King Caraway

Our King Caraway is an heirloom variety of white-flowered caraway from the lush oasis of Fayoum in central Egypt, where it's been grown for millennia.

Called "king" caraway because of its plump seeds and bold flavor, it also has an herbal brightness and sweetness unlike any other we've tasted. Perfect for homemade rye bread, and for pickles, stews and anywhere else you'd use spices like cumin, coriander or fennel.

• Origin: Fayoum Oasis, Egypt
• Process: Sun-dried
• Ingredients: Organically grown caraway seeds (Carum carvi)
• Tasting notes: Dried Mint • Red Radish • Fresh Bread

COOKING

• Add to dough for bread, rolls and other baked goodies
• Toss a small handful into pickles and other ferments
• Drop a pinch into stews, braises and soups
• Pairs well with: Wild Mountain Cumin, Nile Coriander, Desert Fennel

SOURCING

Our King Caraway is grown by smallholder farmers in central Egypt, in an oasis west of the Nile where ancient canal systems divert the Nile's waters to irrigate the fields. The seeds are harvested by hand in early summer. Farmers use a special curved knife to cut the caraway plants down, and the seeds are pulled off by hand.

We connected with the farmers through our partnership with Zaid of Norwich Meadows Farm. Every year, Zaid works with a crew of highly skilled Egyptian farmers who come to his farm in upstate New York to grow organic vegetables using a specific system of high tunnels and intercropping. The vegetables that Zaid grows with this group of farmers are stunning, and these same farmers have their own farms in Egypt, where they grow ancient varietals of desert-adapted spices that rely on seasonal flooding from the Nile River as the primary source of water. Their farms produce this and our other Egyptian spices.