Dill is a well-known spicy and tasty plant. Like many useful herbs, it comes from the Mediterranean. The plant was known even in Ancient Egypt, from there the ancient Greeks and Romans
they brought it much further north – to the Alps. Charlemagne, having experienced the excellent nutritional and medicinal properties of dill, ordered it to be cultivated everywhere. It was in the 9th century. Since then, dill crossed the ocean, appeared in America, penetrated to all corners of the Eurasian continent, where it became an important agricultural and medicinal crop.
This is an annual herbaceous plant, covered with gray hairs, and an upright stem 40-100 cm tall. Dill leaves are alternate, twice or three-lobed, with linear thread-like ends. The lower leaves are petioled, the upper leaves are sessile. The flowers are small, bisexual, yellow, collected in complex umbrella inflorescences. The plant blooms from June to August. The fruit is a brown dicot, which consists of two half-fruits. Dill is usually grown in gardens, but sometimes it goes wild (rarely in the middle zone of Russia) and grows as a weed.
The fruits and fresh leaves of the plant have medicinal properties. Fruits are harvested at a time when half of them are already ripe (ripening is not simultaneous). Plants are cut or pulled out, tied into bundles and hung in a well-ventilated room. After ripening and drying, dill is threshed. If necessary, the fruits are dried. They are stored in well-closed jars, in case of proper storage, they are suitable for use for two years. Ready fruits are sold in specialized pharmacies. Young dill leaves are used fresh.
The fruits of the plant contain essential oil (2-4%), flavonoids, carotene (provitamin A), up to 20% fatty oil. The leaves contain essential oil (up to 1.5%), flavonoids, vitamin C (up to 135 mg%), carotene (up to 12 mg%), vitamins B 6 (folic acid), PP (nicotinic acid), B5 (pantothenic acid ), micro- and macroelements.
In scientific medicine, an infusion of dill fruits is used as an expectorant and carminative. Traditional healers use fruit infusion or powder to prevent angina attacks, treat hypertension of the I and II degrees, chronic coronary insufficiency, and insomnia. The infusion works well for spastic phenomena in the muscles of the abdominal cavity (colic), allergic and itchy dermatitis, hemorrhoids. This medicinal form is used as a diuretic, mild laxative and lactogenic (increases milk secretion in nursing mothers) agent. Fruit infusion and fresh dill greens stimulate and improve appetite, promote digestion, soothe intestinal colic. The fruits of the plant are part of medicinal teas and collections. Fresh dill leaves are also used for anemia and angina pectoris.
All aerial parts of the plant have a pleasant aroma, but especially tender and tasty young leaves. In chopped form, it is added to soups, dairy dishes, including cheese and butter, and salads are dressed with it. Dill is a wonderful aromatic seasoning for vegetable dishes, for example, boiled potatoes and beans. It adds piquancy to meat and boiled fish. Since the aroma of dill is quite strong, it is usually not combined with other spices. Rough dry stalks of dill and umbrellas are put in broths, stewed meat in winter, and in autumn preservation – in pickling, marinades and fermentation.
Dill is preserved by mixing chopped greens with salt, and sometimes with vinegar; dried, but at the same time it is necessary to ensure that the drying takes place at a temperature no higher than 25-30 °C, otherwise the dill loses its volatile essential oils and, accordingly, its aroma.
The essential oil obtained from the fruit is used in the perfumery and confectionery industry.
Fruit infusion. 1 teaspoon of crushed raw materials per 300 ml of boiling water, infuse for 1 hour, filter. Take 1/2 cup 3 times a day.
Fruit powder. The fruits are crushed in a porcelain mortar, taken 1 g 3 times a day, washed down with water.