Chervil Explained

Chervil (; Anthriscus cerefolium), sometimes called French parsley or garden chervil (to distinguish it from similar plants also called chervil), is a delicate annual herb related to parsley. It was formerly called myrhis due to its volatile oil with an aroma similar to the resinous substance myrrh.[1] It is commonly used to season mild-flavoured dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture French: [[fines herbes]].

Name

The name chervil is from Anglo-Norman, from Latin Latin: chaerephylla or Latin: choerephyllum, meaning "leaves of joy";[2] the Latin is formed, as from an Ancient Greek word Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: χαιρέφυλλον (Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: chairephyllon).[3] [4]

Description

The plants grow to 40cm-70cmcm (20inches-30inchescm), with tripinnate leaves that may be curly. The small white flowers form small umbels, 2.5- across. The fruit is about 1 cm long, oblong-ovoid with a slender, ridged beak.

Distribution and habitat

A member of the Apiaceae, chervil is native to the Caucasus but was spread by the Romans through most of Europe, where it is now naturalised.[5] It is also grown frequently in the United States, where it sometimes escapes cultivation. Such escape can be recognized, however, as garden chervil is distinguished from all other Anthriscus species growing in North America (i.e., A. caucalis and A. sylvestris) by its having lanceolate-linear bracteoles and a fruit with a relatively long beak.[6]

Cultivation

Transplanting chervil can be difficult, due to the long taproot. It prefers a cool and moist location; otherwise, it rapidly goes to seed (also known as bolting). It is usually grown as a cool-season crop, like lettuce, and should be planted in early spring and late fall or in a winter greenhouse. Regular harvesting of leaves also helps to prevent bolting. If plants bolt despite precautions, the plant can be periodically re-sown throughout the growing season, thus producing fresh plants as older plants bolt and go out of production.[7]

Chervil grows to a height of 12to, and a width of 6inchesto12inchesin (toin).

Uses

Culinary

Chervil is used, particularly in France, to season poultry, seafood, young spring vegetables (such as carrots), soups, and sauces. More delicate than parsley, it has a faint taste of liquorice or aniseed.[8] [9]

Chervil is one of the four traditional French French: fines herbes, along with tarragon, chives, and parsley, which are essential to French cooking.[10] Unlike the more pungent, robust herbs such as thyme and rosemary, which can take prolonged cooking, the French: fines herbes are added at the last minute, to salads, omelettes, and soups.[11] [12]

Chemical constituents

Essential oil obtained via water distillation of wild Turkish Anthriscus cerefolium was analyzed by gas chromatography - mass spectrometry identifying 4 compounds: methyl chavicol (83.10%), 1-allyl-2,4-dimethoxybenzene (15.15%), undecane (1.75%) and β-pinene (<0.01%).[13]

Horticulture

According to some, slugs are attracted to chervil and the plant is sometimes used to bait them.[14]

Health

Chervil has had various uses in folk medicine. It was claimed to be useful as a digestive aid, for lowering high blood pressure, and, infused with vinegar, for curing hiccups.[15] Besides its digestive properties, it is used as a mild stimulant.

Chervil has also been implicated in "strimmer dermatitis", another name for phytophotodermatitis, due to spray from weed trimmers and similar forms of contact. Other plants in the family Apiaceae can have similar effects.[16]

Further reading

Notes and References

  1. Farooqi . A.A. . Srinivasappa . K.N. . Chervil . Handbook of Herbs and Spices . 2012 . 268–274 . 10.1533/9780857095688.268. 9780857090409 .
  2. Web site: Chervil, One of the Best & Least Appreciated Herbs . The Art of Eating . 1 October 2014 .
  3. Web site: O new greek and english lexicon . James . Donnegan . 3 August 2018 . Cowie.
  4. Web site: ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ.
  5. Book: Vaughan . J.G. . Geissler . C.A. . The New Oxford Book of Food Plants . registration . Oxford University Press . 1997 . 978-0-19-854825-6 .
  6. Book: Dickinson . Richard . Weeds of North America . Royer . France . The University of Chicago Press . 2014 . 978-0-226-07644-7 . 1st . Chicago and London . 21–33 . English.
  7. Web site: How to Prevent Cool Season Crops from Bolting . 2022-10-14 . GrowVeg.
  8. Book: Simon & Schuster's Guide to Herbs and Spices . Stanley Schuler . 978-0-671-73489-3 . Gualtiero Simonetti . 1990 . Simon & Schuster, Inc . registration .
  9. Web site: Chervil . BBC Good Food . en.
  10. [Julia Child]
  11. Peter, K. V. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of herbs and spices (2nd ed., Vol. 2). Woodhead Publishing.
  12. Book: Biggs . Matthew . The New Vegetables, Herbs & Fruit: An Illustrated Encyclopedia . McVicar . Jekka . Flowerdew . Bob . Firefly Books Ltd . 2016 . 978-1-77085-798-8 . 1st . United States, Canada . 235 . English.
  13. Baser . K. H.C. . Ermin . N. . Demirçakmak . B. . The Essential Oil of Anthriscus cerefolium (L.) Hoffm. (Chervil) Growing Wild in Turkey . Journal of Essential Oil Research . July 1998 . 10 . 4 . 463–464 . 10.1080/10412905.1998.9700944.
  14. Book: https://books.google.com/books?id=GcWQQKJX1xEC&pg=PA375 . Fern Marshall Bradley . Barbara W. Ellis . Deborah L. Martin . Chervil is irresistible to slugs . The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease . 2 February 2010 . 363 . Harmony/Rodale . 9781605291796 .
  15. Book: McGee . Rose Marie Nichols . Stuckey . Maggie . The Bountiful Container . Workman Publishing . 2002 .
  16. The Electronic Textbook of Dermatology . Botanical Dermatology . McGovern . Thomas W . Barkley . Theodore M . 1998 . 37 . 5 . Section Phytophotodermatitis . Internet Dermatology Society . 10.1046/j.1365-4362.1998.00385.x . 9620476 . 221810453 . 23 October 2018.