dill
- Related Topics:
- spice and herb
- herb
dill, (Anethum graveolens), annual or biennial herb of the parsley family (Apiaceae) and its dry fruit and leaves which are used to season foods. Native to Mediterranean countries and southeastern Europe, dill is now widely cultivated in Europe, India, and North America.
Uses and flavour
Dill has a warm, slightly sharp flavour somewhat reminiscent of caraway. The entire plant is aromatic, and the leaves, small stems, and immature flower umbels are used fresh or dried for flavouring soups, salads, sauces, fish, sandwich fillings, and particularly pickles. It is especially popular in the cuisine of eastern Europe and Scandinavia. The whole seeds and the seed oil have carminative properties and have been used in treating flatulent colic.
Physical description
The cultivated plant has stalks with finely divided leaves composed of many linear segments. The leaves are borne alternately along the stalks and are sheathed at the base. The small yellow flowers are arranged in umbels (flat-topped clusters of flowers). The small dry fruits, often mistaken for the seeds, are broadly oval in shape, about 0.14 inch (3.5 mm) long, with three longitudinal dorsal ridges and two winglike lateral ridges. They are light brown in colour. The essential oil content is about 3 percent; its principal component is carvone.
