Cumin

Full name of the product: Whole Cumin

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) is a flowering plant in the genus Cuminum. It is also known as jeera. In Arabic and Hebrew it means “seed”. In European cookbooks, cumin is often confused with jeera. They look very similar but have absolutely different taste.

Taste and color

Strong, bittering, slightly nutty odor that gets stronger if you rub or fry the seeds.

Origin

Cumin is likely to originate from the Central Asia. In India, locals grow cumin in their gardens. Cumin is cultivated in the Southeast Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, North Africa, and Latin America. In Europe cumin is not so common (except for the Mediterranean countries), pushed aside by caraway seeds.

Benefits

According to Wikipedia, cumin seeds contain 2.4 to 4.0% of essential oils and up to 16% of gums. Cumin has a positive effect on heart health, prevents trombosis and heart attacks. It enhances brain and eye functions, improves eyesight, boosts appetite and improves digestion. Cumin has hardening effect and is a good cure for stomach cramps, dyspepsia, and flatulence. In Greece, it is used to make a healing drink for kids. It also helps to cure nervous exhaustion and migraines. Due to high content of gums, cumin seeds may be used to make efficient antiseptic and healing lotions while dressings with ground cumin seed mixed with olive oil or bean flour help to resolve small tumors.

Uses

Cumin is widely used for cooking, especially Oriental foods. People use both whole and crumbled cumin seeds as well as cumin powder. Whole seeds are used for cooking such foods as plov where they are responsible for the odor. Powdered cumin seed are widely used by Turk peoples for cooking meat. Cumin seeds are used to be included into garam masala, a spice blend widely spread in India that has many variations. Cumin is a common ingredient in the Mexican cuisine and is always present in the Oriental plov. In Armenia, cumin is used for making basturma.