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What Do You Know About Dill Seeds?

Azmin Taraporewala
Dill is a herb whose seeds, leaves and flowers are used for medicinal purposes. It is also an essential ingredient in flavoring foods. Dill seed as a herb plant is described here.
Dill is a herb plant. Its leaves, seeds and flowers are used in order to add flavor to food and are also used to provide medicinal relief. Dill, in scientific terminology, is referred to as Anethum graveolens.
Dill belongs to the Apiaceae family. Fennel, cilantro, carrot, celery, cumin, caraway, parsley, parsnips and anise also belong to the same family as dill. Dill is a herb plant that bears fruits referred to as dill seed and the leaves that grow are called dill weeds.
To describe its physical attributes, the dill herb is a plant that escalates up to 3 feet approximately. The herb has leaves that are feathery, with flowers ranging from subtle whites to yellow hues. It is predominantly grown in the northern hemisphere.

Difference between Dill Seed and Dill Weed

For a dill seed substitute, one must not indulge in using dill weeds. Dill weeds have a completely contrary use. They are used for the purpose of flavoring and seasoning.
Dill weeds are used for herbal concoctions, whereas dill seeds are used as a spice inducing ingredient.
Nevertheless, both could be used in pickles, vinegars and sauces.
Dill seeds can be used to prepare meat dishes or can be added to an egg salad topping on toast. 
As for dill weeds, it is added to dishes that have rice as its major component, delivering it with remarkable flavors, leaving a lingering taste in your mouth.
Dill weed has a lemony essence, very similar to flavors of caraway, fennel. It has a fruit-like seed called the dill seed, brown in color, with an oval shape. Dill seed consists of more oil that dill weed and has a pungent taste to it when compared to dill weed oil.

What Can Substitute Dill Seed

A dill seed equivalent hails from the same family as dill. Well, as dill is used in flavorings and preparing pickles and dill vinegars, in place of this ingredient you could also make use of substitutes such as fennel, caraway and tarragon.
The fennel leaves could be used for garnishing and fresh tarragon could be used for the purpose of amalgamating it with egg salads, fish or chicken cuisines.
The best way to preserve dill seeds is to prepare a pickle that has dill as its main ingredient. It is also preserved by adding the seeds in soups, stocks, cakes, bread and sauces. On the other hand, dill weed could be preserved by storing it in the refrigerator and could be frozen for months together.

How to Harvest Dill Seeds

For harvesting dill seeds, follow the tips given in this section.
  • Dill should preferably be planted during cool weather.
  • Dill likes to grow in the sun and is comfortable with afternoon heat.
  • Dill grows 3 feet long, so plant it in your backyard, nowhere near caraway, angelica and fennel.
  • In case of sowing seeds, you must sow the seeds close together. The dill plant has a delicate structure and needs support to sustain the winds. Thus, sowing seeds together will help the plant to sustain together.
  • To continue with the crop, sow seeds constantly, giving a leverage period between each sowing cycle of about 10 days.
  • The seeds will take a week or two to germinate. For the purpose of germination, you need to cover the seeds lightly.
  • Take care of your dill crop, as caterpillars vie for dill. Get them off your dill plant.
  • For the purpose of container gardening, one must remember that the plant will grow 3 feet in height and demands staking. So, use a deep container to accommodate your dill plant.
Thus, dill seed is a herb plant that makes for a dill-icous ingredient when added to sauces, soups, vinegars, egg salads and meat platters. Apart from its flavoring properties, it is also a great component used for medicinal purposes such as treating colic in infants, thus, serving to be a soother for stomach ailments.