Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium [L.] Hoffm.)

Leaves. They are nearly always used fresh, but can be preserved by deep-freezing or by making a pesto-like pre­paration (see basil).

Api­aceae (parsley family).

Sweet and aromatic, somewhat intermediate between parsley and anise. On other spices with a similar fragrance, see cicely.

The plant contains only minor amounts of essential oil (0.3% in the fresh herb, 0.9% in the seeds); it contains methylchavicol (estragole) and hendecane (undecane).

Probably Southern Europe or the Caucasus region. Chervil became known in the regions north of the Mediterranean by the edict of Charlemagne, Capitulare de villis (see lovage).

Chervil flower cluster with unripe fruits

Anthriskos [ἀνθρίσκος] (also anthriskon [ἄνθρισκον] or anthriskion [ἀνθρίσκιον]) is the Greek name of this plant; the species name cerefolium appears to mean leaves like wax and might refer to the bright green colour, but is more possibly a spelling mistake for cherifolium (Greek chairephyllon [χαιρεφύλλον]), the name the Romans used for this plant (Greek chairein [χαίρειν] to delight in and phyllon [φύλλον] leaf, referring to the pleasant aroma of the leaves).

Most names in the contemporary tongues of Western Europe derive from Latin cherifolium, e. g. English chervil, Swedish körvel, Portuguese cerefolho and French cerfeuil. Northern Europeans often call the plant more precisely as garden chervil (Norwegian hagekjørvel), because it is not indigenous and cannot survive in the wild.

Since chervil is used and known mostly in Western Europe, languages of other countries often have no native term for that herb, but use descriptive terms that relate chervil to a more widely known relative, parsley: Arabic maqdunis faranji [مقدونس فرنجي], Kurdish jafari farangi [جافةریی فةرةنگی], Greek frankomaintanos [φραγκομαϊντανός] and Turkish frenk maydanoz all mean Frankish parsley. Even in English, chervil is sometimes referred to as French parsley. To learn about the common etymology of faranji and French, see long coriander.

The Azeri language, however, names chervil not as a variety of parsley but rather as mountain coriander, dağ keşniş.

Ilkas und Ullis Kochecke: Kerbel (rezkonv.de via archive.org) A Pinch of Chervil (www.apinchof.com) Herbs by Linda Gilbert: Chervil Desirable Herb and Spice Varieties: Chervil Pflanzen des Capitulare de Villis: Kerbel (biozac.de)