Cumin
Cumin
is a herb, and used as a spice, in
many foods from different cultures around the world.
The Cumin plant itself, Cuminum
cyminum, is an annual flowering plant that grows
natively in the Mediterranean area, and stretching over
to East India.
The cumin plant grows about 20 to 30 cm tall, and is very slender with sparse branches. The leaves of the cumin plant are about 8 cm long and also slender. The flowers are small are either pink or white in colour.
The fruit of the plant is what contains the seed. The seed is the edible part of the cumin plant. The seed itself is about 3 - 4 mm long.
Cumin seed can be used whole, or ground into a powder. It is used to spice dishes native to North Africa, the Middle East, India, Cuba, Mexico and some parts of China.
History of Cumin
Cumin has been used as a spice or flavouring for foods since ancient times. The earliest dated seeds went back to the second millennium BC, at the site of Tell ed-Der in Syria. Cumin has also been found among egyptian ruins.
Ancient Greece and Rome used cumin very frequently. Like pepper is today, cumin was kept in it's own container on the tabletop. Both the Old Testament and New Testament versions of the Bible mention cumin. Cumin was later brought over to the America's by colonists from Spain.
Nutritional Information for Cumin
| Nutritional value per 100 g (3.5 oz) | ||
| Energy 375 kcal (1,567 kJ) | ||
| Carbohydrates | 44.24 g | |
| - Sugars | 2.25 g | |
| - Dietary fibre | 10.5 g | |
| Fat | 22.27 g | |
| - Saturated | 1.535 g | |
| Protein | 17.81 g | |
| Water | 8.06 g | |
| % of Daily | ||
| Vitamin A equiv. | 64 µg | 7% |
| Riboflavin (Vit. B2) | 0.327 mg | 22% |
| Niacin (Vit. B3) | 4.579 mg | 31% |
| Vitamin B6 | 0.435 mg | 33% |
| Folate (Vit. B9) | 10 µg | 3% |
| Vitamin B12 | 0 µg | 0% |
| Vitamin C | 7.7 mg | 13% |
| Vitamin E | 3.33 mg | 22% |
| Vitamin K | 5.4 µg | 5% |
| Calcium | 931 mg | 93% |
| Iron | 66.36 mg | 531% |
| Magnesium | 366 mg | 99% |
| Phosphorus | 499 mg | 71% |
| Potassium | 1788 mg | 38% |
| Sodium | 168 mg | 7% |
| Zinc | 4.8 mg | 48% |
| Percentages are relative to US recommendations for adults. | ||
Also check out the Cumin Classification, and Cumin Pictures.