Caraway
A crescent-shaped seed with a sharp, rye-bread flavour, central in Central European cooking.
Also: Carum carvi, shahi jeera of Europe, kummel, siya jeera
Caraway is the seed of Carum carvi, a biennial plant of the carrot family native to Europe and western Asia. The curved brown seeds taste of anise and citrus, with a bite from carvone. It flavours rye bread, German and Austrian sauerkraut, Hungarian goulash, Irish seed cake and the liqueur kummel. In North Africa it is part of harissa, in Tunisian cooking it goes into soups, and in Kashmir the name shahi jeera sometimes refers to it. Cooks often confuse caraway with cumin, which is hotter and earthier. Lightly crush the seed to release more aroma.