Annual grass, with a single height of straight and branched stem of 40 to 120 cm, dark green. Wild fennel is found in the Himalayas, Iran, Central Asia and Southwest, which is essentially your homeland. Dill has been cultivated for a long time in North Africa and Europe, was used by Egyptian healers 5,000 years ago. Dill remains were found in the ruins of Roman settlements in the United Kingdom. In medieval times, it was even believed that this fragile plant was a powerful protector against witchcraft. The Bible says that the Pharisees paid the tithes of leaves, stems and fennel seeds. Now dill, as a cultivated plant grows on all continents except Antarctica and Australia. It is quite common in Ukraine.
In the kitchen, dill is used in the preparation of salads, which is added as a condiment to fish, meat, soups and sauces. Dill umbrellas are used in the pickling and salting of vegetables. It is also suitable for the fortification and aromatization of pestle, vinegar, various cheeses, meat and bakery products.
Dill has a very strong flavor and aroma and, therefore, can be used separately from other spices. All kinds of seed and dill extracts are used to make various compositions in perfumery and cosmetology. Essential oils obtained from dill seeds, used in the manufacture of creams, colognes and toothpastes. This oil is also used in the canning, food, alcoholic beverages and soap industries.
When choosing the dill you should pay attention to its leaves and stem. They should not be lethargic or have dark green leaves stuck together, and the end of the stem should be elastic. The presence of an unpleasant odor and yellowish leaves may indicate the refreshing of the fennel and the rotting processes that have begun. Fresh dill can be stored for 2-3 days at room temperature with the stems submerged in water and up to a week in the department refrigerator for vegetables. The dill leaves can be prepared for winter, for this they simply dry outdoors, in the shade.
Dill leaves contain nicotinic and ascorbic acids, riboflavin, thiamine, carotene, pectin, carbohydrates, flavonoids, potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, vitamins A, B2, B6, C, PP. Dill fruits have a high content of protein and fatty oil; the fatty oil consists of oleic, palmetinic and linoleic acid. All parts of the plant contain an essential oil, which gives it a peculiar smell and flaponoids.
Due to the presence of magnesium and iron salts in the dill in a highly digestible form, the blood formation processes are greatly improved. The essential oil promotes a better formation of bile, digestive enzymes, urine and also provides disinfection to the body, especially in the urinary and digestive system. In medicine, dill is used to obtain the drug anetine, which improves the cardiovascular system. The content of anetine in the dill contributes to the expansion of the blood vessels of the brain and the muscles of the heart, which increases its nutrition a hundred times.
Dill should be used to improve lactation and diuresis, with problems with the respiratory system, high blood pressure, to improve vision. The infusion of the leaves is also used in hypertension, as an antispasmodic, diuretic and sedative. Dill is an excellent analgesic for ulcers (particularly duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer), cholecystitis and other diseases of the abdominal cavity.
Dill seeds are used to make tinctures, stimulate appetite and improve digestion, promoting the treatment of insomnia and kidney inflammation. For the manufacture of this infusion, you need 2 teaspoons of chopped dill seeds, pour boiling water (2 cups) and strain after 10 minutes. Drink a glass a day. With a variety of colitis and to improve the secretion of breast milk, you must take the powder obtained from the dill seeds 1 gr. Three times a day, preferably 30 minutes before meals.
When lowering bowel tone, especially in older people, use the following decoction: you should take juniper berries and dill seeds in equal proportions, crush them into a powder state, add chopped aloe leaves, your quantity should not be more than a quarter of the total. Then, a spoonful of this mixture is poured with boiling water (1 cup) and infused. Take preferably one spoonful three times a day 30 minutes before meals. If there is swelling under the eyes, then they can be easily removed by applying gauze tampons soaked in infusion of dill leaves to the eyes.
Dill oil is used for bronchitis and pneumonia, because it contributes to a better and faster separation of the mucus from the walls of the bronchi. In addition, the infusion of seeds is used as an antihemorrhoidal agent, as an external healing of the wounds, it eliminates the allergic itching of the skin.
It is not recommended to eat dill and be treated with medications that contain it, people with low blood pressure and individual intolerance. If you use excessive dill, it can cause temporary visual impairment, dizziness, fatigue. Also in large quantities the dill is harmful to pregnant women.
