Caraway

caraway, biennial Old World plant (Carum carvi) of the family Umbelliferae (parsley family), cultivated in Europe and North America for its aromatic seeds. They are small and ovate, with a pleasant spicy flavor, and are used as a condiment; as seasoning of pastry and bread doughs, cabbage, sausage, and some kinds of cheese; and as flavoring for certain liqueurs (as kümmel). The volatile oil expressed from the seeds is a stimulant and a carminative. Caraway is classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Umbellales, family Umbelliferae.

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caraway

Dried fruit, commonly called the seed, of Carum carvi, a biennial herb of the parsley family. Native to Europe and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times. It has a distinctive aroma and a warm, slightly sharp taste. It is used as a seasoning, and the oil is used to flavor alcoholic beverages and as a medicine.

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caraway

1. an umbelliferous Eurasian plant, Carum carvi, having finely divided leaves and clusters of small whitish flowers.

2. caraway seed the pungent aromatic one-seeded fruit of this plant, used in cooking and in medicine

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caraway [′kar·ə‚wā]

(botany)

Carum carvi.A white-flowered perennial herb of the family Umbelliferae; the fruit is used as a spice and flavoring agent.

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Caraway 

(Trachyspermum copticum, Carum ajowan), an aromatic Indian plant. It is an annual of the Ajowan genus, of the Umbelliferae family. The stem is cylindrical, with longitudinal grooves and many branches and reaches a height of 70–120 cm. The root is thin and fusiform and goes down as far as 1 m below the ground. The leaves are alternate and pin-nately cleft two or three times; the lower leaves are stalky. The blossoms are small and monoecious with a white or violet corolla forming an intricate umbel. The fruit is dicotylous. The caraway grows well in hot and clear weather and on soil of moderate humidity. It grows wild in the Mediterranean region, Asia Minor, India, and Middle and East Asia. It is grown for essential oil in many countries, including India, Afghanistan, Iran, Turkey, the People’s Republic of China, Argentina, and North Africa. In the USSR it is grown in the Chuia Valley (Kirghizia); some biotypes grow in the central zone of the European USSR. The fruit contains 2.5–10 percent essential oil (with 35–40 percent thymol), 20–32 percent oil, and 15–17 percent albumin. The thymol is used in medicine, in perfume and cosmetic products, for paint and lacquer, and in the food and other industries. The de-thymolized essential oil (thymine) is used in making soap. The waste of the fruit processing makes good animal fodder. The seeds grow at a temperature of 8°C. Shoots appear 12–20 days after planting, depending on the temperature and humidity of the soil. The vegetation period is 120–156 days. The caraway is sown in early spring; in Kirghizia it can also be sown by the early winter, but the plantings need irrigation. The caraway is harvested with the two-stage method—the mowing process separated from the threshing—when the fruit in the umbels of the first-grown plants becomes brown among 60–70 percent of the plants. With good agrotechnology the harvest yield is 8–12 metric centners (800–1,200 kg) per ha.

A. T. KSENDZ