Dill

Dill
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Apiales Family: Apiaceae Genus: Anethum L. Species: A. graveolens
Binomial name
Anethum graveolens L.

Dill is the common name for an aromatic perennial herbaceous plant, Anethum graveolens, in the parsley family (Apiaceae), characterized by slender stems, finely divided leaves, and small white to yellow flowers in small umbles. Dill is the sole species of the genus Anethum, though classified by some botanists in a related genus as Peucedanum graveolens.

Dill is a popular commercial plant for culinary purposes, as well as used medicinally. Its dried fruit, known as dill seeds, is used as a spice; its strong pungent and bitter taste finds its chief use in flavoring pickles (dill pickles) and sauces and making dill vinegar. The leaves, known as dill weed or dill, are used as herbs; their distinctive flavor, mainly in fresh form, but also used dried, is used in flavoring salads, meats, vegetables, and sauces. An essential oil from the fruit (dill seed oil) and leaf (dill leaf oil) also are used for various purposes, such as food flavoring, medicines, and perfuming soaps.

Overview and description

Dill is part of the flowering plant family Apiaceae (or Umbelliferae), a group of usually aromatic plants with hollow stems and radially symmetrical small flowers with 5 small sepals, 5 petals and 5 stamens. In addition to dill, members of this family include such well-known members as parsley, cumin, carrot, caraway, fennel, parsnip, celery, and Queen Anne's Lace.

Dill grows to 40 to 60 centimeters (16–24 inches), with slender stems and alternate, finely divided, softly delicate leaves 10 to 20 centimeters (3.9–7.9 inches) long. The ultimate leaf divisions are 1 to 2 millimeters (0.039–0.079 inches) broad, slightly broader than the similar leaves of fennel, which are threadlike, less than 1 millimeters (0.039 inchs) broad, but harder in texture. The flowers are white to yellow, in small umbels 2 to 9 centimeters (0.79–3.5 inches) in diameter.

The "dill seed" is actually the dried fruit of the plant, and is flat, oval, and tan to dark brown. The "seeds" are 4 to 5 millimeters (0.16 to 0.20 inches) long and 1 millimeter (0.039 inches) thick, and straight to slightly curved with a longitudinally ridged surface.

Name

The name dill is thought to have originated from a Norse or Anglo-Saxon word 'dylle' meaning to soothe or lull, the plant having the carminative property of relieving gas.

The leaves, common known as dill weed (dillweed), also are known as leaf dill. Likewise, the dried fruits, known as dill seed, also is known as seed dill. In the northeastern U.S. and adjoining parts of Canada, the seed of dill is sometimes known as "meeting-seed." This expression originates with the Puritans and Quakers, who would give their children dill seeds to chew during long church meetings, due to dill's mild hunger-suppressant qualities.

In some English-speaking countries, dill is sometimes called dillby. In some Asian local languages it is called as "shepu" or "sowa." In Kannada it is called Sapseege soppu (ಸಪ್ಪಸೀಗೆ ಸೊಪ್ಪು). The term dill weed to refer to a person is sometimes used as a euphemism in the United States and Canada for more vulgar terms of contempt.

In Vietnam, dill is named "thì là." There exists a fable in which God accidentally names the plant "it is" (thì là) (Anh 2006).

History of cultivation and use

Dried dill umbel

Dill is native to Eastern Europe. Zohary and Hopf (2000) remark that "wild and weedy types of dill are widespread in the Mediterranean basin and in West Asia."

Although several twigs of dill were found in the tomb of Amenhotep II, they report that the earliest archeological evidence for its cultivation comes from late Neolithic lake shore settlements in Switzerland (Zohary and Hopf 2000). Traces have been found in Roman ruins in Great Britain.

In Semitic languages, it is known by the name of Shubit. The Talmud requires that tithes shall be paid on the seeds, leaves, and stem of dill. The Bible states that the Pharisees were in the habit of paying dill as tithe (Matthew 23:23); Jesus rebuked them for tithing dill (and mint and cummin) but omitting justice, mercy, and faithfulness.

Cultivation

Successful cultivation requires warm to hot summers with high sunshine levels; even partial shade will reduce the yield substantially. Dill also prefers rich, well drained soil. The seeds are viable for 3 to 10 years. Plants intended for seed for further planting should not be grown near fennel, as the two species can hybridize.

The seed (fruit) is harvested by cutting the flower heads off the stalks when they begin to ripen. The seed heads are placed upside down in a paper bag and left in a warm dry place for a week. The seeds then separate from the stems easily for storage in an airtight container.

Uses

Fresh and dried dill leaves (sometimes called "dill weed" to distinguish it from dill seed) are used as herbs.

Like caraway, its fernlike leaves are aromatic, and are used to flavor many foods, such as gravlax (cured salmon), borscht and other soups, and pickles (where sometimes the dill flower is used). Dill is said to be best when used fresh, as it loses its flavor rapidly if dried; however, freeze-dried dill leaves preserve their flavor relatively well for a few months.

In Vietnam, dill is the important herb in the dish cha ca.

Dill seed is used as a spice, with a flavor somewhat similar to caraway, but also resembling that of fresh or dried dill weed.

Dill oil can be extracted from the leaves, stems and seeds of the plant.

Dill seeds were traditionally used to soothe the stomach after meals.

External links

• Plants for a Future: Anethum graveolens
• 'A Modern Herbal' (Grieves, 1931)
• Jepson Manual Treatment
• USDA Plants Profile
• GRIN Species Profile

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

Anh. 2006. Wednesday, November 08, 2006 WHB #58 – Doing the Vietnamese Way!

• Bender, D. A., and A. E. Bender. 2005. A Dictionary of Food and Nutrition. New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198609612

cyprus, S. 2009. [ http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-difference-between-dill-seed-and-dill-weed.htm What is the Difference Between Dill Seed and Dill Weed?

• Herbst, S. T. 2001. The New Food Lover's Companion: Comprehensive Definitions of Nearly 6,000 Food, Drink, and Culinary Terms. Barron's Cooking Guide. Hauppauge, NY: Barron's Educational Series. ISBN 0764112589

• Zohary, D., and M. Hopf. 2000. Domestication of Plants in the Old World. Oxford: University Press. ISBN 0198503571

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