Organic Caraway Seeds Standard - 50g Steenbergs details and description

Steenbergs Organic Caraway Seeds are the fruits of the caraway plant.  Organic caraway seeds are dark brown seeds with 5 strongly defined ribs from end to end.  Organic caraway seeds from Steenbergs has the classic warming aromas of caraway - warm, earthy, bittersweet with hints of anise and fennel, which come through particularly in their taste. 

The distinctive flavour of organic caraway is really popular throughout European cooking.  Organic caraway has long been known for its ability to aid digestion and is often added to foods that are difficult to digest such as cabbage, duck and goose.

Caraway is a biennial plant that grows about 60cm high (24 inches) and has pale-green, finely defined leaves on hollow steams,  The flowers are white tinged with pink and umbrella shaped, with similar shape to those of carrots.  The root is thick and tapering and is pale in colour and has a similar flavour the the seeds.  To prepare the caraway seeds, the seed heads are harvested while covered in dew to keep the seeds in the heads.  The complete stalks are stored in a dry place for 7-10 days to dry through, before threshing to remove the seeds.  The seeds are 5mm long and are split into two crescent-shaped, dark-brown seeds.  The taste of caraway seeds is warm, earthy, bittersweet and nutty with hints of anise and eucalyptus.   Caraway is indigenous to all of Europe, as well as North Africa, Asia and into India; the Netherlands is the largest grower of caraway seed.  For more information on caraway fruit, try Wikipedia.

In cooking, caraway is used in cheese across Europe, and Sophie and I especially love Dutch gouda with caraway seeds in it.  The taste of the caraway offsets the fatty richness of cheese very well, and this digestive quality means that caraway has a great affinity with pork and sausages.  But it also works well with cabbage and at Steenbergs we use it in our organic garam masala and organic harissa amongst other blends.  It is often found in rye breads and other continental European breads, so try it drizzled through bread dough. 

Steenbergs Organic Caraway Seeds are available online at www.steenbergs.co.uk or Amazon.  Alternatively, many of our retail stockists take organic caraway seeds; for stockist enquiries for organic caraway or organic spices, please call 01765 640 088 or email to enquiries@steenbergs.co.uk.