A well-known flavouring for sweets, bread and cakes – caraway is an easy to grow biennial with heads of soft white flowers followed by the distinctive tasting seeds. 9x9cm pot (8cm depth)
Description
- Easy to grow
- Edible leaves, flowers and seeds
- Used in many recipes
- Good digestive herb
There is evidence that caraway has been used as a medicine and flavouring since Egyptian times. Although it does grow wild in the UK it is very rare and the fact it resembles cow parsley means it isn’t always identified, but it is a lovely herb with its faint aniseed leaves and seeds to use and grow.
Plant Care
- Height: 60-100cm
- Type: Hardy
- Aspect: Sun
- Soil: Well drained
- Flower colour: White
- Flowering period: June - August
Caraway is an easy to grow perennial, which once established need little care. The feathery green leaves are there for most of the year, only dying down during the coldest months. The delicate umbels of white flowers appear in summer on long thin stems and caraway will self-seed if left to drop its seeds.
Usage
The distinctive taste of caraway seed is used to flavour breads, biscuits, cakes and pickles. They can be used fresh, but are often dried and stored for use year round. They are extensively used in the confectionary; beverage and skincare industries. The leaves of caraway are also edible and can be used soups, stews and curries.
The flowers, leaves or seeds make a delicious tea. Many umbelliferon plants, like fennel and anise have traditional uses of calming and gently warming the digestive system and are historically used for, colic, bloating and indigestion.