Chervil

Chervil (Template:IPAc-en; 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.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> It is commonly used to season mild-flavoured dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture Template:Lang.

Name

The name chervil is from Anglo-Norman, from Latin Template:Lang or Template:Lang, meaning "leaves of joy";<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> the Latin is formed, as from an Ancient Greek word Template:Lang (Template:Lang).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Description

The plants grow to Template:Convert, with tripinnate leaves that may be curly. The small white flowers form small umbels, Template:Convert across. The fruit is about 1 cm long, oblong-ovoid with a slender, ridged beak.<ref name="OBFP" />

Distribution and habitat

Fresh chervil

A member of the Apiaceae, the native distribution of chervil is uncertain due to its long history of cultivation, particularly by the Romans; the New Oxford Book of Food Plants limits its native range to the Caucasus,<ref name="OBFP">Template:Cite book</ref> while the Plants of the World Online cites it with a wider native range across central and southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia from Switzerland in the west, to Iran in the east.<ref name="POWO"/> It is now naturalised through most of Europe and North Africa.<ref name="OBFP"/><ref name="POWO"/> It is also introduced and frequently grown in North America, where it is now naturalised in many areas.<ref name="POWO"/> These escapes differ from other Anthriscus species growing in North America (A. caucalis and A. sylvestris) by having lanceolate-linear bracteoles and a fruit with a relatively long beak.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Cultivation

Transplanting chervil can be difficult, due to the long taproot.<ref name="TBC" /> It prefers a cool and moist location; otherwise, it rapidly goes to seed (also known as bolting).<ref name="TBC" /> It is usually grown as a cool-season crop, like lettuce, being planted in early spring and late fall or in a winter greenhouse. Regular harvesting of leaves also reduces bolting.<ref name="TBC" /> If plants bolt despite precautions, new seeds can be periodically re-sown throughout the growing season, thus producing fresh plants as older plants bolt and go out of production.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Uses

Culinary

Template:Cookbook 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.<ref name="S&S">Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> It is used by some cooks as a garnish.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Chervil is one of the four traditional French Template:Lang, along with tarragon, chives, and parsley, which are essential to French cooking.<ref>Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking vol. I p 18.</ref> Unlike the more pungent, robust herbs such as thyme and rosemary, which can take prolonged cooking, the Template:Lang are added at the last minute, to salads, omelettes, and soups.<ref>Peter, K. V. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of herbs and spices (2nd ed., Vol. 2). Woodhead Publishing.</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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%).<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Horticulture

According to some, slugs are attracted to chervil and the plant is sometimes used to bait them.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Health

Seed of chervil

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.<ref name="TBC">Template:Cite book</ref> Besides its digestive properties, it is used as a mild stimulant.<ref name="S&S" />

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.<ref name="McGovern-Barkley">Template:Cite journal</ref>

Further reading

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