Dill

Dill is among my favorite spices. I associate my first memories of him with childhood years, the long summer holidays of a village with grandparents, the home garden, and the growing willows of delicious sprouts.
Baked zucchini or zucchini meatballs, filled with milk dill with dill and garlic ... Harmony.
Dill (Anethum graveolens) is an annual plant that has a remarkable flavor and aroma, and it is characteristic that it is used as a seasoning for both leaves and seeds.
It belongs to the family of Sennicots, including bay leaf, parsley and cumin. It grows up to 40-60 cm tall, and the leaves reach 10-20 cm in length. The colors range from white to yellow.
The great news is that it can easily be raised at home, even if you do not have a courtyard. In the pot on the terrace, a little more desire, almost no effort and you will enjoy fresh dill at a distance.
The leaves are thin, tender, aromatic and can taste a sweet taste of them. Dried seeds look like cumin, but they taste to taste. They have a flat and ribbed side, are oval in shape and have sweet and citrus notes, but also slightly bitter in taste and aroma.

Origin

Dill is a typical plant for Russia, the Mediterranean, some parts of Africa.
English is translated as "dill," and the origin of the name is interesting - the ancient Scandinavian word "dilla" means "to calm down," to "dull". It recreates the traditional use of dill as a means of calming the stomach and aiding insomnia.
For millennia, it has been used both for healing purposes and in culinary - in salads, sauces and marinades, combined with cheeses, vegetables, fish and more.
Dill is a well-known plant in ancient Rome and ancient Greece.
He was not a stranger to Hippocrates as an application in mouth-watering recipes.
Burned dill seeds were used as a means of healing the wounds of ancient warriors.
Today dill is popular in Central Europe, Russia, North Africa, Scandinavia.

Nutritional composition

Calories-43
Protein-3
Fats- 1
Carbohydrates-7
Water - 85.9
Cholesterol-0

In 100 g of fresh dill, there are 7717 IU of vitamin A, 85 mg of vitamin C, 6.6 mg of iron, 1.3 mg of manganese and more.
Also in dill contains monoterpenes (carvone, lemon, anetofuran) and flavonoids (camphorol and viceenin).
In 100 g of raw fennel head there are 31 calories, 1.24 g of protein, 7.3 g of carbohydrates, 0.2 g of fat.
Dried fennel (100 g) has a nutritional content of 253 calories, 19.96 grams of protein, 55.82 grams of carbohydrate, 4.36 grams of fat.
The fennel (100 g) contains 305 calories, 15.98 grams of protein, 55.17 grams of carbohydrate, 14.54 grams of fat.

Health Benefits

The health benefits of fennel consumption are associated with the aforementioned monoterpenic and flavonoid components.

• Protective role against free radicals - monotropes that activate the enzyme glutathione-S-transferase, which contributes to the action of the glutathione molecule, whose secondary task is the detoxification of the organism (read more here);
• Antibacterial action - it is the result of the volatile oils in the dill.

How to choose and save

The taste and aroma of fresh dill are much more saturated and rich in dryness. If you look for it in your recipe, prefer the fresh plant.
Choose sprigs with green, not yellow leaves and possibly fresh, even though the plant is tender and withers quickly after tearing. That is why in the store network you will encounter dipped in water dill connections.
Dried fennel (leaves and seeds) are all year round on the spice shelves, but if you have a special spice store nearby, it's not a bad idea to visit it - they will probably have a richer variety and better quality.
Torn fresh fennel is stored in a refrigerator, wrapped in a damp cloth or placed in water. Unfortunately, even if you take all care for proper storage, the fresh state will remain for a maximum of 2-3 days.
If you want to enjoy the fresh scent of fresh dill in the winter, cut it thinly and place it in a hermetically sealed container to keep in the camera.

images source- https://pixabay.com