Umbelliferae, Cuminum cyminum

Cumin is the seed of a small, herbaceous plant from the umbelliferae family, originating from just one place, the Nile Valley in Egypt, but it has long been cultivated in most hot regions – the eastern Mediterranean, N. Africa, India, China, and America.

At least 4000 years ago, it was used in medicines in Egypt and Minoan Crete. Romans used it much as we use pepper.

In the Middle Ages, cumin was popular in Europe, but its place was gradually taken by caraway.

Spanish explorers took it to Latin America, where it became a very popular spice.

TASTE

Cumin has a strong and heavy aroma, spicy-sweet with a sharp, yet warm depth. It has a rich taste, somewhat bitter, with persistent pungency. Use it moderately.

USED are dried seeds.

BUYING AND STORING

Cumin seeds are widely available, whole and ground. Black cumin can be bought at Asian markets, as can dhanajeera, a mix of cumin and coriander seeds.

Cumin seeds are oval, brownish-green, about 5 mm long. They look like caraway but are flatter and have characteristic ridges/lines along the entire length.

Black cumin is darker and smaller than regular cumin. It has a sweeter aroma and a complex, mild taste somewhere between cumin and caraway. Toasted seeds are used in bread and pilafs.

The seeds will retain their pungency for a year if stored in a tightly closed container, while ground cumin cannot stand for long.

USED IN COOKING

Cumin's aroma intensifies if the seeds are dry-roasted before grinding, or fried in oil if used whole.

Early Spanish dishes combined cumin, saffron, and aniseed or cinnamon.

Today, cumin can be found in Moroccan couscous, North African merguez sausages, Tex-Mex chili con carne, and somewhat in Mexican spice blends.

It's added to pretzels in Alsace, pork sausages in Portugal, cheese in the Netherlands, pickled cauliflower in Germany, tapas known as Moorish kebabs (pinchitos morunos) in Spain, fish dishes in Lebanon, kofta in Turkey, and pomegranate and walnut sauces in Syria.

In all countries where spicy food is enjoyed, it is used in bread, chutneys, sweets, spicy spice blends, and meat or vegetable casseroles. It's found in curry powder and masalas, and in commercial chili powder.

A combination of ground cumin and coriander gives Indian food its characteristic pungent aroma – although authentic Indian recipes can be confusing because the word cumin, jeere, is sometimes wrongly translated as caraway.

IMPORTANT for Iranian advieh, baharat, berbere, Cajun spice mix, curry powder, dukku, masalas, panch phoron, sambhar, zhug.

GOOD WITH beans, bread, cabbage, hard and spicy cheeses, chicken, eggplant, lamb, lentils, onions, potatoes, rice, sauerkraut, squash.

COMBINES WELL WITH ajwain, allspice, aniseed, basil, cardamom, chili, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, curry leaves, fennel seed, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, mace and nutmeg, mustard seed, oregano, paprika, pepper, thyme, turmeric.

Other types of cumin

Original black cumin (kala jeera) is a variety that grows in Kashmir, N. Pakistan, and Iran.
There, as in Gulf states, it is used just as regular cumin is used elsewhere.

Black cumin should not be confused with two other spices often given the same name, Nigella sativa and Bunium persicum; the latter grows wild in the Middle East and is used locally.