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Caraway Herb Information - Heritage Herb Series

Caraway Is Both A Medicinal And  A Popular Cooking Seasoning Herb


Caraway (Carum carui, Linn.), a biennial or an annual herb of the natural order Umbelliferæ. Itsnames, both popular and botanical, are supposed to be derived from Caria, in Asia Minor, where the plant is believed first to have attracted attention. From very early ages the caraway has been esteemed by cooks and doctors, between which a friendly rivalry might seem to exist, each vying to give it prominence. At the present time the cooks seem to be in the ascendancy; the seeds or their oil are rarely used in modern medicine, except to disguise the flavor of repulsive drugs.

nce caraway seeds were found by O'Heer in the debris of the lake habitations of Switzerland, the fact seems well established that the plant is a native of Europe and the probability is increased that the of Pliny is this same plant, as its use by Apicus would also indicate. It is mentioned in the twelfth-century writings as grown in Morocco, and in the thirteenth by the Arabs. As a spice, its use in England seems to have begun at the close of the fourteenth century. From its Asiatic home it spread first with Phoenician commerce to western Europe, whence by later voyageurs it has been carried throughout the civilized world. So widely has it been distributed that the traveler may find it in the wilds of Iceland and Scandinavia, the slopes of sunny Spain, the steeps of the Himalayas, the veldt of southern Africa, the bush of Australia, the prairies and the pampas of America.

Caraway is largely cultivated in Morocco, and is an important article of export from Russia, Prussia, and Holland. It has developed no clearly marked varieties; some specimens, however, seem to be more distinctly annual than others, though attempts to isolate these and thus secure a quick-maturing variety seem not to have been made.  Picture of Caraway Herb W Flowers and caraway seeds

Description.—The fleshy root, about ½ inch in diameter, is yellowish externally, whitish within, and has a slight carroty taste. From it a rosette of finely pinnated leaves is developed, and later the sparsely leaved, channeled, hollow, branching flower stem which rises from 18 to 30 inches and during early summer bears umbels of little white flowersfollowed by oblong, pointed, somewhat curved, light brown aromatic fruits—the caraway "seeds" of commerce. These retain their germinating power for about three years, require about 10,000 seeds to make an ounce and fifteen ounces to the quart.

Cultivation.—Frequently, if not usually, caraway is sown together with coriander in the same drills on heavy lands during May or early June. The coriander, being a quick-maturing plant, may be harvested before the caraway throws up a flowering stem. Thus two crops may be secured from the same land in the same time occupied by the caraway alone. Ordinary thinning to 6 or 8 inches between plants is done when the seedlings are established. Other requirements of the crop are all embraced in the practices of clean cultivation.

Harvest occurs in July of the year following the seeding. The plants are cut about 12 inches above ground with sickles, spread on sheets to dry for a few days, and later beaten with a light flail. After threshing, the seed must be spread thinly and turned daily until the last vestige of moisture has evaporated. From 400 to 800 pounds is the usual range of yield.

If seed be sown as soon as ripe, plants may be secured which mature earlier than the main crop. Thus six or eight weeks may be saved in the growing season, and by continuing such selection a quick-maturing strain may be secured with little effort. This would also obviate the trouble of keeping seed from one year to the next, for the strain would be practically a winter annual.

Uses.—Occasionally the leaves and young shoots are eaten either cooked or as an ingredient in salads. The roots, too, have been esteemed in some countries, even more highly than the parsnip, which, however, largely because of its size, has supplanted it for this purpose. But the seeds are the important part. They find popular use in bread, cheese, liquors, salads, sauces, soups, candy, and especially in seed cakes, cookies and comfits. The colorless or pale yellow essential oil distilled with water from the seeds, which contain between 5% and 7½% of it, has the characteristic flavor and odor of the fruit. It is extensively employed in the manufacture of toilet articles, such as perfumery, and especially soaps.

From the Heritage Herbs Collection by M.G. Kains, American Agriculturist, 1912.


 

Nasturtiums - Those Beautiful Herbal Edible Flowers

Taste that peppery flavor of those Nasturtium flowers grown organically at HerbFest.  Video.

   

Weight Loss Herbs


  

  One of the biggest strengths of using herbs is the weight loss that can occur, not so much due to the properties of herbs, but due to the loss of appetite for fattening substances. Often the trick is not when one consumes herbs that they "magically" lose weight, but once the palette is adjusted and favors the delicate nuances of herb seasonings then the traditional fats, sugars will no longer taste good. It' s this change, and it's generally permanent, that helps lose weight and keep it off.

One immediate change is to drop the use of soft drinks and substitute in herbal teas. An example is the simple use of mint as the tea base. All one does is place about a gallon of water on the stove, heat till bubbles break, drop in a handful of mint leaves ( for the measurers that's about one cup, lightly packed, ) into the hot water and let stand for about 1 hour. Not only is there no caffeine now but it's easy to use this mint water as your tea base and add to it couple small stalks of lemon grass for additional flavor, or a handful of crushed basil leaves. I actually prefer to add both to my tea and it's a very refreshing drink for my family throughout the week. Being a wine love the herbal tea is my beverage choice at night as I rest after dinner, wanting another glass of vino, but change that desire by having my glass or two of iced herbal tea.

Also a benefit of herbal teas is the ability to diminish the desire for eating more, or consumption of other fatty items. Suppression of the desire to eat is another benefit of altering the diet to herbs. Licorce, cinnamon and ginseng are herbs with those properties. Simply add a dash as seasoning, rather than sugar, salt and those smaller portions become more desirable as one consumes yet "fills" the hunger pangs quicker and with less food. Again this is an ongoing lifestyle change that not only helps lose weight but eliminates the behaviors which add to weight gain.

Any herbs that speed up your metabolism can also help in losing weight.

One of these herbs is ginger and the active component of the flavor is gingerol which also gives ginger its flavor. Ephedra is another herb that speeds up the metabolism, along with being used for several medicinal purposes, and can be used as a weight loss herb.

Herbs that are diuretics simply aid in eliminating unnecessary water retention. Remember that one gallon of water is equivalent to 8 pounds of weight. If one is looking for "immediate weight loss" then the best method for this is the elimination of water. Use diuretic herbs such as parsley - Italian or Curly, rosemary, celery and dong quai. Fennel is very good here also and make a simple fennel tea. Hawthorn berries, dandelion are two more herbs that are diuretics. Of course exercise more to sweat the fluids as one changes diet to herbs.

In our herbal lore and legend enewsletter you will be given, free of course, weekly herb tips on how to improve your diet, lose weight and keep it off, and improve your overall health with tasty recipes and herbal advice.

   

Video on The Cardoon Plant - Herb or Vegetable


Cardoon - Herb or Vegetable? 


 
You decide after watching this video:


   

Venison Recipe Using Herbs




Venison Recipe Using Fresh Rosemary, Bay Leaves and Oregano

   Most venison (this is deer meat)  is overcooked which one has to guard against.  It's a tender meat with practically no fat, very lean.    If you’ve had carpaccio with the seared outside, red inside, it is very similar except the below is exceptionally tasty.

    * Garlic salt and ground pepper on outside of venison, after marinating in a cheap crappy red wine for 24 hours ( can’t use my good drinking stuff! )

    * Sear venison  in skillet and remove to pan below,

    * Use skillet to saute half large sweet onion until transculucent. 
   
    * Put in baking pan, ran a rosemary stem lengthwise through meat and put rosemary leaves around it in baking pan   
     
    * Also knowing how rare the meat was with no sign of any visible fat, all lean, so I smeared couple pats of butter along top edge so when goes in over would keep moist and meld flavors.   Sprinkle some dried oregano over top of butter and venison.

    * Boil some potatoes and small carrots in bay infused water for about 10 minutes to precook them

    *  Mix the veggies in pan with venison and tossed veggies lightly with rosemary, including the onions

    * Oven had been preheated to 500F:  put pan with meat and veggies in oven and immediately turned temperature down to 350 and baked for 10 minutes

    * Out of oven, sat for 5-6 minutes and sliced for a perfect meal, served on top of bulgur wheat


    * Serve with fresh cabbage that had been simmered in chicken stock simmer



   The wine marinate is to remove any gamey taste in case the deer meat was not aged upon harvesting.  Best practice is to age the meat immediately after harvest for minimum of 1 week but not more than 3 weeks.   The aging tendorizes the meat and the marinate is not necessary.  
   

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