Archaeologists found caraway seeds during excavations at sites of the Neolithic, which indicates its use as early as 8000 years ago. The ancient Egyptians used cumin in rituals and to improve digestion. The Romans chewed caraway seeds to freshen their breath after eating. In India, caraway seeds are still served with sugar after the end of the meal. Some peoples have a belief that fumigation with smoke from the fruit of caraway removes the "evil eye".
Cumin oil: essential and fatty
Caraway essential oil is obtained by distillation with hot steam from crushed dry fruits. In this case, the oil yield is obtained in the range of 3.2-6%. The content of fatty oil in fruits reaches 22%, and protein - 15-20%. In addition, the fruits contain sitosterol and triterpene compounds, quercetin, kaempferol, tannins.
The main components of the essential oil are d-carvone (50-60%), d-limonene (30%), which cause the characteristic smell of the fruit, as well as carvacrol, linalool. The aroma of the essential oil is warm, spicy, slightly musky.
The fatty oil contains butyric (52%), linoleic (27%), palmitic, stearic, and linolenic acids.
Flavonoid compounds have also been found in the herb.
The essential oil has an antispasmodic effect on the gastrointestinal tract. Used for flatulence, colitis, gastritis, digestive disorders. Recommended to increase lactation in nursing mothers. It is considered a good adjuvant for joint diseases. When applied topically, it can cause irritation.
Diluted with oil - the base, cumin essential oil is used as rubbing for colds, as well as for skin and intestinal parasites (inside).
According to O.D. Barnaulov, cumin essential oil is a prophylactic agent against sclerosis, hemorrhagic strokes (apoplexy). It is effective for "black flies" (damage to the retina) in patients with diabetes, hypertension and atherosclerosis.
Tireless Colic Fighter
Caraway fruits as a medicinal raw material are included in the Pharmacopoeia of many countries of the world. Back in the English herbalist of 1652, N. Culpeper recommended this plant for bloating and as a diuretic.
Currently, it is used as an antispasmodic agent for indigestion, increased gas production, atony, intestinal colic, enteritis and fermentative dyspepsia. Together with other gastric remedies, caraway fruits are included in the collection to improve appetite and digestion. In the experiment, preparations from it showed diuretic properties and promoted the separation of mucus and sputum. The plant has a noticeable antispasmodic effect and relieves spasm of organs with smooth muscles (intestines, uterus, ureters). In terms of the choleretic effect, cumin is inferior to immortelle, but it may well be used as one of the components in choleretic collections.
In case of dyspepsia, you can use caraway liqueur as an aperitif.
With cholecystitis, it is recommended to mix in equal parts the powder of marjoram and caraway fruits. For pain, take with a teaspoon with a little water.
To stimulate appetite in folk medicine, use the fruit powder on the tip of a knife 20-30 minutes before meals.
Caraway is a recognized milk-producing agent, but more often it is used not separately, but together with the fruits of dill and fennel in the form of tea half an hour before feeding the child. To prepare this tea, take 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds or mixed with other plants. Pour a glass of boiling water, insist in a sealed enamel bowl for 15-20 minutes.
In folk medicine, cumin is added to blood-purifying fees, which normalize metabolic processes in the body.
The famous herbalists M.Nosal and I. Nosal recommend the following remedy: cut a cube in the upper part of the onion, pour caraway seeds into the hole, close with a cut piece, and bake in the oven. Squeeze the juice from the still hot onion. Put a few drops of juice into the ear canal and close it with a cotton swab. The procedure is repeated twice a day.
Cumin, unlike anise and fennel, reduces libido and is indicated for hypersexuality.
Not just for buns
As a spicy aromatic plant, caraway has been known since ancient times. Caraway oil is used in the food flavoring and medical industries, in soap making and perfumery. In medicine - as a means to improve appetite and digestion and to flavor medicines.
Caraway fruits are used in baking. Young leaves and fleshy caraway roots are widely used in cooking as a condiment. Ground seeds are used for cooking dishes that are not subject to heat treatment: cheeses, pates, salads. Unground seeds are added to soups, dough products. What could be better than cheese biscuits with caraway seeds for beer. And cabbage fermented with caraway gets a unique aroma.
Cumin mixed with garlic is essential when cooking lamb. The caraway fruit contains a fatty oil used for technical purposes. After skimming the fruit, the meal is a good concentrated feed for livestock. Caraway is sometimes sown with forage grasses to enhance the nutritional value and flavor of the hay. Dried plants cut during the flowering phase are widely used in veterinary medicine to normalize digestion.
About the cultivation of cumin - on the page of our encyclopedia Common caraway.
Caraway Seed Recipes:
- Fresh carrot salad with garlic and caraway seeds
- Homemade rye bread with caraway seeds, lean
- Spicy pork leg with cabbage and juniper
- Vegetable soup with mushrooms and celery
- Allsorts onion pie with marjoram and caraway seeds
- Easter tricolor butter bread
- New Year fish with champagne
- Pea soup with smoked meats, caraway seeds and coriander
- White cabbage, sauerkraut with caraway seeds and juniper
- Indian soup with pineapple, lime, cumin and ginger
