Caraway is best known as the seed that that flavors rye bread. The reason that it’s in rye bread, as well as many other foods, is that it has been used since ancient times to calm the digestive tract and expel gas.
Carum carvi L., caraway is believed to have been cultivated and consumed in Europe longer, than any other spices species. Seed, found in ancient debris in Switzerland should be a proof for it. It has been found in prehistoric foods remains from 3500 B.C. The ancient Egyptians loved the aromatic seeds. They were recommended for digestive upsets in their medical documents dating 1500 B.C. Cultivation is known since the Middle Ages, from Sicily to northern Scandinavia.The Greek physician Dioscorides mentioned the seeds to aid digestion, and herbals down though the ages have recommended them for indigestion, gas, and infant colic.
Pliny states that it derives its name from its native country, Caria, and that it is chiefly used in the culinary art. The Italians call it Caro, the Spanish Caravea, the French Carvi, the English Caruwie, now corrupted to Caraway.
Caraway was initially brought to Britain by the Romans, but was not cultivated until much later. Caraway spread up the Nile valley from Egypt to the Sudan and it has been found cultivated only as a garden herb in East Africa.
In the Middle Ages in England, chopped caraway leaves were added to soups and salads, but the seed was more highly regarded as a medicine than a spice.
Throughout the history, in Europe, the Middle East, and early America, caraway was a favorite addition to laxative herbs because it tempered their frequently violent effects.
History of Caraway
