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Caraway ( Carum carvi), also known as meridian fennel, is a biennial plant in the family Apiaceae, native to western Asia, Europe, and North Africa.
The plant prefers warm, sunny locations and well-drained soil rich in organic matter. In warmer regions, it is planted in the winter as an annual. In temperate climates, it is planted as a summer annual or biennial.
It is widely established as a cultivated plant. The Netherlands, Poland and Germany are the top caraway producers. Finland supplies about 28% (2011) of the world's caraway production from some 1500 farms, the high output occurring possibly from its favorable climate and latitudes, which ensure long summer hours of sunlight.
identified in caraway seed oil include thymol, o-cymene, terpinene, trimethylene dichloride, β-pinene, 2-(1-cyclohexenyl), cyclohexanone, β-phellandrene, 3-carene, Thujene, and linalool.
Caraway may be used in desserts, , , and other foods. Its leaves can be added to salads, stews, and soups, and are sometimes consumed as herbs, either raw, dried, or cooked, similar to parsley. The root is consumed as a winter root vegetable in some places, similar to parsnips.
Caraway fruits are found in diverse and dishes, for example sauerkraut, and the United Kingdom's caraway seed cake. In Austrian cuisine, it is used to season beef and, in German cuisine, pork. In Hungarian cuisine, it is added to goulash, and in Norwegian cuisine and Swedish cuisine, it is used for making caraway black bread.
Caraway oil is used to for the production of Kümmel liquor in Germany and Russia, Scandinavian akvavit, and Icelandic brennivín. Caraway can be infused in a variety of cheeses, such as havarti and bondost to add flavor. In Latvian cuisine, whole caraway seeds are added to the Jāņi sour milk cheese. In Oxford, where the plant appeared to have become naturalised in a meadow, the seeds were formerly offered on a tray by publicans to people who wished to disguise the odour of their drinker's breath.Mabey R. 1996. Flora Britannica. Sinclair-Stevenson
Nutrition
Caraway seeds are 10% water, 50% , 20% protein, and 15% fat (table). In a reference amount, caraway seeds are a rich source (20% or more of the Daily Value, DV) of protein, B vitamins (24–33% DV), vitamin C (25% DV), and several dietary minerals, especially iron (125% DV), phosphorus (81% DV), and zinc (58% DV) (table).
Phytochemicals
When ground, caraway seeds yield up to 7.5% of volatile oil, mostly Carvone, and 15% fixed oil of which the major fatty acids are oleic acid, linoleic acid, petroselinic, and palmitic acid acids. (2025). 9780857090393, Woodhead Publishing Limited. ISBN 9780857090393
Uses
The fruits, usually used whole, have a pungent, anise-like flavor and aroma that comes from essential oils, mostly carvone, limonene, and anethole. Caraway is used as a spice in , especially rye bread. Rodale's Illustrated Encyclopedia of Herbs A common use of caraway is whole as an addition to rye bread – often called seeded rye or Jewish rye bread (see Borodinsky bread). Caraway seeds are often used in Irish soda bread and other baked goods.
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