Caraway cumin( Carum carvi)

A biennial umbelliferous plant 30 to 100 cm high. Cumin was used in the Neolithic Age. This is the oldest spicy plant, the seeds of which were found during archaeological excavations in structures dating back to the third millennium BC.Homeland caraway is considered Northern and Central Europe.

Description

The stem is bare, furrowed and branched. Leaves are double or triple, pinnately divided. Their leaves are pinnately divided into linear lobes. Flowers are collected in umbrellas. Blooms in May and June. The fruit is a two-seeded, gray-brown color that breaks into halves. Among the cumin varieties, you should especially measure Khmelnitsky - a variety with abundant greens and a good yield of seeds, and Podolsky.

Composition

Fruits contain 3-7% essential oil, the main component of which is carvone, 10-20% fatty oil, proteins, tarry substances, sugar. The most important components of essential oil are carvone and limonene. Cumin leaves are rich in vitamins and minerals.

Cultivation of

Cumin is not exacting for heat, seeds germinate even at soil temperature of 7-10 ° C.Being a frost-resistant plant it can tolerate frosts to -25 ° C even in snowless winters. Cumin refers to light and moisture-loving crops. High yields on loamy and sandy loam soils, well seasoned with organic fertilizers. Swampy heavy acidic soils are not suitable for cumin. Cumin plantings are placed after the crops under which manure was applied, compost. Caraway seeds are sown early in the spring or at the end of summer in well-treated soil in rows with a distance between them of 40 cm. Before sowing the seeds, it is recommended to soak and germinate. Seedlings will appear after 6-10 days. Plants with 2-3 leaves thin out in a row for a distance of 15-20 cm. In the first year, cumin grows slowly. Care consists of loosening the soil between the rows, weeding. Due to the cold resistance, cumin, even in severe snowless winters, can remain in the open ground without shelter. In the second year of vegetation, cumin grows rapidly in the spring and forms a large rosette of leaves. Once the soil is ready for processing, they begin to loosen it, loosening is repeated 2-3 times during the summer. After 20-30 days from the beginning of the regrowth, flower-bearing stems are formed, and in 10-15 days the plants bloom. Fruit ripening begins in July.

Collection of

The harvest of leaves and young shoots is removed in May-June, and seeds - in August in the second year of culture. The fruits( seeds) of caraway seeds are removed in the phase of stirring. Seeds ripen unevenly and easily crumble. Cut plants are bundled and left for pro-drying, then threshed. Thawed seeds are cleaned and dried in air. Seeds are harvested in dry, warm weather.

Medicinal properties

In the pharmaceutical industry, cumin is used for the preparation of galenic anti-flatulence drugs that stimulate the formation of milk in lactating women and strengthen the stomach. Preparations from caraway are prescribed for violations of bowel function and diseases such as colitis and enteritis. Cumin stops fermentation in the intestine. Its fruits improve the separation of bile, stimulate intestinal peristalsis, increase appetite, they are used for inflammatory diseases of the respiratory system. Cumin fruits include in the composition of many medicinal charges( for example, gastric, appetizing, laxative, etc.).In folk medicine, cumin is used for spasms of the digestive organs and for headaches. As a spice, it facilitates the digestion of fatty and heavy meals.

Application

Cumin has an intense spicy and even spicy taste, a spicy odor. Often included in the composition of spicy mixtures, used in whole or ground form. Ground cumin is added to dishes that do not undergo heat treatment - salads, pates, cheeses, etc.

RECIPES

Caraway Kvass

30-50 g of cumin, 1 kg of black bread, 25 g yeast, 1/2 kg of granulated sugar,10 L of water

Cut black bread into small pieces and dry. Boil water, pour it with dried bread and leave for 3-4 hours, then drain. Then add the yeast, sugar, cumin and put in a warm place for fermentation. After 2-3 days, when the fermentation is over, drain kvass. Ready kvass store in a cool place.

Milk and vegetable soup with cumin

2 liters of milk, 1/2 cup of buckwheat( can be replaced with pearl barley), 1 rutabaga, 3-4 potatoes, 3 tbsp.l.butter, 1 / 2-1 tsp.cumin, 2 tsp.dill, 0,5 l of water

Boil the buckwheat in water until half-ready, add sliced ​​slices, salt and cook for about 10-15 minutes. Then add potatoes, cumin and cook until the vegetables are ready. Then pour in the milk, allow to boil and add butter, dill greens. In the form of seeds, caraway seeds are used to make various dough products, add to red beets, fresh and sauerkraut, various marinades, potatoes, soups, salads, cheeses, sausages, all kinds of fatty meat, cottage cheese, fish, especially boiled,to crayfish and carrots, to mushroom soups, soup with cumin, borsch and goulash. Without caraway and garlic, cooking lamb is unthinkable. The taste of rye bread without adding cumin would also lose its charm. Cumin fruits are used in the preparation of kvass and beer. Without caraway can not do with pickling cucumbers and tomatoes. Cumin leaves have a spicy taste and a weak aroma. Young leaves, the top of the shoots and roots in fresh form are added to salads, soups, stewed meat dishes.