Fenugreek's maple syrup smell comes from one molecule, and the Romans called it Greek hay
A single compound, sotolon, gives fenugreek its odd dual scent: curry when concentrated, maple syrup or caramel when faint, which is why it flavours imitation maple syrup. People were using the plant by 4000 BC, its seeds were found in Tutankhamun's tomb, and its English name means Greek hay.
Fenugreek is an annual legume, a relative of beans and peanuts, recognised by its three small leaflets. It was probably domesticated in the Near East, though which wild Trigonella gave rise to it is unknown. Charred seeds from Tell Halal in Iraq have been carbon dated to 4000 BC, more turned up in Bronze Age Lachish, and Cato the Elder grouped it with clover and vetch as cattle fodder. Romans flavoured wine with it, Josephus describes it as a staple crop in first-century Galilee, and the Mishnah names it tiltan. The Latin faenum Graecum reached English through Middle French.
Today India grows more than anyone, with Rajasthan providing over 80% of the country's output. Cooks on the subcontinent roast the amber, cube-shaped seeds to tame their bitterness and use them in pickles, dal and blends such as panch phoron, while fresh leaves go into aloo methi. In Iran the leaves join the herb stew ghormeh sabzi, and Egyptians boil the seeds into a drink served in coffee shops. A fenugreek paste coats the cured beef called basturma in Armenian and Turkish kitchens, the Turkish name coming from a verb meaning to press. Yemenite Jews whip ground seeds with water into a frothy relish, hilbeh, eaten at Rosh Hashana.
The seeds are dense food, with 23% protein by weight and very high iron. Yet despite wide sale as capsules and teas, no high-quality evidence shows fenugreek has any therapeutic effect, and the US Food and Drug Administration does not approve it for clinical use. Studies have been small and poorly designed, and the supplements carry real risks, including allergic reactions in people sensitive to peanuts or chickpeas and interference with blood-thinning and diabetes drugs.
Its scent can linger in sweat. The sprouts were also suspected as the source of a 2011 E. coli outbreak in Germany and France, traced to one batch of seeds imported from Egypt in 2009.
Source: Fenugreek
