| Caraway is a frost-hardy biennial (may become perennial in mild climates), growing to about 60cm tall and about 25 cm wide. Grow in full sun, in fertile, reasonably moist, well-drained soil, pH 5.5-6.5. Prefers a sunny, sheltered position. Tolerates dry soil. The seed crop matures faster if you stop watering when flowers form. It takes 2 (occasionally 3) years for the plant to mature and bear flowers. Does not do well in humid conditions. The plant may die down completely in winter. Keep the area free from weeds. Established plants may self-seed. Culinary Uses: Use leaves in salads, teas, stews and soups. Add seeds to confectionery, cakes, breads and biscuits, apple sauce, cabbage, potato, pork, apples, salad dressings and stews. Goes well with vegetables such as potato, cauliflower or turnip, and with cheeses. The root can be cooked as a vegetable like carrots. Roots from first year plants are best – they taste similar to parsnip. They are nice steamed or boiled and served with butter, salt and pepper. Boiled roots, mixed with milk, can be added to bread recipes. Medicinal Uses: Seeds have excellent digestive properties. Made into a tea, they are suitable for babies with colic (1 teaspoonful of the tea is a child's dosage). Also used to treat water retention, coughs and menstrual cramps. Helps to increase breast milk in nursing mothers. For flatulence and colic, caraway combines well with chamomile and calamus; in diarrhoea, with agrimony and bayberry; and in bronchitis, with horehound. A poultice of crushed seeds moistened with hot water is good for sprains. |
