Welcome to the Celtnet Spice Guide. As this site has grown and many more recipes have been added it's become evident that a guide to the various herbs available to the cook is necessary. With spices becoming more commonly available and more exotic spices becoming available from all over the world it has become evident that some kind of guide or introduction to spices is necessary. These pages are an attempt at bringing all the various culinary spices together into one place so that you can see what's available and perhaps find something new to use in your own cooking. To use this Spice Guide simply click on the first letter of the herb name above or below. Alternativey why not just browse through the guide. All the spices given here, whether common or rare, can be obtained via your local supermarket (or more often via your local Asian supermarket) or via a specialist spice distributor.

This is the description page for Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) and includes a description as well as an image, if available and a selection of recipes from this site that relates to the herb: Cumin.

As a spice Cumin (also known as White Cumin) is the dried fruit of the Cuminum cyminum plant which is a member of the Apiaceae (also known as Umbelliferae) family. It is therefore related to carrots, caraway and fennel and distantly related to Black Cumin. The plant is native to a region from the eastern Mediterranean through to India. Cumin is an herbaceous plant with a slender branched stem that grows to some 20–30 cm tall. The leaves are 5–10 cm long with thread-like leaflets. The flowers themselves are small and, like all menbers of the Apiaciae family, are bourne in umbrella-like structures called umbels. Cumin is used as a spice for its distinctive aroma, and is popular in North African, Middle Eastern, western Chinese, Indian and Mexican cuisine.

Cumin has a very strong aroma that is specific to the spice. I have variously heard it described as being reminiscent of vomit or mouldy hay (it seems to elicit strong reactions with people) though the smell is significantly altered and mellowed by frying or toasting the fruit in a dry pan. The essential oil contains a number of aromatic compounds, most notably: cumin aldehyde (p-isopropyl-benzaldehyde (the major component) along with perilla aldehyde, cumin alcohol, α- and β-pinene and to a lesser extent p-cymene and β-phellandrene. On toasting, the major flavour compounds are pyrizines (which are the same components found in coriander and fenugreek seeds on toasting).

In Western Asia, cumin has been cultivated for at least 5000 years, though the main producers today include India, Iran, Indonesia, China and the South Medi­terranean. The English name, cumin derives from the Latin cuminum, which, itself, was borrowed from the Greek kyminon [κύμινον]. It is probable that the Greek is a borrowing from a Semitic language Aramaic kamuna [‫ܟܡܘܢܐ‬], Old Hebrew kammon [‫כמן‬], Egyptian kamnini, Akkadian kamûnu. The Akkadian name may well, itself, be a borrowing from the older, Sumarian, form, gamun [𒂵𒁵, 𒁷𒌁, 𒌁].

Though it used to be a common spice in the Roman Empire, it is hardly used in Europe today (exceptions are to flavour some cheeses). But it is an important spice in North Africa, Latin America, the Indian Subcontinent and Asia. Indeed, it is one of the important consituents of the Indian spice mixture, garam masala [गरम मसाला]. It is also used to flavour the yoghurt-based drinks, lassis. Cumin is also characteristic of North African tagines (see below).