Caraway Seeds
Warm Notes. Aromatic Depth
Didwaniya Group exports premium caraway seeds known for their sharp, nutty flavor and rich essential oil content. Sourced from trusted growers and carefully cleaned and processed, our caraway seeds are widely used in baking, spice blends, and herbal formulations across global markets.
Caraway seeds are the small, crescent-shaped fruits of the Carum carvi plant, a biennial herb in the Apiaceae family, closely related to fennel, cumin, and anise. The seeds are about 2 mm long, brown in color with five pale ridges running lengthwise. Though called seeds, they are technically dried fruits known as schizocarps. Caraway has a warm, sharp, and slightly peppery aroma, with a distinct sweet-earthy flavor that carries hints of anise, citrus, and mint due to its high content of carvone and limonene essential oils.
Caraway is native to Western Asia, Europe, and North Africa, and has been used since ancient times both as a culinary spice and medicinal herb. Today, it is cultivated in various temperate regions including India, the Netherlands, Germany, Poland, Egypt, and Canada. In India, caraway is often sourced from cooler regions of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, and is used in traditional medicine systems and spice blends.
Characteristics
Taste: Warm, slightly sweet, and peppery with a hint of anise and citrus
Appearance (Structure): Small, crescent-shaped seeds about 4–7 mm long with five pale ridges running lengthwise; smooth surface
Smell: Strong, aromatic, and spicy with a sweet, herbal fragrance reminiscent of anise and cumin
Mass fraction of moisture, %, not more than: 10.0
Mass fraction of essential oil, %, not less than: 3.0
Color: Light to dark brown with slight variations depending on origin and processing
Application
Caraway seeds are celebrated for their culinary versatility and therapeutic value. In the kitchen, caraway is primarily used as a spice in European, Middle Eastern, and North Indian cuisines. It plays a starring role in rye breads, sauerkraut, sausages, and cheese, especially in German, Austrian, and Scandinavian recipes. The seeds are commonly added to vegetable stews, soups, and baked goods, where they provide a comforting and aromatic depth. In Indian and Middle Eastern dishes, caraway is used in spice blends, such as masalas and pickling spices, and sometimes confused with ajwain due to their similar appearance but different taste profiles.
Storage conditions
Store in dry, clean, well-ventilated warehouses free from pests, at a relative humidity of no more than 75% and a temperature of no more than 20°C.