. Tame pigeons are particularly fond of the seeds.
Also, historically caraway was an herb of weddings used both in the wedding feast and rained on the bride and groom for good luck in the belief the couple would remain faithful and not separate.
Culinary
Note: Long term cooking can make caraway bitter; the seeds are best added no more than 30 minutes before a dish is done.
Scattering caraway seed over cakes has been a long-standing practice. Caraway-seed cake was formerly served at feasts given by farmers to their laborers at the end of the wheat-sowing season. The little Caraway comfits consist of the seeds encrusted with white sugar.
In Germany, the peasants flavor their cheese, cabbage, soups, and household bread with Caraway, and in Norway and Sweden, polenta like, black, Caraway bread is largely eaten in country districts. Caraway is a well known seasoning in northern and eastern Europe to flavor cakes, goulash, cabbage, sauerkraut, pickled vegetables, split pea soups, applesauce, cheese, cream soups, cooked apples, sauerkraut, beets, spinach, potatoes, snap beans, peas, cauliflower, turnips, zucchini, French dressing, barley, oats, pork and fish.
Crushed seeds have been sprinkled over popcorn.
The Romans ate the spring leaves as a pot herb and made Chara (a bread) from the roots.
The oil extracted from Caraway is used as an ingredient in liquors: both the Russians and the Germans make a liqueur called 'Kummel' from Caraway.
The oil is distilled chiefly from Dutch, Norwegian and Russian fruits. The Dutch are small and dark brown in colour. English fruits, of which only a small quantity is produced, are of a brighter tint.
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DISCLAIMER: These pages are presented solely as a source of INFORMATION and ENTERTAINMENT and to provide stern warnings against use where appropriate. No claims are made for any historical herbal treatment. In no way can the information provided here take the place of the standard, legal, medical practice of any country. Some plants are extremely toxic and should be used only by licensed professionals. Some plants used for illness in the past have proven to be ineffective for the problems to which they were applied.