Anethum graveolens UMBELLIFERAE
The first historfcal references to dill go back to records found in the Egyptian tombs. Physicians used it then in the same manner and for the same purpose as we do now, as a powerful digestive aid.
The herb is an annual, and can be grown easily from seed sown right through from spring to autumn. In warm areas it can be sown all the year round. If you let one plant flower and set seed, you will find a few small seedlings around the area the following season. Like all the Umbelliferae (of which the carrot is a member), dill produces a prodigious quantity of seeds from each plant, and these are the part of the herb most commonly used therapeutically.
Dill-water is just as effective nowadays as it was in grandmother’s day, and is possibly even more useful to us with our richer foods and more artificial diet. Soak 1 oz. of bruised dill seeds in 1 pint of cold water for 6 hours, then sweeten to taste with honey. Give one tablespoon to adults, 1 teaspoon to children, to relieve indigestion.
The plant is very attractive, growing to about 3 feet high, with the typical lacy foliage and umbrella-shaped heads of gold flowers. There is a delicate bluish tint to the mature leaves, and when the seed is ripe, the leaves turn purple. Full sunshine suits it best, with plenty of water and good drainage. Do not grow it too close to fennel or angelica, for these relations will cross-pollinate and may lose their own individual flavours. Gather the seed heads when ripe (the seeds will be darkish mauve-brown, with lighter ribs), and store until needed in sealed glass jars. The usual method of separating the seeds from the stems is to rub the stalks with the hands inside a large plastic bag. Dill seed can keep its germinating power up to ten years, so one original plant can provide seeds to give you a constant supply for many years.
Dill contains potassium, sodium, sulphur and phosphorus, and has a very distinctive slightly metallic taste. The leaves are used, too, by Continental cooks, and are added to goulash and many fish and vegetable dishes, as well as being used to garnish hors-d’oeuvre and smorgasbord delicacies. Crab and lobster meat seem to me natural partners for dill’s astringent flavour, and it helps, of course, in the digestion of the raw vegetables so often found in Scandinavian recipes.
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