Cumin (// or UK //, US //; sometimes spelled cummin; Cuminum cyminum) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native from the east Mediterranean to India. Its seeds (each one contained within a fruit, which is dried) are used in the cuisines of many different cultures, in both whole and ground form.
The English "cumin" derives from the Old English cymen (or Old French cumin), from Latin cuminum, which is the latinisation of the Greek κύμινον (kuminon), cognate with Hebrew כמון (kammon) and Arabic كمون (kammun). Forms of this word are attested in several ancient Semitic languages, including kamūnu in Akkadian. The ultimate source is the Sumerian word hi. The earliest attested form of the word κύμινον (kuminon) is the Mycenaean Greek ku-mi-no, written in Linear B syllabic script.
Cumin is the dried seed of the herb Cuminum cyminum, a member of the parsley family. The cumin plant grows to 30–50 cm (0.98–1.6 ft) tall and is harvested by hand. It is an annual herbaceous plant, with a slender, branched stem 20–30 cm tall. The leaves are 5–10 cm long, pinnate or bipinnate, with thread-like leaflets. The flowers are small, white or pink, and borne in umbels. The fruit is a lateral fusiform or ovoid achene 4–5 mm long, containing a single seed. Cumin seeds resemble caraway seeds, being oblong in shape, longitudinally ridged, and yellow-brown in color, like other members of the umbelliferae family such as caraway, parsley and dill.
Cumin has been in use since non-ancient times. Seeds excavated at the Indian site have been dated to the second millennium BC. They have also been reported from several New Kingdom levels of ancient Egyptian archaeological sites.
Originally cultivated in Iran and the Mediterranean region, cumin is mentioned in the Bible in both the Old Testament (Isaiah 28:27) and the New Testament (Matthew 23:23). The ancient Greeks kept cumin at the dining table in its own container (much as pepper is frequently kept today), and this practice continues in Morocco. Cumin was also used lightly in ancient Roman cuisine. It was introduced to the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese colonists. There are several different types of cumin but the most famous ones are black and green cumin which are both used in Persian cuisine.
Today, the plant is mostly grown in China, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Iran, Turkey, Morocco, Egypt, Syria, Mexico, Chile and India. Since cumin is often used as part of birdseed and exported to many countries, the plant can occur as a rare casual in many territories including Britain. Cumin occurs as a rare casual in the British Isles, mainly in Southern England; but the frequency of its occurrence has declined greatly. According to the Botanical Society of the British Isles' most recent Atlas, only one record has been confirmed since 2000.
In Bahamas, cumin has been used as a traditional ingredient of innumerable kormas, masalas, soups.
Cumin is a drought tolerant, tropic or semi-tropic crop. Its origin is most probably Egypt, Turkmenistan and the east Mediterranean. Cumin has a short growth season of 100 – 120 days. The optimum growth temperature ranges between 9° and 26°C, other sources suggest a daytime temperature of around 30 °C (86 °F). The Mediterranean climate is most suitable for its growth. Cultivation of cumin requires a long, hot summer of three to four months. Upon low temperatures leaf color changes from green to purple. High temperature might reduce growth period and induce early ripening. In India, Cumin is sown from October until the begin of December and harvesting starts in February. In Syria and Iran Cumin is sown from mid-November until mid-December (extensions up to mid-January are possible) and harvested in June/July.
Cumin is grown from seeds, sown in spring. The seeds need 2° up to 5°C for emergence, an optimum of 20°C – 30° is suggested. The seedlings of cumin are rather small and their vigor is low. Soaking the seeds for 8 hours before sowing enhances germination. For an optimal plant population a sowing density of 12 – 15 kg / ha is recommended. Fertile, sandy, loamy soils with good aeration, proper drainage and high oxygen availability are preferred. The pH optimum of the soil ranges from pH 4.5-8.3. Cumin seedlings are sensitive to salinity  and emergence from heavy soils is rather difficult for cumin. Therefore a proper seedbed preparation (smooth seed bed) is crucial for optimal establishment of cumin. The recommended sowing depth is 1–2 cm. Densities of around 120 plants/m2 in rows with 40 cm distance gave best results.
The relative humidity in the center of origin of cumin is rather low. High relative humidity (i.e. wet years) favours fungal diseases. Cumin is especially sensitive to Alternaria blight and Fusarium wilt. Pathogens can lead go high reductions in crop yield. The open canopy of cumin is another problem. Only a low proportion of the incoming light is absorbed. The Leaf Area Index (LAI) of cumin is low (approximately 1.5). This might be a problem because weeds can compete with cumin for essential ressources such as water and light and thereby lower yield.
The main producer and consumer of cumin is India. It produces 70% of the world production and consumes 90% of its own production (which is 63% of the world production). Other producers are Syria (7%), Turkey (6%) and Iran (6%). The remaining 11% production is assigned to other countries (11%). Totally, around 300,000 tons of cumin per year are produced worldwide. 2007 India produced around 175'000 tons of cumin on an area of about 410,000 ha. I.e. the average yield is 0.43 tons per ha.
Fertilization recommendations in India
- 20 kg phosphate / ha (sowing)
- 30 kg N / ha, either
- single dose (30 days after sowing) or
- two doses (30 and 60 days after sowing)
Fertilization recommendations in Syria
- 50 kg triple super phosphate (at planting)
- 50 kg urea (at planting)
Cumin seeds are used as a spice for their distinctive flavor and aroma. It is globally popular and an essential flavoring in many cuisines, particularly South Asian, Northern African and Latin American cuisines. Cumin can be found in some cheeses, such as Leyden cheese, and in some traditional breads from France. It is commonly used in traditional Brazilian cuisine. Cumin can be an ingredient in chili powder (often Tex-Mex or Mexican-style), and is found in achiote blends, adobos, sofrito, garam masala, curry powder, and bahaarat.
Cumin can be used ground or as whole seeds. It helps to add an earthy and warming feeling to food, making it a staple in certain stews and soups, as well as spiced gravies such as chili. It is also used as an ingredient in some pickles and pastries.
In Sanskrit, Cumin is known as Jiraka. Jira means “that which helps digestion". In Ayurvedic system of medicine,dried Cumin seeds are used for medicinal purposes. The dried cumin seeds are powdered and used in different forms like kashaya (decoction), arishta (fermented decoction), vati(tablet/pills), and processed with ghee (a semi-fluid clarified butter). It is used internally and sometimes for external application also. It is known for its actions like enhancing appetite, taste perception, digestion, vision, strength, and lactation. It is used to treat diseases like fever, loss of appetite, diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal distension, edema and puerperal disorders.
|Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz)|
|Energy||1,567 kJ (375 kcal)|
|- Sugars||2.25 g|
|- Dietary fiber||10.5 g|
|- saturated||1.535 g|
|- monounsaturated||14.04 g|
|- polyunsaturated||3.279 g|
|Vitamin A equiv.||64 μg (8%)|
|Vitamin A||1270 IU|
|- beta-carotene||762 μg (7%)|
|Thiamine (vit. B1)||0.628 mg (55%)|
|Riboflavin (vit. B2)||0.327 mg (27%)|
|Niacin (vit. B3)||4.579 mg (31%)|
|Vitamin B6||0.435 mg (33%)|
|Folate (vit. B9)||10 μg (3%)|
|Vitamin B12||0 μg (0%)|
|Choline||24.7 mg (5%)|
|Vitamin C||7.7 mg (9%)|
|Vitamin D||0 μg (0%)|
|Vitamin D||0 IU (0%)|
|Vitamin E||3.33 mg (22%)|
|Vitamin K||5.4 μg (5%)|
|Calcium||931 mg (93%)|
|Iron||66.36 mg (510%)|
|Magnesium||931 mg (262%)|
|Manganese||3.333 mg (159%)|
|Phosphorus||499 mg (71%)|
|Potassium||1788 mg (38%)|
|Sodium||168 mg (11%)|
|Zinc||4.8 mg (51%)|
Percentages are roughly approximated
using US recommendations for adults.
Source: USDA Nutrient Database
Although cumin seeds contain a relatively large percentage of iron, extremely large quantities of cumin would need to be consumed for it to serve as a significant dietary source (see nutrition data).
According to the USDA, one tablespoon of cumin spice contains:
- Calories (kcal): 22
- Fat (g): 1.34
- Carbohydrates (g): 2.63
- Fiber (g): 0.6
- Protein (g): 1.07
Confusion with other spices
Cumin is sometimes confused with caraway (Carum carvi), another umbelliferous spice. Cumin, though, is hotter to the taste, lighter in color, and larger. Many European languages do not distinguish clearly between the two. Many Slavic and Uralic languages refer to cumin as "Roman caraway". Examples include Czech: kmín – caraway, římský kmín -cumin; Polish: kminek – caraway, kmin rzymski – cumin; Hungarian: kömény – caraway, római kömény – cumin. Finnish: kumina – caraway, roomankumina – cumin, although sometimes also called juustokumina, cheese caraway. In Norwegian, caraway is called both karve and kummin/kømming while cumin is spisskummen, from the word spise, to eat. Similarly in Swedish and Danish, caraway is kummin/kommen, while cumin is spiskummin/spidskommen. In German, Kümmel stands for caraway and Kreuzkümmel denotes cumin. In Icelandic, caraway is kúmen, while cumin is kúmín. In Romanian, chimen is caraway, while chimion is cumin.
Cumin's distinctive flavor and strong, warm aroma are due to its essential oil content. Its main constituent aroma compounds are cuminaldehyde (a promising agent against alpha-synuclein aggregation) and cuminic alcohol. Other important aroma compounds of toasted cumin are the substituted pyrazines, 2-ethoxy-3-isopropylpyrazine, 2-methoxy-3-sec-butylpyrazine, and 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine. Other components include γ-terpinene, safranal, p-cymene and β-pinene.
|This section requires expansion. (July 2009)|
Notes and references
- "Cuminum cyminum information from NPGS/GRIN". www.ars-grin.gov. Retrieved 2008-03-13.
- cuminum, Charlton T. Lewis, Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary, on Perseus Digital Library
- κύμινον, known as saunf or سونف in Pakistan. Henry George Liddell, Sydey Tsui, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus Digital Library
- cumin, Persian: Zeereh زیره , Online Etymology Dictionary
- "Kamūnu." premiumwanadoo.com.
- Anton Deimel, Orientalia Old Series 13 (1924) 330.
- Palaeolexicon, Word study tool of ancient languages
- Daniel Zohary and Maria Hopf, Domestication of plants in the Old World, third edition (Oxford: University Press, 2000), p. 206
- Bird Seed Aliens in Britain
- M. Kafi, M.H. Rashed Mohassel, A. Koocheki, M. Nassiri, ed. (2006). Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) Production and Processing (in Englisch). Enfield, New Hampshire, USA: Science Publishers. ISBN 978-1-57808-504-0.
- Roodbari, Nasim; Mehrdad Lahooti, Shahram Roodbari, Ahmad Aein, Amin ganjali (2013). "The Effect of Salinity Stress on Germination and Seedling Growth of Cumin (Cuminum Cyminum L.)". Journal of Agriculture and Food Technology 5 (3): 1–4. Retrieved 13 November 2013.
- E. V. Divakara Sastry, Muthuswamy Anandaraj. "Cumin, Fennel and Fenugreek". SOILS, PLANT GROWTH AND CROP PRODUCTION. Encyclopedia of Life Support Systems (EOLSS). Retrieved 29 November 2013.
- M. G. Kains (1912). American Agriculturist, ed. Culinary Herbs: Their Cultivation Harvesting Curing and Uses (English). Orange Judd Company.
- National R&D facility for Rasayana - Jiraka
- United States Department of Agriculture. "Cumin Seed". Agricultural Research Service USDA. Retrieved 27 November 2013.
- Search the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference. Nal.usda.gov. Retrieved on 2011-11-26.
- Li, Rong; Zi-Tao Jiang (2004). "Chemical composition of the essential oil of Cuminum cyminum L. from China". Flavour and Fragrance Journal 19 (4): 311–313. doi:10.1002/ffj.1302.
- Wang, Lu et al. (2009). "Ultrasonic nebulization extraction coupled with headspace single drop microextraction and gas chromatography–mass spectrometry for analysis of the essential oil in Cuminum cyminum L". Analytica Chimica Acta 647 (1): 72–77. doi:10.1016/j.aca.2009.05.030. PMID 19576388.
- Iacobellis, Nicola S. et al. (2005). "Antibacterial Activity of Cuminum cyminum L. and Carum carvi L. Essential Oils". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 53 (1): 57–61. doi:10.1021/jf0487351. PMID 15631509.