Caraway Seeds

Caraway Seeds are the small brown crescents of Carum carvi, native to Western Asia, Europe and Northern Africa. They taste anise-like with a peppery warmth behind it and a bittersweet sharpness that separates them from fennel, which is rounder and sweeter, and from cumin, which is smokier.

These are the whole seeds. Ameen also sells caraway already ground, which is the one to reach for when you want the flavour through a batter or a rub without the crunch.

Each seed is a slender, ridged crescent, brown with paler ridges and smaller than a grain of rice. Crushed, the seeds release a warm, resinous aroma with notes of anise and citrus peel. The spice is sold as caraway seed, kummel in German, siya jeera in Hindi and alcaravea in Spanish, and it is often confused with cumin or fennel seed although the flavour is distinct. Caraway is traditionally used in German, Austrian and Hungarian cooking, in goulash, sausages and cheeses, and to flavour kummel liqueur.

How to use them

Caraway belongs in rye and pumpernickel bread, in Eastern European sauerkraut and in North African harissa. The seeds work in cabbage dishes, pork and potato, and they turn up speckled through sweet baked goods where their sharpness cuts the sugar. They are also chewed after a meal to freshen the breath. Technique tip: toast them in a dry pan for under a minute before use and the nutty, earthy tones come forward.

Details

Also known as

Central Asian Cumin, Meridian Fennel, European Caraway, Kummel, Alcaravea, كراوية, Siya jeera, Carvi