Text by Ulrika Carlson-Nilsson

Caraway, not to be confused with cumin (Cuminum cyminum), is a biennial cross-pollinated plant belonging to the Apiaceae family. Caraway is native to Europe, but also to western Asia and North Africa. Its natural habitats are well drained sunny meadows, hills and roadsides but it can also be found naturalized around old crofts and farm houses. Wild caraway can be frequently found in all Nordic countries except in the most northern parts. There are about 192 species of Carum in the world but Carum carvi is the most important economically worldwide.  

The use of caraway as digestive aid was first mentioned in an Egyptian papyrus writing about 1500 B.C. According to Dioscorides (A.D. 40-90), a Greek physician and author of medicine literature, caraway also among other things helps against flatulence. It was a common cultivated plant in medieval monastery gardens and French as well as German traditional folk medicine prescribes warm caraway pouches to relieve tooth- and head ace. Tea made of caraway stimulates appetite as well as increase milk production of breast feeding women. Today’s research has confirmed that caraway indeed possesses many medical properties. 

Carum carvi is used in a number of different ways worldwide depending on region. In the Nordic countries it is a well-known spice for example in bread and cheese. It is also used in different dishes with cabbage as sauerkraut and cabbage soup. Another typical products including caraway is Scandinavian Akvavit, including Icelandic Brennvin, and several liqueurs.  

First year the caraway plant only develops a leaf rosette and second year a 30-60 cm flower stem is produced. The fruits, often erroneously called seeds, mature in late summer. They have a distinct warm, slightly sweet, sharp but pleasant aroma. Even if it is most often the dried fruits that are used, also the young leaves can be utilized, for example in soups. They can also be eaten fresh or dried in about the same way as parsley. The young roots can be cooked as a vegetable just like parsnip. The flavor and aroma in caraway comes from essential oils, mostly carvone, limonene and anethole. The oil is used as a fragrance component in soaps, lotions and perfumes but can also be included for flavoring of medicine and sweets. 

Netherlands, Finland, Poland, and Canada are the major producers of caraway. In 2016 Finland supplied around 30 percent of the worldwide crop. The Finnish summers with long, light summer nights is perfect for a high quality caraway production with high flavor and essential oil content. It has been shown that caraway grown in northern latitudes yields higher quantities of volatile oil than if cultivated in warmer climates.  

References 

Handbook of Herbs and Spices. 2012. Vol. 2. Peter, K.V. Woodhead Publishing Series in Food Science, Technology and Nutrition 

Yle Uutiset https://yle.fi/uutiset/osasto/news/finnish_farms_look_to_caraway/9066667 

Encyclopaedia Brittanica https://www.britannica.com/plant/caraway 

Stora Örtaboken. Hoppe, E. 1985. ICA bokförlag 

Läkeväxter i färg. Wendelberger, E. 1982. Bonnier Fakta 

Örtagården. Johnson, E. 1975. Föreningen Gamla Linköping