FOOD ACCESSORIES AND SPICES 



231 



The Carrot Family contains several members whose aromatic 

 seeds are used as flavorings. Perhaps the best known of these is 

 ANISE, long valued by the ancients for its reputed medicinal value. 

 This large, annual plant is cultivated in Europe, Asia, and South 

 America for its small, grayish-brown fruits whose odor resembles 

 considerably that of licorice. Anise seeds are widely used as 

 flavorings in cookies, candies and cakes. The essential oil respon- 

 sible for their aromatic qualities is distilled for use in beverages, 

 perfumes, soaps, and as a flavoring in medicines. 



Caraway seeds are brown, slightly curved, and tapering, 

 produced by a plant native to Eurasia but commonly grown in 

 temperate regions around the world. They are widely used in and 

 on bread and rolls, in beverages, perfumes, and medicines. 



Dill seeds, likewise produced by a native Eurasian plant that 

 is now widely cultivated, are oval, much compressed, and light 

 brown. These seeds, sometimes along with the leaves and stems, 

 I are used in the United States principally 

 as a flavoring for the well known dill 

 pickles. In the southern Mediterranean 

 countries and Russia, the seeds and other 

 parts of the plant are used in stews, soups, 

 sauces, and other dishes. Dill seeds, and 

 the volatile oil distilled from them are 

 also used in medicinal preparations. 



Parsley is a small herbaceous plant 

 likewise of the Carrot Family. It has long 

 been cultivated for its edible, aromatic 

 leaves, which are used in this country 

 mainly as garnishes for meats, or as flavorings in stuffings, 

 omelets, soups, and meat spreads. In its native Europe, parsley 

 tops are used as a pot herb, in the same way as spinach and kale 

 are used in the United States, and the roots are utilized as a 

 boiled vegetable. 



WiNTERGREEN is a native North American flavoring material, 



originally coming from the leaves of the checkerberry (fig. 166) 



or teaberry plant, a tiny evergreen plant of eastern North 



America. At the present time the sweet or black birch, which 



\ contains the same substance in its young twigs and bark, has 



Fig. 166.— Checker- 

 berry is the source of 

 wintergreen oil used in 

 flavoring. 



