Caraway

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  • Caraway (Carum carvi) is an ancient and wonderfully aromatic herb with a history stretching back thousands of years. With its delicate, feathery foliage, pretty umbels of tiny white flowers and intensely fragrant seeds, it is a plant that combines culinary usefulness with the charm of a traditional cottage and herb garden.

    Caraway has been cultivated across Europe since ancient times, with archaeological evidence suggesting its use reaches back to prehistoric communities. Through the centuries it became particularly important in northern and central European cooking, where its distinctive warm, earthy and slightly anise-like flavour found its way into breads, cakes, cheeses, vegetables and preserves.

    But Caraway has a more mysterious side too. In European folklore it became associated with protection, fidelity and preventing things from being lost or stolen. Old traditions even suggested that carrying Caraway could keep a loved one from straying — exactly the sort of curious story that makes these old herbs so fascinating.

    In the garden, Caraway produces finely divided, fern-like foliage before sending up airy stems topped with clusters of small white flowers. These delicate blooms have a wonderfully natural appearance and are attractive to a range of beneficial insects and pollinators.

    Caraway is generally grown as a biennial, developing its foliage during its first season before flowering and producing its famous aromatic seeds during the second. Both the young leaves and seeds have traditionally been used in cooking, although it is the seeds — technically fruits — for which the plant is best known.

    A beautiful choice for a traditional herb garden, wildlife-friendly planting or simply for gardeners who enjoy growing plants with a story, Caraway is an ancient herb that deserves to be rediscovered.

    Plant Information

    Botanical name: Carum carvi
    Common name: Caraway
    Plant type: Biennial herb
    Approximate height: 45–60cm when flowering
    Approximate spread: 20–30cm
    Position: Full sun to light partial shade
    Soil: Fertile, reasonably well-drained soil
    Flowers: Delicate umbels of small white flowers
    Flowering period: Late spring into summer, usually in its second year
    Foliage: Fine, feathery green leaves
    Hardiness: Hardy in the UK
    Culinary uses: Traditionally grown for its aromatic seeds, with young foliage also edible
    Garden uses: Herb gardens, cottage gardens, kitchen gardens and wildlife-friendly planting
    Wildlife: Flowers are attractive to pollinating and beneficial insects
    Care: Keep watered while establishing and allow second-year plants to flower and develop seed if growing for culinary use.

     

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