Caraway Carum carvi Probably the oldest herb known to Man, it has been in use since earliest times. Seeds have been found in the Swiss Mesolithic excavations dating back more than 8,000 years and is mentioned in ancient texts such as the Bible. It is unsure where it acquired its name, different sources indicating either karon from the Greek, or an ancient Arabic word for ‘seed’. The whole plant is edible and, in this country during the Middle Ages, the root was boiled and eaten as a vegetable and the leaves chopped and used in soups, broths and salads. In Elizabethan England caraway seed cakes, breads and biscuits were common and a tradition grew up whereby farm labourers were given caraway cakes after wheat sowing. This was probably linked to the folklore superstition that the seed was supposed to inspire loyalty and fidelity. Caraway seeds would be fed to livestock and poultry to prevent them wandering, woven into collars around their necks and caraway cakes would be placed in dovecotes and pigeon-lofts to ensure their return.. There was even a popular belief that anything containing caraway was protected from theft - even to the extent to believing that the culprit would be imprisoned at the scene until discovered - meant that it was secreted into many unexpected places, from treasure chests to husbands’ shirt-hems! Caraway was always included in village love potions. The flavouring is still very popular in Germany and Austria, where it is used in cakes, breads, sauerkraut, kummel and Munster cheese. Medicinally, caraway has been a long-standing remedy for indigestion. The seeds were infused to make teas, cordials and to make digestive sweets or ‘comfits’. Nicholas Culpeper, the herbalist and astrologer author of The English Physitian, (1652), wrote “The powder of the seed (caraway) put into a poultice taketh away black and blue spots of blows and bruises.” However, approbation has not always been widespread. Ogden Nash, for example, obviously wasn’t impressed: The Abbé Voltaire, alias Arouet, Never denounced the seed of the caraway; Sufficient proof, if proof we need, That he never bit into a caraway seed.’ The Caraway Seed Ayurveda lists caraway as warming and incorporate it into infusions with its cousins, aniseed and fennel, for chest and stomach complaints, used as an expectorant and for relief of flatulence. Unani Tibb, too, mentions its use for these purposes in addition to treating nausea and toothache. Modern European herbalists recommend using caraway to stimulate the appetite, relieve indigestion and to ease menstrual cramps. 1tsp caraway seeds weigh 2g and contain 2 kcalories, fats, carbohydrates, fibre, sodium, protein, vitamin A and iron.