Dill Essential Oil : Calming

Legend has it that back in the day, Roman gladiators used dill to ward off performance anxiety before matches and heading into battle.

Maybe the expression, “Don’t be such a dill,” came from someone who wasn’t in on the secret yet.  “Hey, look at Maximus.  Rubbing on essential oils?  What a dill !”

Well, Maximus had the last laugh when his nerves turned from jelly to steel and he calmly set about his gladiatorial business.  If you’re heading into the boardroom for a big presentation or a courthouse to make legal arguments — or the biggest challenge of all, trying to get the kids to bed ! — you can turn this to your modern-day gladiatorial advantage, too.

As you can gather, dill (Anethum graveolens) has been highly regarded for a very long time.  It’s mentioned in a bunch of ancient medical and botanical texts including Dioscorides’ De Materia Medica.  This reference work was a heavily relied-upon guide to herbal treatments in Europe, dating back to AD 78.  Benedictine herbalist Hildegard of Bingen also waved the ‘dill’ flag back in the early 11^th century.  Go, Hildegard.

Dill essential oil is wonderful for inhalation and diffusing to create a calming mood.  Combine it with roman chamomile and they have a beautiful synergy that amplifies their collective power.  If you have restless kids, try diffusing this blend of singles at home whenever they are fractious, and in their bedrooms for 15 minutes either side of bed time.  (Put a timer on the power point for the diffuser if you think you’ll forget.)

Does dill’s ability to influence feelings come as a surprise to you?  You’re not alone!  As anyone who can boil an egg or poach a fish knows, it’s great for cooking, too.  It has a long history as a generally supportive digestive, as do most culinary herbs that spring to mind.  

Have you ever thought about diffusing culinary essential oils while you’re eating dinner? Our digestive systems are crucial to our overall health, including our immunity.  Diffusing culinary oils and blends (like Young Living DiGize™) while sharing stories over the dinner table each night surely help create a supportive environment.

The whole dill plant is steam distilled to create its essential oil, which as the lifeblood of the plant and far more vibrant energetically than the dried herb.  This is the case for all essential oils versus the dried herb equivalent.

Dried herbs are handy, for sure.  But with the purity of Young Living essential oils (you can check that out here in this short video), herbaceous culinary oils like dill can be added to food and drink and used in cooking to add a potent flavour and vitality boost.  (Note: Please only ever use essential oils this way when the label clearly indicates it’s safe to do so.  Quality is imperative and even then, not all oils are meant to be ingested.  Yes, they are all natural in origin, but so is poison ivy!)

Dill comes from the botanical family Apiaceae with a long list of sibling essential oils that belong to the same family (those marked with asterisks * are Young Living single culinary oils can be added to food along with inhaling and applying topically):

• angelica
• anise
• carrot seed
• celery seed
• coriander*
• cumin
• fennel*
• galbanum

QUICK FISH and DILL RECIPE TIPS

Add a drop of Young Living Dill essential oil to softened organic butter or extra virgin olive oil and drizzle over steamed or oven-baked fish for a quick way to jazz up something plain.

Rub together a quick dill crumble of toasted slivered or flaked almonds, almond meal and/or fresh bread crumbs, fresh dill, capers, oil or butter and a drop of dill oil.  Put this on top of your steamed fish and under the griller for a brief while before serving.  Keep an eye on it and take it out as soon as the crumb has turned golden.  You might want to remove the fish from the steamer a couple of minutes earlier than usual as it will continue to cook under the griller.

Make a quick and hearty salmon or tune casserole: combine your favourite al dente-cooked pasta (wheat or non-wheat alternative) with canned wild-caught salmon or pole-and-line-caught tuna, baby peas and a cheesy white sauce with 3-6 drops of Young Living Lemon essential oil stirred through; add the dill crumble topping and bake in a moderate oven until the topping is golden; serve with salad in summer or lightly steamed broccolini and carrot sticks in winter.

Versatile and helpful, give this lovely essential oil a try.  You’d be a dill not to!

Essential oils are potent, so as always, please follow directions on the bottle and the usual guidelines for safe use of authentic essential oils.

Enjoy the good oil daily.

The information on this site does not constitute advice. Please consult with your health practitioner. When using any of the products mentioned throughout this site, please be sure to read the labels and follow their suggestions for safe use. We make commissions from sales via many of the products we recommend but we only suggest products we genuinely enjoy and want you to benefit from.  Products image © Young Living Essential Oils | Used with permission

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