History of Cumin

From Latin "cuminum" comes the English word “cumin.” Cuminum was borrowed from the Greek language word "kyminon", though further word origination may be Semitic. A Syrian dialect in the Near East from the 6th century BC is the Aramic “kamuna,” while Old Hebrew has "kammon", and Egyptian has "kamnini.” The ultimate origin is maybe the Sumerian word "gamun,” that was spoken in southern Mesopotamia in 3000-2000 BC, from the Akkadian word "kamunu" that was spoken in northern Mesopotamia from 3000-1000 BC.

Cumin is mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible as a seasoning for bread and soup and as a currency to pay tithes to priests. Ancient Egyptians used cumin as a culinary spice, but also in the mummification process when they were preparing the bodies of pharaohs to be entombed.

The ancient Mesopotamia Yale Culinary Tablets, which date back to 1750 BC and are generally considered the world’s oldest collection of recipes, mentions the use of cumin. Ancient Greek and Egyptian physicians documented cumin’s perceived medical benefits. Cumin was popular during the Medieval period (476-1300) and was one of the most common plants grown in monasteries. King Henry III (England’s King from 1216-1272) was a cumin connoisseur and his kitchen staff would buy approximately 20 pounds of cumin at a time to ensure that he was never without his favorite spice.

Spanish colonists are likely responsible for introducing cumin to America. They mostly settled in Florida, the Southwest and the Pacific Coastal regions of the country. In the 1600s cumin was being grown in the west in what is modern day New Mexico and the southwest region is where cumin became a key ingredient in the area's cuisine, frequently paired with chiles. This pairing is still popular today, as evidenced by staple recipes such as black beans with chiles and cumin.

When Lyndon B. Johnson was President of the U.S. his wife had a homemade chili recipe that became somewhat famous. Cumin is a key ingredients in what they called their "Pedernales River Chili," a dish named for the location of their Texas Hill Country ranch. The first lady, Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson, had cards printed with the LBJ’s “Pedernales River Chili" recipe on them and these would be mailed to the thousands of requestors for it from across the country.

Cumin Cultivation

Cumin is a drought tolerant, tropical or subtropical crop that grows best in warm, dry climates. Ideal growing conditions are long, hot summers with temperatures between 77° to 86°F and that last 3-4 months. Depending on where it’s grown, cumin has a growing season of 100-120 days. The plant produces small white or pink flowers that grow in clusters on short stems, looking like small umbrellas. When the plant starts to wilt, and the seeds have changed colors from dark green to a brownish yellow, the cumin seeds are ready to be harvested. The whole plant is removed from the ground and then laid in thin piles to dry in the sun.

After this first drying process the plant is threshed or beaten with sticks to release the seeds from the plant. The seeds are then separated and winnowed using a traditional winnowing basket that removes the dirt, dust, leaves and twigs. Next, they are either spread out on mats or trays and placed in the sun to dry or, in more humid growing environments, put in a commercial drier. During this second drying process they will get down to approximately a 10% moisture content.

India has traditionally been the world’s leading commercial producer of cumin with 70% of the market, followed by Syria with 15% and Turkey with 5%. With the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East Syria and Turkey combined are now only producing about 10% of the world's total. India is now producing close to 80% of the cumin output.

Where is it from?

Our Ground Cumin is ground in house from Cumin Seeds that come from India.

Cooking with Cumin

For cooks in the Far East, Latin America, Mexico, the Middle East and North Africa, cumin has long been a signature spice. It is a key ingredient in various spice blends and many bean, couscous, curries, rice and vegetable dishes. Cumin flourishes when used with beans, bread, cabbage, pungent cheeses, chicken, eggplant, lamb, lentils, onions, potatoes, rice, sauerkraut and squash.

Cumin works well in combination with other spices like allspice, anise seed, brown mustard, cardamom, cinnamon, coriander, fennel, fenugreek, garlic, ginger, nutmeg, paprika, turmeric and yellow mustard.

Some of our favorite recipes with Ground Cumin are Chicken Enchilada Soup, Peruvian Beef Stew, Vegetarian Bean Chili, Quick and Easy Vegetable Curry, Albondigas and Carne Asada.

We recommend using cumin sparingly as it is quite potent and can easily overwhelm a dish.

Whole vs Ground

Cumin Seed is suitable for home storage so that it can be freshly ground in the exact quantity called for in a recipe for optimum flavor. Cumin is one of the spices that has a fairly high volatile oil content (2.5% to 4.5%) and once ground, the flavor starts to dissipate quickly. At our facility we grind cumin seeds several times a week for maximum flavor.

What Does Cumin Taste Like?

Ground Cumin has a very distinctive flavor with an earthy, nutty, spicy taste with somewhat bitter undertones and a warm, penetrating aroma with hints of lemon. It is not the same sort of spicy that you would say black pepper or chiles are, but it does have an intensity to it.

What’s the Difference Between Cumin, Black Cumin, Caraway, and Nigella?

There is some confusion between Cumin, Black Cumin, Caraway and Nigella but these are actually four completely different spices.

Cumin, Cuminum cyminum, tastes earthy and slightly nutty. It shows up in Latin American, Middle Eastern, and Mediterranean cuisines frequently.

Black Cumin, Cuminum nigrum, also known as Kala Jeera, is a popular spice in North Indian, Iranian and Pakistani cuisine and is a smaller variety of cumin with a different flavor profile. It is more bitter than cumin, but less intense.

Caraway Seed, Carum carvi, is closely to and looks very similar to Cumin but their flavor profiles are very different. Caraway seed has a biting, warm sweet flavor that brings to mind anise and dill.

Nigella Seeds, Nigella sativa, is sometimes incorrectly sold as “black cumin”, “black caraway” or "onion seeds" but is not technically any of these.

Meeting Your Business Needs with Our Products

As it is so agreeable with vegetarian dishes, our ground cumin is a popular choice for our bulk customers who run specialty vegetarian and vegan eateries. These cute little nooks all over the country cater to a group of foodies who are growing in popularity and number every year. Plant-based eating is becoming more commonplace, so it only makes sense then to have a mastery of vegetable friendly spices and a food inventory that matches this trend. Stock up on bulk ground cumin to season your food truck’s most popular vegan burrito or bake some jeera cookies to serve with your coffee shop’s most popular chai.

Some of our other bulk customers use their ground cumin in the creation of signature sauces. Cumin and lime juice pair up nicely, making for a truly unique wing sauce when mixed with some other ingredients we’ve been told, causing an addictive response to this interesting sauce.

Substitutions and Conversions

Cumin is one of those spices that doesn’t really have a flavor equivalent. In some recipes, if you are looking for a bit of earthiness and don’t mind a little extra color, you can substitute it with turmeric. Some people say that caraway seed is a good substitute because of its potency, but it is a very different flavor and might not suit your recipe well. Add these substitutes with caution, tasting often.

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