Chervilis a one-year-old family in the umbellate family. This herb is quite easy to grow and undemanding.Growing chervilis quite similar to growing parsley. It is worth sowing in the garden due to the nutritionalproperties of cherviland the very wideuse of garden chervilas an aromatic addition to many dishes. Here are thesecrets of chervil cultivationand all about its use in cooking and herbalism.
Garden chervil - Anthriscus cerefolium
Garden Chervil - Properties
Chervil(Anthriscus cerefolium) is an annual plant. It belongs to the umbellate family (Apiaceae), just like the well-known common parsley. It has quite similar light green, flaccid, pinnate leaves with a triangular outline. They often turn purple in late summer. Ribbed stems reach about 50 cm in height, branching in the upper part. The flowers, on the other hand, are white in color, gathered in the gable umbels, appearing from May to June. The plant gives off a slight anise aroma, but more intense than the aroma of parsley.
The properties of garden chervil , its characteristic taste and aroma make it an addition to many dishes in Dutch, English and French cuisine. This herb rich in vitamins, from which aromatic volatile oil, carotene and vitamin C are obtained, it can also be used as a medicine to improve digestion and soothe flatulence, and in cosmetics - as an anti-wrinkle agent.
Chervil - cultivation
Seeds of garden chervilare sown from early spring, ie from the end of March. The plant has low thermal requirements and by this date it is possible to sow seeds directly into the ground, which greatly facilitates cultivation. Chervil seeds are very small (there are as many as 450 seeds in one gram), so to make sowing easier, it is worth mixing them with sand. The distances between plants should be 10-15 cm.
The site where the chervil is grownshould be semi-shaded, although this plant also works well in the sun. However, it should be remembered that with too intense sunlight the stems of chervil become stringy.Growing chervilsucceeds best in fertile, well-drained, freshly cultivated soils. It is worth knowing that this plant can also be grown in balcony boxes and containers.
Note!The emerging inflorescence shoots should be removed so that they do not inhibit leaf development. If it is allowed to bloom, the garden chervil will quickly produce seeds and die. By removing the inflorescence shoots, we extend its vegetation and increase the weight of the collected leaves.
The first harvestof aromatic chervil leavesare possible already 7-8 weeks after sowing, when they reach 10 cm. To extend the harvest period until the beginning of autumn, sowing chervil is repeated at intervals of several weeks until the end of July.
Garden Chervil - application
Freshly picked and choppedchervil leavesare a great addition to cottage cheese, omelettes, salads, vegetable salads and soups. In salads and salads, the taste of chervil is particularly well combined with celery, carrots, tomatoes and green peas. Aromatic chervil leaves are also added to meat dishes, fish and soups. However, let's put the chopped chervil leaves into the soup only at the end, because when cooked they lose their flavor. Chervil works well with other herbs, such as tarragon (tarragon and chervil are great spices for chicken), thyme, chives, basil, garden savory, and parsley. Many people add chervil as a replacement for parsley.
Note!When drying, chervil loses a lot of its flavor. Therefore, it is best to use fresh leaves and freeze them for storage.
Formerlychervil was usedin herbal medicine as a diuretic, digestive, diaphoretic and expectorant. Growing chervil on a plot of land, we can obtain an infusion of it (60 grams of herb is poured with a liter of water) to wash the face in order to make the skin more elastic and act against wrinkles.
