Cumin: its lore and lusciousness

by Sarah Gilbert (Subscribe to Sarah Gilbert's posts)
Posted Oct 5th 2005 10:06AM
Filed under: South America, Nuts/seeds, Asia, South Asia, The History of..., Northern Africa

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cumin Cumin is the "secret" spice I toss into just about everything - Indian food, Mexican food, Coney Island chili, chutney, soups, black beans, lentils, meatballs and more. Last night while watching my favorite Food Network doubleheader, Rachael Ray cooked it into Moroccan food and said that cumin was rumored to cause people to lose their inhibitions; casinos piped in the scent so their patrons would gamble without guilt.

Its lore is almost as varied as the many cuisines which feature the spice. According to McCormick, it keeps chickens and lovers from wandering. The ancient Romans and Greeks saw cumin seeds as symbols of greed and miserliness. Cumin is even recommended by some for nausea (I found it in one morning sickness remedy last fall). Around my house, when cumin is in the air, everyone knows I'm cooking up something lush - and no one goes out for Burgerville.

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10-05-2005 @ 11:56AM

Emily said...

Rachael Ray also makes an excellent veggie stew heavily spiced with cumin. She serves it over potato pancakes with smoked Gouda, which goes very nicely with the smokiness of the cumin. It's one of our favorite meals!

10-05-2005 @ 12:52PM

Hawk said...

I seem to recall that Emeril (who I don't really like but who accompanies me while cooking dinner because I like watching food while making food and he's the food that's on) talks about cumin as the *forgotten spice*, much like broil is the *forgotten setting* on the oven.

Cumin goes into my guacamole, spanish rice, and honey mustard chicken.

and indian food.

10-05-2005 @ 2:04PM

michelle said...

I love cumin. It is, in fact, one of my favorite spices ever. It's really good sprinkled on pan-sauteed chicken breasts, then with a squirt of fresh orange juice and chopped fresh cilantro at the end of cooking.

It's also very good in black beans and oven roasted potatoes and onions. Yay for cumin!

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