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Dill (Anethum graveolens L.)

Synonyms

botanical Peucedanum graveolens (L.) C.B. Clarke
pharmaceuticalFructus Anethi
AlbanianKopër, Kopra
Amharicእንስላል
Insilal
Arabicشبث, شبت
شَبَث, شِبِتّ
Shabath, Shibitt, Sjachet, Sjamar
ArmenianՍամիթ
Samit
AzeriŞüyüd, Şüyüd göyərti
Шүјүд, Шүјүд ҝөјәрти
BasqueAneta, Esamillo
BelarusianКроп
Krop
Bengaliদিল্
Dil
BretonFanouilh-gad
BulgarianКопър
Kopur
BurmeseSamin
CatalanAnet
Chakma𑄜𑄪𑄎𑄨
Fuji, Phuji (Identification dubious)
Chinese
(Cantonese)
歐洲蒔蘿 [ngāu jàu sìh lòh], 蒔蘿 [sìh lòh]
Ngau jau sih loh, Sih loh
Chinese
(Mandarin)
歐洲蒔蘿 [ōu zhōu shì luó], 蒔蘿 [shì luó], 莳萝 [shí luó], 土茴香 [tǔ huí xiāng]
Ou zhou shi luo, Shi luo, Tu hui xiang
Copticⲁⲙⲓⲥⲓ, ⲁⲙⲓⲍⲟⲛ, ⲉⲙⲓⲥⲉ, ⲉⲙⲕⲏ, ⲙⲓⲥⲉ
Amisi, Amizon, Emise, Emke, Mise
CroatianKopar, Mirođija
CzechKopr, Kopr vonný, Celer hlíznatý, Celer bulvový, Celer naťový, Celer řapíkatý
DanishDild
Dhivehiދަމުއި
Dhamui
DutchDille, Stinkende vinke
EsperantoAneto
Farsiشبت, شوید
Shebet, Sheveed, Shiwit
FinnishTilli, Ryytitilli
FrenchAneth odorant, Fenouil bâtard
EstonianAedtill, Till
GaelicDile
GalicianEneldo
Georgianკამა, ოკროპი, ცერეცო
K’ama, Kama, Ok’rop’i, Okropi; Tseretso (fruits)
GermanDill, Gurkenkraut
GreekΆνηθος
Anithos
Greek (Old)Ἄνησον, Ἄνητον
Aneson, Aneton
Gujaratiસુવા
Suva
Hebrewשבת ריחני, שמיר
שֶׁבֶת רֵיחָנִי, שָׁמִיר
Shamir, Shevet rehani
Hindiसोवा, सोया
Sowa, Sova, Soa, Soya
HungarianKapor
IcelandicDill, Sólselja
IndonesianAdas manis, Adas cina, Adas sowa, Ender
IrishLus mín
ItalianAneto
Japaneseディル, イノンド
Diru, Inondo
Kannadaಸಬ್ಬಸಿಗಿ ಸೊಪ್ಪು, ಸಬ್ಬಸಿಗೆ ಬೀಜ
Sabbasigi soppu (Kraut), Sabbasige bija (Früchte)
KazakhАскөк, Ораздық
Askök, Orazdıq
Korean, 이논드
Tir, Inondu
Laoຜັກຊີ
Pak si
LatinAnethum, Anetum
LatvianDilles
LithuanianKrapai, Paprastasis krapai
MacedonianКопра, Мирудија
Kopra, Mirudija
MalayAdas china, Adas pudus, Ender
Malayalamചതകുപ്പ
Chathakuppa
Manipuri (Meitei-Lon)পাখোন
ꯄꯥꯈꯣꯟ
Pakhon
MongolianНогоон гоньд
Nogoon gon’d
Nepaliसोफ, नेपाली सोफ, सोया
Sof, Nepali sof, Soya
Newari
(Nepalbhasa)
सोफ, चेप्ता सोफ
Sof, Chepta sof
NorwegianDill
OssetianХъонтхора
Qontxora
PashtoShabit
PolishKoper ogrodowy
PortugueseEndro, Aneto
RomanianMărar
RussianУкроп
Ukrop
SerbianКопар, Мирођија, Дил
Kopar, Mirođija, Dil
Sinhalaඈඳුරු, ශත පුෂ්ප, සතකුප්ප
Enduru, Shatapushpa, Satakuppa
SlovakKôpor voňavý, Kôpor, Kopr
SlovenianKoper
SpanishHinojo hediondo, Abesón, Aneldo, Eneldo
SwedishDill
TajikШибит
Shibit
Tamilசதகுப்பி, குப்பை
Sataguppi, Guppai
Teluguశతపుష్పము, వకతరహా తోటకూర
Shatapushpamu, Vakataraha
Thaiดิล, ผักชีลาว, เทียนข้าวเปลือก, เทียนตาตั๊กแตน
Dil, Pak chi lao, Thian-khaoplueak, Thian-tataktaen
TurkishDereotu, Şibit†, Börek otu, Fena kokulu rezene, Tarak otu, Tarhana otu, Turak otu tohumu
UkrainianКріп, Кріп запашний, Укріп, Копер
Krip, Krip zapashnyj, Ukrip, Koper
UzbekUkrop, Shivit, Khushbo’y shivid
Укроп, Шивит, Хушбўй шивид
VietnameseTiêu hồi hương, Thì là
Tieu hoi huong, Thi la
Yiddishקאָפּער, קראָפּ, קריפּ, אוקראָפּ
Koper, Krop, Krip, Ukrop
Anethum graveolens: Dill leaf
Dill leaf
Anethum graveolens: Dill fruits
Dill fruits (often termed dill seeds)
Used plant part

Of dill, both the dried fruits (misnamed dill seeds) and the fresh or dried aerial parts (dill weed) are used. Fresh dill herb is much more aromatic than the dried one.

Plant family

Apiaceae (parsley family).

Sensory quality

Sweet and aromatic, intermediate between anise and caraway. The herb, especially when fresh, has a much sweeter fragrance than dried fruits. About anise-like flavourings, see cicely.

Anethum graveolens: Dill flower cluster
Dill umbels
Main con­stituents

The essen­tial oils from leaves (0.35%) and fruits (2 to 4%) differ slightly in com­position: In the fruit oil, the main components are carvone (40 to 60%) and limonene (40%), but other monoterpenes appear only in traces (phellandrene, carveol, terpinene and dihydrocarvone). In the leaf oil, the aroma is determined by carvone (30 to 40%), limonene (30 to 40%), phellandrene (10 to 20%) and other monoterpenes; dill ether (a monoterpene ether) is characteristic of dill leaf oil.

Oil from the fruits of Indian dill (Anethum sowa) contains the phenylpropanoid dill apiole (6-allyl-4,4-dimethoxy-1,3-benzodioxol).

Origin

Central Asia. A related species (A. sowa) is grown in India; its fruits are larger but less fragrant. Therefore, when dill is asked for by an Indian recipe, it is advisable to reduce the amount of dill by about 30 to 50%, unless the book was explicitly written for Westerners.

Most imported dill stems from Egypt, other Mediterranean countries or Eastern Europe.

Anethum graveolens: Dill plants in full flower
Dill plants
Anethum graveolens: Young dill inflorescence
Young dill umbel
Etymology

The name dill is probably related to Old Norse dilla calm, soothe; it has been suggested that dill was used to relieve stomach pain in babies (due to its antiflatulent power) and thereby soothed them. Another theory sees German Dolde umbel as the source of the name. Dill is found, with almost no variation (Dutch dille), in all Germanic languages and has been transferred to some non-Germanic languages, mainly in Northern Europe: Finnish tilli, Estonian till, Latvian dilles and Scottish Gaelic dile.

Most Slavonic tongues share a common name for dill, e. g., Bulgarian kopur [копър], Ukrainian krip [кріп], Russian ukrop [укроп], Slovak kôpor, Polish koper and Czech kopr. These names are explained to derive from a Common Slavonic root KAPR’ dill, which might be related to Lithuanian kvapas smell, aroma and kvepia be fragrant.

The Slavonic names have entered some non-Slavonic tongues as loanwords: Albanian kopër, Hungarian kapor, Lithuanian krapai, Georgian ok’rop’i [ოკროპი] and Yiddish krop [קראָפּ]. The Romanian term mărar probably arose by confusion with fennel, which is called maratho [μάραθο] in Modern Greek.

The botanical genus name Anethum derives from Greek aneson [ἄνησον] or aneton [ἄνητον], which also gave rise to the name of anise; the species name graveolens means strongly smelling (Latin gravis grave, heavy and olens smelling from the verb olere).

Anethum graveolens: Dill flowers
Dill umbel

Names in most Romance tongues derive from Latin anethum, e. g. Italian aneto and French aneth. Some Iberic incarnation of that name, perhaps Portuguese endro or a related form like Galician eneldo, has been transferred to several Eastern languages: Sinhala anduru [ඈඳුරු], Malay ender, Japanese inondo [イノンド] and Korean inondu [이논드].

The French name fenouil bâtard bastard fennel and Dutch stinkende vinke stinking fennel are clearly pejorative, but I cannot comment on that further.

German Gurkenkraut cucumber herb, which dill shares with borage, is motivated by the herb’s frequent use in cucumber dishes in German cuisine.

Selected Links

Indian Spices: Dill (indianetzone.com) Indian Spices: Celeriac (indianetzone.com) Indian Spices: Celery Seeds (indianetzone.com) Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Dill (rezkonv.de via archive.org) A Pinch of Dill (www.apinchof.com) The Epicentre: Dill Medical Spice Exhibit: Dill (via archive.org) (via archive.org) Pflanzen des Capitulare de Villis: Dill (biozac.de) Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association: Dill Herbs by Linda Gilbert: Dill Desirable Herb and Spice Varieties: Dill Recipes for Georgian sauces (t’q’emali [ტყემალი], ajik’a [აჯიკა] and others) (russia-in-us.com) Recipe: Baghali polo [باقالی پلو] (Iranian rice with fava beans) (persia.org)


Anethum graveolens: Flowering dill plants
Dill plants in full flower
The charac­ter­istic, sweet taste of dill is popular all over Europe, Western, Central and Southern Asia. In Europe, it is mostly used for bread, vegetable (especially cucumber), pickles, and fish; for the last application, the leaves are preferred. Furthermore, it is indispensable for herb flavoured vinegars. See mango on the topic of sour ingredients and vinegar in general.

To make herbal vinegar, a mild vinegar brand must be chosen (e. g., apple vinegar). Herbs, a clove of garlic and, if desired, a few pepper or allspice corns are then macerated for a couple of weeks. Many different herbs have been suggested; cookbooks mention most frequently tarragon, thyme, bay leaves, chervil and cress (nasturtium flowers are particularly decorative). Further, optional herbs are rosemary, lemon balm, lovage, basil and even rue. Lemon-scented herbs (e. g., chameleon plant or lemon myrtle) are particularly effective. Perilla leaves can be employed to give the vinegar both subtle flavour and a most unusual colour. Dill adds depth and body to the product and should never be omitted. When ready, herbal vinegar may be used to prepare delicious sauces; most commonly, however, it is used for salads, which is delightful during winter when fresh herbs are sparse.

Anethum graveolens: Dill
Ripening dill umbels

In North Eastern Europe and Russia, dill is popular for pickled veg­etables, which are there pro­duced in great variety, either by pickling in vinegar or by lactic fermen­tation. Fresh dill sprigs are mandatory in most recipes of that kind. In these regions with long, cold winters, preserved vegetables are an important source of vitamins and fresh flavour for the otherwise dull winter diet. Dill is also one of the few herbs used in the cooking of the Baltic states, where chopped dill is a frequent decoration on various foods (e. g., boiled potatoes), similar to the use of parsley and chives in other European countries.

Fresh dill leaves (dillweed) is a kind of national spice in Scandinavian countries, where fish or shellfish dishes are usually either directly flavoured with dill or served together with sauces containing dill. German cooks also tend to use dill mostly for fish soups and stews (see also parsley on bouquet garni). Dill reached the Northern latitudes probably via medieval monasteries, where it was grown as a medicinal herb according to the Capitulare de villis (see lovage).

Dill has, however, retained its popularity in its original homeland, Asia. Dried dill shows up in Georgia’s famous spice mixture, khmeli-suneli (see blue fenugreek) and fresh dill leaves are commonly chopped and sprinkled over various spicy foods, usually in combination with parsley and coriander.

A further example is the Georgian national condiment tqemali sauce made from a local wild plum variety (cherry plum, Prunus cerasifera called t’q’emali [ტყემალი] in Georgian and written tkemali [ткемали] in Russian). It is prepared simply by boiling and puréeing ripe or unripe plums; as flavourings, khmeli-suneli (or, according to some recipes, dill alone), lemon juice and garlic are used. The taste is delightful, fruity–acidic–spicy, somewhat comparable to tamarind sauces. T’q’emali can be boiled down to yield dry, elastic layers known as fruit leather (t’q’lap’i [ტყლაპი], also tklapi or tqlapi).

Dill weed is also quite popular in Iran. It is usually employed for bean dishes, e. g., rice with boiled fava beans (baghali polo [باقالی پلو]). Also in India, particularly in Punjab, dill is an occasional spice for the lentil and bean dishes known as dal [दाल]; in Gujarat, it also appears in short fried vegetables. In India, not the weed but the dried fruits are employed which have a more pungent flavour than European dill, with some aspects of mint or ajwain. Like many related spices, dill fruits are shortly fried in hot fat to develop their aroma (see also ajwain).



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