Umbelliferae, Cuminum cyminum

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

At least 4000 years ago in Egypt and Minoan Crete it was used in medicine. The Romans used it the same way 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.

FLAVOR

The smell of cumin is strong and heavy, spicy-sweet with a sharp but warm depth. It has a rich taste, slightly bitter, with a persistent astringency. Use it sparingly.

USED ARE dry seeds are.

PURCHASE AND STORAGE

Cumin seeds are available everywhere, whole and ground. Black cumin can be bought in Asian markets, as can dhanajeera, a mixture of cumin and coriander seeds.

Cumin seeds are oval, brown-green in color, approximately 5 mm long. They look like caraway, but are flatter and have characteristic folds/lines along the entire length of the seed.

Black cumin is darker and smaller than regular cumin. It has a sweeter smell and a complex, mild taste that is somewhere between cumin and caraway. Toasted seeds are put in bread and pilaf.

The seeds will retain their pungency for a year if you keep them in a well-closed container, while ground cumin cannot be stored for a long time.

USE IN COOKING

The aroma of cumin is enhanced if the seeds are dry-fried before grinding, or fried in oil if they are used whole.

The first Spanish dishes combined cumin, saffron and aniseed or cinnamon.

Today, cumin can be found in Moroccan couscous, in North African merguez sausages, in Tex-Mex chili con carne, and to a lesser extent in Mexican spice mixes.

It is 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, koftas in Turkey, and pomegranate and walnut sauces in Syria.

In all countries where they like spicy food, it is used in bread, chutneys, desserts, spicy spice mixes, and meat or vegetable dishes. It is found in curry powder and masalas and in commercial chili powder.

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

IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR Iranian advieh, baharat, berbere, cajun spice mix, curry powder, dukku, masala, panch phoron, sambhar, zhug.

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

COMBINES WELL WITH ajowan, allspice, anise seed, basil, cardamom, chili, cinnamon, cloves, coriander, curry leaf, fennel seed, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, mace and nutmeg, mustard seed, oregano, red pepper, pepper, thyme, turmeric.

OTHER TYPES OF CUMIN

The original black cumin (kala jeera) is a variety that grows in Kashmir, North Pakistan and Iran.
There, as in the Gulf states, it is used the same as common cumin is used elsewhere.

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