Caraway (carum carvi)

A hardy biennial plant, native to Southern Europe, Asia and India, that produces black seeds which taste rather like aniseed or fennel. The seeds have a carminative effect, and are used in homoepathic remedies. The leaves, picked before the flower stalks have begun to shoot, can be put into salads and used to flavour soups.

It is particularly popular in Germany and Holland, where it"s used in bread, biscuits and cakes, as well as in sauerkraut and as the main flavouring in Kummel - a German liqueur.

Caraway grows well in this country, if planted in free-draining soil. It can be grown in a pot, but looks rather leggy and unattractive. See 'Caraway; Culinary uses'