Botany of caraway seeds
Scientific name of caraway seed is Carum carvi Linn. Caraway seeds in tamil, telugu, and malayalam
Two species Apium carvi (L) Crantz and Seseli carvi (L) Lam
Family of caraway is umbelliferae
Caraway seeds in local languages
Caraway seeds in Bengali – fira or zira
Caraway seed in hindi – Shia jira or Siya Zira
Caraway seeds in kannada – Shime jeerige
Caraway seeds in malayalam – Shima jirakam
Caraway seeds in telugu – Sima jirakaia
caraway seeds in tamil
Caraway seeds in tamil – Shimai Shembu
Caraway seeds in Sanskrit – Sushavi
Caraway seeds in marathi – Wilayati Zirah
Caraway seeds in kashmiri – Gunyun
Caraway or Caraway seeds botany and distribution
Caraway, or ‘Caraway seed’ of commerce, is the fruit of a biennial herb known botanically as Carum carvi, Linn. Caraway seed is a native of North and Central Europe. Caraway seeds grow wild in India in the north Himalayan regions however its production is not enough to meet India’s requirements.
Caraway flowers are borne in flat compound umbels, the fruit, when ripe, splits into narrow, elongated carpels 4 to 6.5 mm long, curved, pointed at the ends, and with five longitudinal ridges on the surface. Caraway seed is available whole or ground. The seeds, on steam distillation, yield an aromatic essential oil (4-6%) which finds greater use in medicine than the seeds as such.
In India, the caraway seeds are collected before ripening. Well-ripened fruits may also be reaped in the early mornings when the plants are bathed in dew; otherwise many seeds fall during harvesting itself and is considered as a bad practice.Caraway seed yield may be as high as 1000 kg per acre on rich soils so it depends on the soils it is grown.
Caraway seed chemical composition
Component | In percentage |
---|---|
Moisture content in caraway seed | 4.5% |
Protein content in caraway seed | 7.6% |
Fat content in caraway seed | 8.8% |
Fiber content in caraway seed | 25.2% |
Carbohydrate content in caraway seed | 50.2% |
Calorific value in caraway seed per 100 gm of spice | 465 kcal |
Caraway uses
Caraway seeds find large-scale application in the flavoring of seeds and also has a variety of medicinal uses. The wide uses of caraway seed has been explained below –
In flavoring of foods
Caraway seed is used as a spice for culinary purposes and for flavoring bread, biscuits, cakes, and cheese. Caraway seed is used in the manufacture of Kummel and as an ingredient of sausage seasoning and pickling spice.
Medicinal uses
- Caraway seed is used as a mild stomachic and carminative, occasionally used in flatulent colic, and as an adjuvant or corrective for medicines.
- Carvone isolated from caraway oil is used as an anthelmintic in hookworm disease.
- Caraway seed is also used to correct the nauseating and griping effects of medicines.
- Caraway seeds are also used in the treatment of scabies
For scenting soaps
When employed for the scenting of soaps, the soap gives the characteristic smell of carvone. Usually employed in making inferior scenting soaps.
Benefits of caraway seeds
Video explaining how to prevent bloating using caraway seeds from ComfortLifechannel.
Frequent;y asked questions
Caraway seeds in tamil
caraway seeds in tamil is Shimai Shembu
caraway seeds in telugu
Caraway seeds in telugu is Sima jirakaia
caraway seeds in malayalam
Caraway seeds in malayalam is Shima jirakam
Caraway seeds wiki
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