Dill Weed
Dill. Most of us think of pickles when we hear the word, and since Americans consume an average of 9 pounds [4 kilos] of pickles each year, and the Russians swear by drinking pickle juice for hangovers, it is not surprising we associate dill with pickles.
Dill Weed has a lot more uses than pickling, however, and it’s not just for garnish; it adds zest to a salad, works a treat in salad dressings, dips and sauces, and is an ubiquitous ingredient in Greek cooking, especially in Tzatki. It elevates a simple grilled fillet of salmon to exquisite, whilst adding zip to steamed vegetables and roast chicken.
The flavour of dill has been compared to fennel, anise, and celery. You can find dried dill in the dried herb and spice section of your local grocery store, and you can usually find bunches of fresh dill in the produce section of most grocery stores and food markets.
When cooking with dill, a little goes a long way. As a seasoning, dill is quite pungent, so it’s safe to start with small amounts and add more as needed- finely chop the whispy bits of the plant that grow from the stalk. The flowers of dill plant are edible, but they are much stronger than the leaves, whilst Dill seeds can be used as a spice to flavour foods like pickles or bread.
“Dill’s blossoms come out as spiny and yellow flowers from spring to summer. They have been used as culinary delights and for medicinal purposes by ancient civilizations including the Romans and Egyptians for years. Dill was used as a Grecian sedative and aphrodisiac as well as a magic ward to keep off wizards in the middle ages.
The dill flowers have a stronger taste compared to leaves but milder compared to the seeds. Their crisp flavour elevates musty ingredients such as potatoes mushrooms, beets, and cabbages. They also bring out the natural sweetness of salmon, tomato, yogurt, and cucumber. In addition, the flowers are known to improve the flavour of pickled vegetables”.
This herb is easy too grow and grows in bunches. In the wild, it looks almost like a long grass, with thin, wiry leaves. The dill plant is native to Russia, West Africa, and the Mediterranean. You can easily grow dill at home in your herb garden, either in pots on in the ground. Dill thrives in full sunlight, and takes about eight weeks to fully mature.
“Fresh dill is a good source of many essential nutrients, including vitamin C, magnesium, and vitamin A and have numerous benefits for health, including protection against heart disease and certain forms of cancer”. Vitamin C is a powerful ally in collagen production, enhancing the skin’s firmness and resilience.
Fresh vs Dried? I’ll always use fresh as I find the dried varieties sold in shops are sorely lacking in flavour. Go plant your Dill seeds this weekend!
