How to Use Caraway Seed in Cooking

Caraway seeds aren't seeds at all but instead are the small fruit of the caraway plant. Popular in eastern European cooking, caraway seeds have distinctive flavor that is so similar to slightly bitter cumin that those in the Far East call it "Roman cumin" or "foreign cumin." Holland supplies most of the caraway used today but it also grows in Europe, the United States and Russia.

Instructions

1. Make rye bread. Caraway seed is the primary flavor in rye bread.

2. Add caraway seed to any savory corned beef and cabbage recipe where it adds a distinctive and slightly smoky flavor.

3. Mix caraway seeds into a coleslaw or potato salad recipe for a surprising flavor twist.

4. Incorporate caraway seed into sweet dishes like Irish caraway seed cake.

5. Try adding caraway seed to any sauerkraut recipe.

Tips & Warnings

• Add caraway seed into dishes during the last 15 minutes of cooking to prevent an overly-bitter flavor.

• Caraway seed is used in both whole and ground forms.

• Each caraway seed is one half of the fruit from the plant "carum carvi" which is a relative of the parsley family.

• You can find caraway seed in the spice aisle of almost any large grocery store. If you cannot find it, try dill seed or anise seed as substitutes.

• The caraway plant looks similar to a carrot plant. It has feathery leaves that grow on 20 to 30 centimeter stems.

Resources

• Rye bread recipe
• Corned beef and cabbage recipe
• Irish caraway sced Cake recipe
• Sauerkraut recipe