Dill promoted digestion and soothed the stomachs of Assyrians and later Egyptians, Romans and Greeks and eventually northern Europeans.
Pedanius Dioscorides (40 – 90 AD) described the medicinal value of the dill plant: The decoction of the tops of dried dill and likewise of the feed being drunken, ingendreth milke in the breath of nurses, allayeth the gripping and wind, provoketh urine increase and detroyeth the hiccups.
Dill seed |
Dill weed |
In 1640 an English writer noted that dill ‘….is put among pickled Cowcumbers, wherewith it doth very well agree, giving unto the cold fruit a pretty, spice taste or relish.’
Although at one time dill had medicinal uses, they have been forgotten over the years. Today, dill seed is used as a pickling spice, while dill weed, the light, feathery leaves is used to favor fish sauce and salad dressing.
History of dill and dill weed