Know2eat

Chervil

Anthriscus cerefolium

What chervil has been studied for

1 association assessed — none with dependable human evidence behind them yet. Strongest first.

  • 1 Insufficient
3 things to know first — allergies, interactions and intake limits

About chervil

A delicate carrot-family herb tasting faintly of parsley and anise, one of the four herbs in a classic fines herbes mix. The USDA entry is the dried leaf, which is very light — a teaspoon weighs well under a gram.

Also known as chervil, French parsley, garden chervil, cerfeuil

Gut & Digestive Health

The evidence in depth

Best supported: Insufficient

What each association actually rests on, and the papers behind it. A rating describes the state of the research, not how impressive the food is. How we rate evidence.

Digestive comfort

Gut & Digestive Health
Insufficient evidence

Chervil has a long folk reputation as a digestive and spring tonic and essentially no research behind it. No human trials of chervil for any outcome could be expected to turn up, which makes this an open question rather than a finding.

Insufficient evidence. Not enough human research to say anything useful yet.

No source is attached to this association yet, so it is rated insufficient by default. It is listed because people commonly ask about it — not because there is evidence for it.

Ask about Chervil

Ask about Chervil

Answers are written only from the entries on this page — the same nutrients, compounds, claims and citations you can read above. Nothing is added from outside the database, and every answer lists what it was built from.

AI explanations are not switched on for this site, so there is nothing to ask here. Everything above is read straight from the database and does not need them.

Key nutrients

Nutrient content per 100 grams
NutrientAmount% DV
Macronutrients
Calories237 kcal12%
Protein23.2 g46%
Total fat3.9 g5%
Carbohydrate49.1 g18%
Fibre11.3 g40%
Water7.2 g—
Fats
Saturated fat0.169 g1%
Monounsaturated fat1.4 g—
Polyunsaturated fat1.8 g—
Cholesterol0 mg0%
EPA (omega-3)0 g—
DHA (omega-3)0 g—
DPA (omega-3)0 g—
Linoleic acid (omega-6)1.8 g—
Vitamins
Vitamin A293 µg33%
Vitamin C50 mg56%
Vitamin D0 µg0%
Thiamin (B1)0.38 mg32%
Riboflavin (B2)0.68 mg52%
Niacin (B3)5.4 mg34%
Vitamin B60.93 mg55%
Folate274 µg69%
Vitamin B120 µg0%
Minerals
Calcium1346 mg104%
Iron31.9 mg178%
Magnesium130 mg31%
Phosphorus450 mg36%
Potassium4740 mg101%
Sodium83 mg4%
Zinc8.8 mg80%
Copper0.44 mg49%
Manganese2.1 mg91%
Selenium29.3 µg53%
Other measured compounds
Caffeine0 mg—
Ash16.6 g—

Nutrient values are per 100 g of the USDA reference entry named on this page and vary with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

Source record: Spices, chervil, dried (USDA FoodData Central, FDC ID 171318).

% DV uses the FDA Daily Values for adults and children aged 4 and over. A dash means no Daily Value has been established for that nutrient.

Bioactive compounds

Compounds present in meaningful amounts. Presence is banded rather than quantified, because whole-food levels vary enormously with variety, growing conditions, storage and preparation.

How preparation changes things

Only effects with real support are listed. If a preparation method is missing, it is because nothing dependable is documented — not because it makes no difference.

  • rawPreserves volatile aroma compounds

    Chervil’s aroma is unusually fragile and largely gone after a few minutes of heat, which is why it is added at the very end or used raw. The dried form retains little of it.

Things to know

Allergies, interactions and intake concerns. Every food gets this section — a reference where everything is uniformly good is not a reference.

  • Worth knowing

    Easily confused with poison hemlock when foraged

    Chervil closely resembles poison hemlock and fool’s parsley, both of which are lethally toxic, and fatal misidentifications are on record. Buy it rather than gather it unless you can identify Apiaceae confidently.

  • Allergy

    Carrot-family allergy and photodermatitis

    As an Apiaceae herb, chervil shares allergens with celery, carrot and parsley, and its furanocoumarins can cause a sun-triggered rash in people handling large amounts.

  • Worth knowing

    Traditionally avoided at medicinal doses in pregnancy

    Chervil appears in older herbal texts as an emmenagogue. There is no modern safety data either way, which is itself the reason to keep to culinary amounts in pregnancy.