Cumin - seasoning and medicine

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

Cumin is a spice that came to us from the East. In another way, it is called zira. These are the seeds of an umbrella plant, a relative of parsley and anise. The birthplace of cumin is considered to be Western Asia and North Africa. Cumin appeared there a very long time ago and was very popular - so much so that its seeds were found in the tombs of the pharaohs of Egypt. Archaeologists state that already three thousand years ago people knew cumin. Its use was not limited to cooking, it was also a medicine.

Cumin has a lot of essential oils and gums. Therefore, in ancient Greece and Rome, cumin seasoning was not as well known as cumin medicine. Many mothers know about the healing properties of umbrella, in particular, fennel - a small spoonful of seed infusion relieves babies from colic. An infusion of cumin seeds has a stronger effect - it will also help adults solve delicate problems in the stomach and intestines. Normalization of sleep, correction of vision - this is also cumin. Seasoning improves appetite and overall body tone.

Even the ancients noticed that cumin can be successfully applied externally. A mixture of crushed cumin seeds with oil has excellentanti-inflammatory properties.

In no case should you confuse cumin with cumin. These spices are very similar, moreover, they are related and belong to the umbrella family. This similarity has already done cumin a disservice. It was in Arabic cuisine that cumin gained its initial distribution. The seasoning set off on its journey around the world from North Africa, Asia Minor and the Maghreb. And from there, she got into Spanish, Mexican, Indian and South Asian cuisines. The recipes for cooking dishes flavored with cumin were recorded in these languages. And the translators did not always translate correctly. Cumin was called "Roman cumin" or "cumin". But along the way in Russia, he lost part of the name, and the cumin, uncomfortable for the Russian ear, was transformed into the more familiar cumin.

Meanwhile, these are completely different spices, with different smells and different applications. Moreover, they have such a dissimilar aroma that you can ruin the dish by using cumin instead of cumin. Seasoning, the use of which is possible even in confectionery, has a mild, slightly bitter aroma. It has little to do with the sharp, spicy, aniseed smell of cumin.

Cumin is extremely common in Indian and Arabic cuisine. It is found in chili sauces, curries and many others. When cooking pilaf, they do not do without cumin - it gives the dish an amazing aroma. Cumin should be added to the oil at the very beginning of cooking. In Turkey, it is used in cooking sausages, stewing meat and vegetables.

BIn Europe, cumin is very popular mainly in the Mediterranean region. One of the islets near M alta is called Komono, after the cumin fields that cover the surface of the islet.

Biologists identify 4 types of cumin, but cooks use three in practice. White cumin is most common in Russia. It is often pre-roasted and can be either ground or whole seeds. Black cumin is smaller, its taste is more bitter and sharp. It is most popular in India and Iran.

The third type of cumin growing in Tajikistan is called bunium, but in 2011 Rospotrebnadzor added it to the list of dangerous plants containing potent and poisonous substances.