Dill

I have been interested in herbs since I was a child, and what has always fascinated me the most is the magical, mystical, historical side of these plants. Dill's history goes back 5,000 years where it was mentioned on an early Egyptian papyrus. Since then it has been a magical, medicinal and culinary part of many Mediterranean and European cultures. The debate goes on as to whether the name derives from the Norse dilla or the Anglo-Saxon dylle which both mean to "lull or soothe".

Dill is known as an herb of good cheer, good omens, and good for relaxing fear and tension. Bunches of dill or garlands of dill seed heads were hung over windows and doors to undo spells and keep evil out of the home. Even farm animals wore wreaths to protect them from the evil eye, and bags of dill seeds hung over baby's cribs to keep them from being kidnapped by fairies. Considered an herb of the sun, dill symbolizes protection, prosperity, abundance, and fertility. And...dill is an aphrodisiac often included in magic love potions. Bathing in dill was supposed to make you more attractive to the opposite sex. The Englishman's Doctor, in 1608, warned that dill "maketh men chaste and women filled with lust."

Medicinally herbalist Nicholas Culpeper (1616-1654) believed dill "to be sure strengthens the brain" and that a decoction of dill in white wine was a "gallant expeller of wind". It also "stayeth the hiquet (hiccough)", important because hiccups indicated a battle waging between the soul and the physical body. Gripe water, made from dill, was given to babies to relieve colic and induce sleep. Nursing mothers were given dill to increase the flow of milk.

Dill, fennel, and caraway seeds were dubbed the "meetin' seeds" and were chewed to keep children quiet during long sermons or to keep their parents awake.

Today, we mostly think of dill as an ingredient in pickles. Interestingly, there is no mention of dill in any of the recipes for pickling vegetables from a 1700 Virginia cookbook. What a shame, I've heard that dill pickle juice is supposed to cure a hangover.