Dill-Not Only For Pickles

Dill is one of those plants that I just love... I love seeing their graceful greens swaying in the breeze. I love the wonderful smell that rises with a gentle brush of the plant. I love the looks of the heads and the beautiful symmetry.

 This picture is when the little flowers are out on the heads...
Sometimes I sample the greens when the plant is at this stage.

 When the seeds form, they begin to swell....

I have learned to enjoy eating the seeds when they are like this - they crunch lightly and have a delicate dill flavor and they taste fresh and healthy.

Dill is so good for many things.... it has calcium, manganese, fiber, iron, vitamin A, magnesium... and maybe more.  It is mildly antibacterial.

 The swollen seeds start to mature and darken...

I still sample these seeds a bit, but they are stronger, so I don't eat many of them fresh at this point.

Dill can be used as dill weed (the greens/leaves) or dill seed. Dill can be used fresh or dried. Dill can be added to foods like salad, dressings, rice, soups, bread, sandwiches, and of course, pickles.

I have also discovered that it adds great flavor to hamburgers. I mix dill weed and dill seed in a grinder with Celtic salt, parsley, tumeric, dried onions, dried garlic and more.... and then after cooking a bit, I put barbeque sauce on top of each hamburger and allow it to cook in a bit.

The seeds dry up and begin to fall from the plant (and re-seed for next year) if they are not harvested. They can be saved to be used at planting time next year or to be used for cooking.

A dill seed tea can be made by steeping dill seed for about 15 minutes. It can be sweetened with Stevia and can help with nausea or heartburn. I also read that it can increase breast milk.



This is how the seeds look when they are ripe and ready to eat fresh... at least that is when I eat them. :)  I have never heard of other people doing it, but it is something fresh to enjoy while out working in the garden or walking through it.

Yum... :)

Dill is also said to be good as a mild aid for insomnia.... even safe for children and won't leave a person feeling drugged....

A few of my children have sore throats right now and that is going around, so I brought in dill seeds for them to eat.... they did it reluctantly, although one daughter liked it. Since dill is mildly antibacterial, I figured it could be a good thing to try.

 These are the leftovers after the seeds were removed... they are rather fun and interesting. :)

I read information that said dill is good as a breath freshener... it is good for colds, flu and chronic cough.  I did find a caution that said dill should not be overused in pregnancy.

I love finding out how to use herbs from my garden....after all, God provides for us-even right here in our own yard. :)  No, I am not a doctor and you can do your own research... I am just sharing what some of my research has shown.

This is dill drying in my home...  I have the mature heads as well as the immature heads....  I plan to put it all to good use. :)

Dill has a beautiful shape... and the silhouette looks nice against the sky.

My dill grew well this year and was rather tall.  

This is what the "leaves" look like on the dill.

I found a suggestion for dill butter which uses chopped fresh leaves... and lemon juice, salt and black pepper can also be added... then use it in place of regular butter. Sounds good... and I plan to try it.  :)

So, anyway, I love dill and I threw a LOT of seeds around early this year - back in the spring...and I have had a lot of dill popping up here and there... and I have loved it... I plan to do that again next year. Thank you for visiting. We love dill pickles in our house, but I hope you find some great uses for dill that go beyond just dill pickles... :)
I hope you have a great day!