chervil

{{about|the culinary herb|the root vegetable|Chaerophyllum bulbosum|other plants sometimes referred to as chervil|Anthriscus|and|Chaerophyllum}}

{{Speciesbox

|name = Garden chervil

|image = Illustration Anthriscus cerefolium0.jpg

|genus = Anthriscus

|species = cerefolium

|authority = (L.) Hoffm.Gen. Pl. Umbell.: 41 (1814)

|synonyms =

Anthriscus chaerophyllus St.-Lag.
Anthriscus longirostris Bertol.
Anthriscus sativa Besser
Anthriscus trachysperma Rchb. ex Nyman
Cerefolium sativum Besser
Cerefolium sylvestre Besser
Cerefolium trichospermum Besser
Chaerefolium cerefolium (L.) Schinz
Chaerefolium trichospermum (Schinz & Thell.) Stankov
Chaerophyllum cerefolium (L.) Crantz
Chaerophyllum nemorosum Lag. ex DC.
Chaerophyllum sativum Lam.
Myrrhodes cerefolium (L.) Kuntze
Scandix cerefolium L.
Selinum cerefolium (L.) E.H.L.Krause

|synonyms_ref ={{cite web |url=http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:837913-1#synonyms |title=Anthriscus cerefolium (L.) Hoffm. |author= |date=2017 |website=Plants of the World Online |publisher=Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew |access-date=12 July 2020 }}

}}

Chervil ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|tʃ|ɜr|,|v|ɪ|l}}; 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.{{cite journal |last1=Farooqi |first1=A.A. |last2=Srinivasappa |first2=K.N. |title=Chervil |journal=Handbook of Herbs and Spices |date=2012 |pages=268–274 |doi=10.1533/9780857095688.268|isbn=9780857090409 }} It is commonly used to season mild-flavoured dishes and is a constituent of the French herb mixture {{lang|fr|fines herbes}}.

Name

The name chervil is from Anglo-Norman, from Latin {{lang|la|chaerephylla}} or {{lang|la|choerephyllum}}, meaning "leaves of joy";{{cite web |url=https://artofeating.com/chervil/ |title=Chervil, One of the Best & Least Appreciated Herbs |work=The Art of Eating |date=1 October 2014 |access-date=3 August 2018 |archive-date=4 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804015904/https://artofeating.com/chervil/ |url-status=dead }} the Latin is formed, as from an Ancient Greek word {{lang|grc|χαιρέφυλλον}} ({{lang|grc-Latn|chairephyllon}}).{{cite web |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YehbAAAAcAAJ |title=O new greek and english lexicon |first=James |last=Donnegan |date=3 August 2018 |publisher=Cowie}}{{cite web |url=https://logeion.uchicago.edu/χαιρέφυλλον |title=ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ}}

Description

The plants grow to {{convert|40|-|70|cm|abbr=on}}, with tripinnate leaves that may be curly. The small white flowers form small umbels, {{convert|2.5|-|5|cm|0|abbr=on}} across. The fruit is about 1 cm long, oblong-ovoid with a slender, ridged beak.

Distribution and habitat

File:Farmer's Market - Chervil (3497853296).jpg

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.{{cite book |last1=Vaughan |first1=J.G. |last2=Geissler |first2=C.A. |title=The New Oxford Book of Food Plants |url=https://archive.org/details/newoxfordbookoff00vaug_0 |url-access=registration |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1997 |isbn=978-0-19-854825-6 }} 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.{{Cite book |last1=Dickinson |first1=Richard |title=Weeds of North America |last2=Royer |first2=France |publisher=The University of Chicago Press |year=2014 |isbn=978-0-226-07644-7 |edition=1st |location=Chicago and London |pages=21–33 |language=English}}

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.{{Cite web |title=How to Prevent Cool Season Crops from Bolting |url=https://www.growveg.com/guides/how-to-prevent-cool-season-crops-from-bolting/ |access-date=2022-10-14 |website=GrowVeg}}

Chervil grows to a height of {{convert|12|to|24|in|cm|sigfig=1}}, and a width of {{convert|6|to|12|in|cm}}.

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.{{cite book |title=Simon & Schuster's Guide to Herbs and Spices |editor=Stanley Schuler |isbn=978-0-671-73489-3 |author=Gualtiero Simonetti |year=1990 |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Inc |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/simonschustersgu0000simo }}{{cite web |title=Chervil |url=https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/glossary/chervil-glossary |website=BBC Good Food |language=en}} It is used by some cooks as a garnish.{{Cite book |last=The Culinary Institute of America |author-link=The Culinary Institute of America |title=The Professional Chef |publisher=Wiley |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-470-42 135-2 |edition=9th |location=Hoboken, New Jersey |page=180}}

Chervil is one of the four traditional French {{lang|fr|fines herbes}}, along with tarragon, chives, and parsley, which are essential to French cooking.Julia Child, Mastering the Art of French Cooking vol. I p 18. Unlike the more pungent, robust herbs such as thyme and rosemary, which can take prolonged cooking, the {{lang|fr|fines herbes}} are added at the last minute, to salads, omelettes, and soups.Peter, K. V. (Ed.). (2012). Handbook of herbs and spices (2nd ed., Vol. 2). Woodhead Publishing.{{Cite book |last1=Biggs |first1=Matthew |title=The New Vegetables, Herbs & Fruit: An Illustrated Encyclopedia |last2=McVicar |first2=Jekka |last3=Flowerdew |first3=Bob |publisher=Firefly Books Ltd |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-77085-798-8 |edition=1st |location=United States, Canada |pages=235 |language=English}}

=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%).{{cite journal |last1=Baser |first1=K. H.C. |last2=Ermin |first2=N. |last3=Demirçakmak |first3=B. |title=The Essential Oil of Anthriscus cerefolium (L.) Hoffm. (Chervil) Growing Wild in Turkey |journal=Journal of Essential Oil Research |date=July 1998 |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=463–464 |doi=10.1080/10412905.1998.9700944}}

=Horticulture=

According to some, slugs are attracted to chervil and the plant is sometimes used to bait them.{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=GcWQQKJX1xEC&pg=PA375 |author1=Fern Marshall Bradley |author2=Barbara W. Ellis |author3=Deborah L. Martin |chapter=Chervil is irresistible to slugs |title=The Organic Gardener's Handbook of Natural Pest and Disease |date=2 February 2010 |page=363 |publisher=Harmony/Rodale |isbn=9781605291796 }}

=Health=

File:Graine de cerfeuil.JPG

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.{{cite book |last1=McGee |first1=Rose Marie Nichols |last2=Stuckey |first2=Maggie |title=The Bountiful Container |publisher=Workman Publishing |year=2002

}} 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.{{cite journal |journal=The Electronic Textbook of Dermatology |url=http://telemedicine.org/botanica/bot1.htm |title=Botanical Dermatology |last1=McGovern |first1=Thomas W |last2=Barkley |first2=Theodore M |year=1998 |volume=37 |issue=5 |at=Section Phytophotodermatitis |publisher=Internet Dermatology Society |doi=10.1046/j.1365-4362.1998.00385.x |pmid=9620476 |s2cid=221810453 |access-date=23 October 2018|url-access=subscription }}