About Fenugreek (Trigonella corniculata
aka T. foenum-graecum)
If this spice had a less cumbersome name--say methi, its common commercial name (and
what it's called in India)--it might be better known and more popular in the Western world;
as it is, it's a rare curiosity, which is a shame.
Fenugreek is grown primarily (but more anon) for its seeds, which are lightly roasted
before use in cooking. It is mainly an Indian spice, much used in curries, but its use
extends to the eastern Mediterranean areas, where it turns up in Egyptian and Greek
dishes. It is always used lightly roasted--roasting brings out its characteristic
somewhat bitter taste, which is always an accent or background taste where this spice is
called for, but over-roasting makes it too bitter. There is no doubt that if it were
better known in the West, many and many a use for it could be found by inventive cooks, as
numerous posts to the internet demonstrate. (A flavor resemblance sometimes mentioned
with fenugreek is maple, as in maple syrup, which we have noted ourselves--it is even used
to make imitation maple syrups.)
As to uses other than for its seeds, Tom Stobart, whose
herb
and spice book we strongly recommend, writes that:
If fenugreek seed is sown in boxes [planters] and grown to the two-leaf (cotyledon) stage
like mustard and cress, it makes a five-star salad when dressed with oil and vinegar. The
taste is refreshing, new and unusual.
Stobart notes, though, that mature fenugreek greens are quite bitter--but says that
curried, even they make a satisfactory dish.
Cultivars
It must prove something that there are numerous well-known cultivars of fenugreek in use in
the extensive commercial trade, but no named varieties whatever (that we could find) in the
home-garden seed catalogues; few enough carry even a generic "fenugreek".
Planting
Timing
Fenugreek likes warmth: its growth is slow and weak in cold temperatures or wet soils.
Since it supposedly bolts to seed quickly and easily, we might as well plant it out when the
weather has gotten good and warm, say middle May, or even June 1st.
The Bed
The general rule for herb and spice plants is that their soil needs are not demanding, save
that the soil must be very well-drained: few herb or spice plants can stand "wet feet".
The soil should not be particularly rich, most especially not for flavoring plants we
grow for their seed (or fruit), common mis-advice to the contrary notwithstanding: a rich
soil will lower the concentration of the "aromatic oils" that give the seed its
characteristic flavor, which is the very thing we are growing them for. Plants that are
slightly nutrient-stressed (which doesn't mean starved) give better-tasting seed.
Fenugreek is typical of that description.
Planting Out
Curiously, fenugreek is a legume; it will thus enrich the soil where it is grown, but that
also means it's wise to use inoculant (of the usual pean-and-bean sort) on it when seeding.
Plant seed where the plants are to grow; seed about 3/4" deep. Some sources recommend
pre-soaking the seeds in warm water for half a day or so. Spacing is unclear, but
apparently it is usually grown closely--at 2 to 4 inches apart.
Growing
The seeds--brownish, about 1/8 inch long, oblong, rhomboidal, with a deep furrow dividing
them into two unequal lobes--are contained, 10 to 20 together, in long, narrow, sickle-like
pods, which do not naturally shatter. Fenugreek plants may thus be left to dry down, then
harvested. The seeds, like most spice seeds, need to be very well dried, but never with any
sort of warm-air or forced drying, lest they lose some essential oils.
Relevant Links
Besides any links presented above on this page, the following ought to be especially helpful.
-
Fenugreek -
from Gernot Katzer's immensely valuable Spice Dictionary
-
Fenugreek -
an informative page from the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association's "Herbs for the
Prairies" site
-
Plants For a Future Database: Fenugreek -
lots of data on the plant, and links to yet more
-
Fenugreek -
an informative general article from Purdue University
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