Dill

Dill (Anethum graveolens) is a short-lived, European, annual herb. Dill seeds are used to flavor pickles; the fernlike leaves (called dill weed) are used to flavor many other foods, such as borscht.

This name dill is derived from a Norse word which means to soothe, the plant having the carminative property of allaying pain. The common dill, Anethum graveolens, is an annual growing wild in the cornfields of Spain and Portugal and the south of Europe generally.

There is also a species of dill cultivated in Eastern countries known by the name of shubit. It was this species of garden plant of which the Pharisees were in the habit of paying tithes. The Talmud requires that the seeds, leaves, and stem of dill shall pay tithes. Jesus rebuked them for tithing dill but omitting mercy. It is an umbelliferous plant, very like the caraway, its leaves, which are aromatic, being used in soups and pickles.

Classification: Dill is a member of the parsley or carrot family, Apiaceae (formerly Umbelliferae).

(Catalan anet; Spanish eneldo)