Caraway (Carum carvi)
Folk Names: Alcaravea (Spanish), Karawya (Arabic)
Description: Caraway is a biennial or perennial member of carrot family. It is an Eurasia and Africa that has become naturalized to North America and escaped cultivation elsewhere. Caraway prefers meadows, woods, and rocky areas. The hollowed and furrowed, branching stem is slender and angular, growing up to two feet tall in the second year. From a white carrot-shaped root (similar to parsnip, but smaller) spring feathery, opposite, olive gray-green leaves. These are bi- or tri-pinnate, deeply incised, leaves with an upper sheath-like petiole. The small white or yellow flowers appear from May to July and usually lack bracts, forming terminal compound umbels with rays of unequal length. The dark brown, two seeded fruits are long, flattened, and oblong. They are marked with five distinct, pale ridges. The fruit and leaves of the caraway plant give off a pleasant odor when bruised and have an agreeable taste.
Effects: strong
Planet: Mercury Zodiac: Gemini
Element: air
Associated Deities:
Traditions:
Caraway cakes, that is rolls coated with sugar crusted caraway seeds, were traditionally fed to farm workers after the last grains were sown to celebrate the planting. The name comes from ancient Arabic Karawya, a word still used in the East.
Magic:
Caraway is carried to protect against Lilith and all spirits, entities, and negativity. Fill a pouch with seeds and sew it shut with white thread. Hide it in your child's bed to protect from illness, evil spirits. Wrap seeds in a white handkerchief and carry for safe journeys.
Caraway has the gift of retention. Any object containing caraway seeds is theft proof, including livestock. Some pigeon trainers will still place some caraway dough in the loft to keep their flock. Since pigeons are particularly fond of caraway, this isn’t particularly a superstitious act. The seeds also encourage fidelity, guarding against the theft of your love as well as more material objects. It has been included in pastries and potions for love and lust, and added to sachets to attract a mate. Chew the seeds to gain the love of the one you desire. Caraway seeds are also known to strengthen the memory, perhaps by allowing you to retain more.
Known Combinations:
Throw caraway with rice at a wedded couple to ensure love and fertility.
Medical Indications: (Caution: Be careful not to confuse caraway with poisonous hemlock of same family. Some believe Caraway taken in sufficient dosages can damage the liver.) Parts Used: fruits (usually referred to as seeds)
Caraway is an antispasmodic, appetizer, carminative, emmenagoue, galactagogue, and stomachic. In women, it promotes menstruation, relieves uterine cramps, and promotes secretion of milk. It is useful for infants suffering from flatulent colic. If you are nauseous (from medication or otherwise), caraway is recommended to settle the stomach.
Folk medicine recommended a poultice of ground seeds and breadcrumbs moistened with alcohol for an earache. A poultice of seeds with vinegar was also suggested for bruises. Currently it is used mostly to make other medicines palatable.
Nutrition:
The young leaves, seeds, and roots of caraway are all edible. The taste is sharp and peppery with a stronger licorice flavor than anise. Caraway is used extensively in breads (rye) and desserts. It may be added to any and all apple dishes, cakes and cookies, and other deserts. Lightly crushed, caraway enhances salads, vegetables, and lentils. Hungarian goulash, game and meat dishes benefit from caraway (and it’s supposed ability to enhance bile production offset the fattiness of dishes, especially with pork or goose). In Germany, caraway is used to flavor cheese, cabbage, soups, and bread. In Norway and Sweden, they eat black, polenta-like caraway bread.
Caraway seed is used in flatulence causing dishes. The seeds may even be dipped in sugar and eaten. This is what is commonly referred to as a sugarplum. As a cooked green, the leaves are boiled ten to fifteen minutes, while the first year roots are cooked like parsnips. First time cooks should use caution, as caraway turns bitter with over cooking.
The oil extracted from caraway seeds is used in liquors, most notably Kummel. This is made chiefly by the Germans and Russians.
Mercantile Uses:
Caraway is added to potpourris, and in India, the oil is used in the manufacture of soap. Caraway is not an extensive cash crop. Holland is the largest exporter of the crop, and it is grown somewhat in Germany, Austria, France, and parts of Spain. Morocco also produces and exports a caraway crop, which finds its way mainly to American and English markets. Oil is distilled mainly from Dutch, Norwegian, and Russian seeds.