Dill

Dill is a slender, feathery annual that grows roughly one metre tall and ends in flat umbrella-shaped flower heads, called umbels, of tiny yellow blossoms. What are sold as dill seeds are really the dried fruits (technically half-fruits, or mericarps) of the plant. Each one is small, oval and flattened, tan to brown in colour, with pale narrow ridges running along its length and a thin winged edge.

The flavour is clean, warm and slightly sweet, close to caraway but fresher and with a grassy, anise-like note. It is sold whole, which keeps its aroma best, or crushed and ground. Dill seed is also pressed or steam-distilled to make an essential oil. The leafy tops, known as dill weed, taste lighter and are sold separately as a fresh or dried herb.

Dill is generally thought to have originated in the Mediterranean region and parts of southwestern Asia, although the plant has been spread so widely by cultivation that its exact native range is hard to pin down. It has been grown in gardens and fields in Europe, the Middle East and India for many centuries, and it now naturalises easily on disturbed ground.

The English word comes from Old English dile, a word shared with the related Germanic languages (German Dill, Swedish dill). The old Norse and Anglo-Saxon forms are sometimes linked to a root meaning to soothe or lull, which fits the long folk use of the seed as a calming remedy for babies and upset stomachs, though the exact etymology is uncertain. The species name graveolens is Latin for strong-smelling.

Dill has a long record in human history. Seeds and references to the plant turn up in the ancient Mediterranean and Near East, and it was valued both as a flavouring and as a household medicine. In the Roman world it was used in cooking and in garlands, and in medieval Europe it had a place in folk belief, where it was hung or carried as a charm against witchcraft and ill luck.

Because the seeds travel and keep well, dill became a standard crop wherever cooks wanted a preserving spice. In Central and Eastern Europe and Scandinavia it became inseparable from pickled cucumbers, fish curing, rye bread and cabbage dishes. Settlers carried it to North America, where it found a lasting home in dill pickle recipes. In India it is known as sowa or suva and appears in regional breads and curries, and Indian agricultural institutes list it among the minor seed spices that are grown commercially.

In European herbal tradition, gripe water for infants and dill water for colic were made from the seeds, and the plant's name is often linked in folk etymology with soothing. Today dill seed is produced on a commercial scale in India, Egypt, Pakistan, Europe and North America for the spice trade and for the essential oil used in food flavouring and soap.

In the kitchen, whole dill seed is a core pickling spice, going into brines for cucumbers, beets and cabbage as well as sauerkraut. It adds a gentle anise-caraway taste to rye and other savoury breads, potato salads, soups, fish dishes and vegetable stews. Seeds are often toasted briefly in a dry pan to bring out their aroma, then used whole or lightly crushed.

In India, dill seed (suva) is used in some spice blends and is brewed into a simple tea, and after-meal chewing of aromatic seeds is a familiar custom across South Asia. Traditionally the seeds have been steeped in hot water as a digestive tea or gripe water. Beyond the kitchen, dill essential oil is used to scent soaps and to flavour pickles and other processed foods. Gardeners also grow dill to attract beneficial insects such as hoverflies.

Dill seed has a long traditional use as a carminative, meaning a remedy for gas and bloating, and as a mild digestive aid. Laboratory studies have found essential oils and flavonoid compounds in the seed, including carvone and limonene, that show antioxidant and antimicrobial activity in test settings. Small studies in people are limited, and results so far are not strong enough to treat the seed as a medicine.

As a food, it contributes small amounts of fibre, calcium and iron in the amounts normally eaten, but spice quantities are tiny. Treat any claims about lowering blood sugar, cholesterol or blood pressure as preliminary; they come mainly from animal or small human studies.