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Cumin

Cuminum cyminum

Cumin
Photo: Franz Eugen Köhler, Köhler's Medizinal-Pflanzen, Public domain

Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) is a small annual herb in the carrot family, grown mainly for its aromatic dried seeds used as a spice. It needs a long, warm, sunny season and well-drained soil to produce a good seed crop.

Family
Apiaceae (Carrot family)
Grows as
Annual
Light
Full sun
Water
Water moderately during establishment, then allow the soil to dry between waterings; it tolerates drought once mature.
Soil
Light, well-drained loam or sandy soil with neutral to slightly alkaline pH.
Temperature
20–30 °C; protect from frost, as it is damaged below about 5 °C.
How easy
Easy
Safety
Not known to be toxic
Edible
Yes, some parts
Native range
Iraq to Afghanistan
Climate
subtropical

About

Cumin ( , ; US also ; Cuminum cyminum) is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole and ground form. Although cumin is used in traditional medicine, there is no high-quality evidence that it is safe or effective as a therapeutic agent.

Uses

Cumin seed is used as a spice for its distinctive flavor and aroma. Cumin can be found in some cheeses, such as Leyden cheese, and in some traditional breads from France. 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, and is used to flavor numerous commercial food products. In North Indian/Pakistani cuisine, it is often combined with coriander seeds in a powdered mixture called dhana jeera.

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Cumin by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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