chervil

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Garden Chervil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae (unranked): Angiosperms (unranked): Eudicots (unranked): Asterids Order: Apiales Family: Apiaceae Genus: Anthriscus Species: A. cerefolium
Binomial name
Anthriscus cerefolium (L.) Hoffm.

Chervil (Anthriscus cerefolium) is a delicate annual herb related to parsley. Sometimes called garden chervil, it is used to season mild-flavoured dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture fines herbes.

Biology

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.^[1]

The plants grow to 40-70 cm, with tripinnate leaves that may be curly. The small white flowers form small umbels, 2.5-5 cm across. The fruit is about 1 cm long, oblong-ovoid with a slender, ridged beak.^[1]

Root Chervil

Another type of chervil is grown as a root vegetable, sometimes called turnip rooted chervil or tuberous-rooted chervil. This type of chervil produces much thicker roots than types cultivated for their leaves. It was once a popular vegetable in the 19th century. Now virtually forgotten and little known in Britain and the United States, root chervil is very common in French cuisine, where it is used in most soups or stews.

Though it looks similar to parsnip it tastes quite different. Parsnips are among the closest relatives of parsley in the umbellifer family of herbs, although the similarity of the names is a coincidence, parsnip meaning "forked turnip". It is not related to real turnips.

Uses

Culinary

Chervil garnishing a salad.

Sometimes referred to as "gourmet's parsley", chervil is used to season poultry, seafood, and young vegetables. It is particularly popular in France, where it is added to omelettes, salads and soups. More delicate than parsley, it has a faint taste of liquorice.

Horticulture

Chervil is sometimes used to repel slugs.

Medicinal

Chervil had various traditional uses. Pregnant women bathed in an infusion of it; a lotion of it was used as a skin cleanser; and it was used medicinally as a blood purifier. It was also claimed to be useful as a digestive aid, for lowering high blood pressure, and, infused with vinegar, for curing hiccups.^[2]

Cultivation

Chervil is best grown seeded in place - transplanting can be difficult, due to the long taproot.^[2] It prefers a cool and moist location, otherwise it rapidly goes to seed (also known as bolting).^[2] Regular harvesting of leaves also helps to prevent bolting.^[2] If plants bolt despite precautions, the plant can be periodically re-sown through the growing season, thus producing fresh plants as older plants bolt and go out of production.

Chervil grows to a height of 12 to 24 inches, and a width of 6 to 12 inches.^[2]

See also

• Wild Chervil
• Bur Chervil
• Dill
• Sweet Cicely

References

Further reading

• Howard, Michael. Traditional Folk Remedies (Century, 1987), p.118.

External links

• Herbs by Linda Gilbert: Chervil
• A Pinch of Chervil
• Desirable Herb and Spice Varieties: Chervil

Also known as kervel in Limburg Belgium in their local dialect . source: my mother who is a native of the area