Caraway

In the East End of London where I grew up, caraway is mainly used to feed budgerigars rather than human diners.

Flowering caraway plants	Ripening caraway fruits	Dried caraway fruits (often incorrectly named "seeds")

Species:	Carum carvi.
Origin:	Western Asia and possibly Central Europe.
Source:	Caraway is native to a wide area of Central Europe and Western Asia. Today it is chiefly cultivated in Finland, the Netherlands, Eastern Europe and Germany. It is also cultivated in North Africa, particularly Egypt.
Used Part:	Fruits, usually but incorrectly called "caraway seeds".
Family:	Apiaceae (parsley family).
Effect:	Strongly aromatic and warm.
Etymology:	The German term for caraway, kümmel, derives from Latin cuminum for cumin and was misapplied to the caraway plant. The Latin cuminum leads via Greek kyminon back to Semitic forms, e.g. old Hebrew kammōn. Some names in European languages also relate to Latin cuminum, e.g. Danish kommen, Latvian ķimenes and Polish kminek.
	Similarly to Latin cuminum, Greek karon means "cumin" rather than "caraway". The ultimate origin is unclear and may derive from the Caria region of Asia Minor but may be a variant of Greek kyminon "cumin". The word was loaned to Latin as carum with the changed meaning "caraway" and gave rise to number of modern names, e.g. French carvi, Italian caro, Greek karvi and Norwegian karve. The English term caraway also belongs to that series and was probably mediated by Arabic (modern form karawya) from the Latin carum.
	Languages of other regions often lack a specific name for caraway, but use the name of cumin instead with an epithet referring to foreignness or to Germany, e.g. Turkish Frenk kimyonu "Frankish cumin", Italian cumino tedesco, Finnish saksankumina and Hindi vilayati jeera.
	The French name of caraway is carvi, but this is little used and caraway is termed cumin de prés "meadow cumin", especially in the North of France where it grows wild. Some French texts misleadingly refer to cumin when caraway is meant.
Uses:	Caraway is recognised as the most typical spice of the German-speaking countries. It is an ancient spice of Central Europe and caraway fruits have been found in numerous Neolithic villages.
	Carraway has had numerous culinary and medicinal applications since Roman times, not least caraway-flavoured liqueurs mostly produced and consumed in Northern Germany and Scandinavia. Although caraway is a common plant of alpine meadows at low elevation, it was grown in medieval monasteries in accordance with the Capitulare de Villis of Charlemagne, mainly for its antiflatulent powers. Some domestic production continues in Germany, although most now originates from Egypt.
	Caraway is the spice that gives Southern German and Austrian foods their characteristic flavour and is used for meat, vegetable and rye bread. It is also popular in Scandinavia and particularly in the Baltic states, but is hardly known in Southern Europe. True caraway aficionados use the whole fruits, but even the powder is strongly aromatic. Caraway's aroma does not harmonise with most other spices, but its combination with garlic is effective and popular for meat such as schweinsbraten "roast pork" and with vegetables. Sauerkraut (sour cabbage made by lactic fermentation) is always flavoured with caraway and juniper as unfermented boiled cabbage without caraway lacks character. Some cheese varieties from Central Europe contain caraway grains.
	Caraway is of importance in North African cuisines, especially Tunisian where it is used in several recipes of harissa, a fiery paste made of dried chillies and the same is true of zhoug, a similar preparation found in Yemen. Other references to caraway in Middle East, Indian or Far East recipes probably refer to cumin.
	Caraway is a controversial spice, appearing dominant and unpleasant to those who are not accustomed to it. Use of the ground spice or the fruits in bouquet garni removed after cooking is a compromise.