Cumin: The Pungency You Want

Name: Two Spice Blends with Cumin
Prep time: 5 min
Ingredients: 1 t Cumin; 1 t Powdered ginger; 1 t Salt; .75 t Black Pepper; .5 t Cinnamon; .5 t Coriander seeds; .5 t Cayenne; .5 t Allspice; .25 t Cloves; .25 C Sugar; .5 C Fennel seeds; .5 C Coriander seeds; 2 T Szechuan peppercorns; .25 C Anise seeds; .25 C Cumin seeds; .25 C Caraway seeds; .25 C Sea salt; 1 t Cinnamon powder; 1/8 t Freshly grated nutmeg (Feel free to add more if you wish)

Try to avoid the Cheech voice

Nearly anyone who enjoys eating Tex-Mex food or Southwest food is familiar with the flavor of cumin. Cumin has an un-spicy heat and a depth of flavor, a sweetness, which makes it such a good playmate with other flavors. As a flavor, it is almost always associated with foods from both of those areas. However, such was not always the case.

Chef Roberto Santibañez spoke to Splendid Table and explained how cumin came from Spain. “First we need to remember that the Spain we know now was not the same Spain 600 years ago, because that part of the world was dominated by the Moors, by the Arabs. The Spanish who came in those trips to the Americas were more Moors than the people we now know in Spain.”[1]

As old as the hills

Spices were part of the reason Columbus traveled, but also spice was a reason many peoples traveled. The Portuguese and the Dutch were very active traders, and so too was the Arabic empire. Santibañez comments, “Many things: cilantro, cumin, clove — they don’t come from the Middle East particularly but remember that the Arabic empire used to go all over. It went to northern India, Afghanistan, and Pakistan — all of those countries were dominated by the Arabs. That brought spices from that route, and that was actually one of the purposes of the trips to the new worlds was to find better places to get spices, to get new things and to get more expensive things.”[2]

By Hpav7 – Own work, Public Domain, Link

As a quick historical reminder, recall that Mexico was very different from what we know it today. Mexico was a small state among many and New Mexico was, at one point, from Idaho all the way to the tip of today’s Texas.

But First, Over There

Cumin has a rich history in the Mediterranean area, with some “seeds excavated at the Syrian location Tell ed-derva [and] have been dated to the second millennium BC.”[3] The Egyptians used it in their embalming ceremonies[4] and the Greeks were big fans, keeping a mill of cumin seeds on the table.[5]

Cumin has a cousin, Black Cumin, nigella sativa, which is a beautiful purple

flower (the main image above) and this is the cumin (cummin) mentioned in the Bible. “Easton’s bible dictionary clarifies that the Hebrew word for black cumin, ketsah, refers to nigella sativa. Isaiah compares the reaping of black cumin with wheat. ‘For the black cumin is not threshed with a threshing sledge, nor is a cart wheel rolled over the cumin, but the black cumin is beaten out with a stick, and the cumin with a rod.’(Isiah 28:25,27 NKJV).”[6

Folk Uses

Cumin was said to have properties of retention. This applied to things, birds, and people. “To ensure their men returned home, young women gave their sweethearts bread season with cumin or wine with cumin.”[7]

In earlier times cumin seemed to be thought to possess dual, polar opposite traits. “In ancient Greece, cumin symbolized excessive desire and was also said to be eaten by the miserly. In ancient Roman folklore it was also often associated with greed, but also frugality.”[8]

It’s Everywhere, It’s Everywhere!

Cumin may be the most well-traveled spice. The Ancient Greeks used it, the Egyptians, Ancient Romans, Medieval monks, and Pliny the Elder wrote about it, calling it “‘best appetizer of all condiments’” as well as giving one a “scholarly pallor” by smoking the seeds.[9]

Cuban foods, moles and northern Mexican foods, and Indian foods are almost intermingled with the aroma and flavor of cumin one almost defines the other.

Vanilla and black pepper may be more widely used, but I don’t think either of them defines cultures the way cumin does.

I’ve used it in breads and found the warmth of the spice makes an excellent loaf. Curries and other spice combinations are made better for and with it. I’m including two spice blend recipes.

Two Spice Blends with Cumin

These spice blends can be sprinkled on cooked foods for extra raw spice zip, added to sautéd vegetables, or rubbed onto meat or fish. The Angelica is nice on fish, but feel free to experiment.

Course Spices

Prep Time 5 minutes

Author Todd Misener

Ingredients

Moroccan Spice Blend

1 t Cumin
1 t Powdered ginger
1 t Salt
.75 t Black Pepper
.5 t Cinnamon
.5 t Coriander seeds
.5 t Cayenne
.5 t Allspice
.25 t Cloves

Angelica Spice Mix

.25 C Sugar
.5 C Fennel seeds
.5 C Coriander seeds
2 T Szechuan peppercorns
.25 C Anise seeds
.25 C Cumin seeds
.25 C Caraway seeds
.25 C Sea salt
1 t Cinnamon powder
1/8 t Freshly grated nutmeg Feel free to add more if you wish

Instructions

Moroccan Spice Mix

Combine all ground spices together. Store in a resealable jar, preferably brown or light-resistant.
If you have a proper grinder, as for grinding coffee, and wish to grind your own dry spices, set the grind to fine. A stick of cinnamon is challenging to measure with a teaspoon. Make an educated guess based on your cinnamon preference or use dry.

Angelica Spice Mix

If possible, grind the whole dry spices in a proper coffee grinder and grind all the whole spices on fine grind.
You may cut this in half depending on your needs.

Recipe Notes

This is similar to the grinder I use for spices and coffee. Yes. Both. The coffee gets the better of the deal, which means I get the better of the deal using it for spices and coffee.

This style grinder is superior to a mini food processor style "grinder." Those are smashers and do not produce a uniform finished product, which a proper grinder does. It is as important for good coffee as it is for proper seasoning that the ground item be consistent.

Zucchini Pancakes

These are a delight. The zucchini offers a nice color and they keep a decent zucchini texture. The cumin flavor is there but not over powering. If you enjoy cumin flavor, double the amount.

Course Appetizer

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Total Time 30 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Dann Reid

Ingredients

Zucchini Pancakes

1-2 t Butter
3 g Fresh garlic A small clove
60 g Small diced onion
250 g Zucchini, shredded on a box grater
2 oz Ricotta cheese
1 each Egg, large
1/4 t Ground cumin
1/2 t Ground coriander
2-3 T All purpose flour
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Prepare the mix

Grate the zucchini on a box grater and lightly salt it. Toss with a rubber spatula to ensure distribution and place the salted grated squash in a wire strainer over a bowl to drain for 10 minutes.
Small dice the onion and smash the garlic.
Mix the ricotta cheese, egg, cumin and coriander together.
After 10 minutes, sauté the onions and garlic together over medium heat. Allow them to develop a light caramel color then add the zucchini. Cook the zucchini until the majority of the water is gone.
Remove from heat and allow to cool until you can touch it and not pull your hand away. If it burns you, it cooks eggs.
Mix the cooled squash/onion mix with the ricotta custard. Add salt and pepper and the flour and stir to combine.
Place about 1/4 of an inch of peanut or corn oil into a pan and get medium hot. When the oil is ready, scoop 1 T sized portions into the oil. Please keep the bowl near the oil and drop carefully the batter. Splashes of oil from bits falling in hurt. OW!
Don't over crowd the pan. Allow to develop a deep brown color, turn with a dinner fork to cook the other side. Remove to a paper towel lined pan or plate and serve.