Dill seed, of the dill plant, is an aromatic herb most commonly used for pickling as well as for cooking. Dill seed is different in taste and potency than its relative the dill weed (which comes from the dill plant’s leaves). This herb sings when classically combined with cucumber, potatoes and Eastern European-style soups. Simply smelling roasting or pickling dill seed in the kitchen can have a calming or relaxing reflect. Use dill, keep your chill!

Uses for Dill, Past and Present

Although today, dill seed and dill weed are primarily used for culinary purposes from west to east and everywhere in between, they have had varied uses across cultures and history. Dill comes from the Nordic verb dilla, which means to lull. Vikings made a dill-based concoction that aimed to soothe colicky babies. In Roman and Medieval times, dill was used to treat burns and wounds sustained during battles. In Anglo-Saxon England, people used dill to treat a laundry list of maladies from stomach pain to jaundice and liver problems. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, used dill as an agent for cleaning the mouth and warding off halitosis.