Trachyspermum ammi

Ajwain fruits

Ajwain ( Trachyspermum ammi Sprague; Syn: Trachyspermum copticum (L.) Link, Carum copticum (L.) Benth et Hook f ex CB Clarke, Ptychotis Coptica (L.) DC, Ptychotis ajowan DC.. .. ) Is a spice and medicinal plant in the carrot family ( Apiaceae ).

The name derives from a Sanskrit word meaning from Greek. Ajwain is also called King cumin.

Features

Ajwain is an annual herbaceous plant that reaches the stature heights of up to 50 centimeters. It has fine fiederteilige leaves. The white flowers are and will appear in the typical family doppeldoldigen inflorescences. The nearly 1 mm, approximately spherical gap fruit with pronounced longitudinal ribs does not disintegrate in the individual fruits.

Origin

Ajwain probably dates from the eastern Mediterranean, possibly Egypt. It has been cultivated since ancient times and reached in the early Hellenistic India (see the name ). The main producing areas are now Iran and India.

Ingredients

Dried Ajowanfrüchte (often referred to inaccurate as ajowan seeds ) contain up to 5 % essential oil consisting mostly of thymol.

Use

The dried fruits ajwain have a strong thyme flavor and taste burning aromatic. They are used as a spice. In Indian cuisine, they are often used to flavor starchy vegetables such as Potatoes. Legumes, which play an important role as a protein source in India, very often flavored with ajwain, because it promotes their digestion. Since the spice rather than fat - soluble, it is useful to briefly sear the seeds before cooking in butter or oil and then to mix the food. Imaging taste compounds are dissolved and dispersed in the preparation. The aroma is noticeably enhanced.

Confusion

Ajowanfrüchte are often traded, despite their very different appearance and odor as lovage fruit. The English name of ajwain, bishop 's weed is sometimes mistranslated as bishop herb, although this name is reserved in German for cartilage carrot ( Ammi visnaga ).

Curative effect

The from fruit ( Fructus ajowani ) Ajowanöl obtained by distillation formerly served as a commercial source of thymol, which often is an effective expectorant component of cough drops, but is now produced synthetically.

Swell

• Fritz Encke, Robert Zander ( Founder): Zander, Dictionary of Plant Names, 18th Edition, Ulmer, Stuttgart 2008, ISBN 978-3-8001-5408-1.