Cumin seeds

Listing ID #4305706

• Widely known for their distinctive aroma. Cumin seeds are commonly found ingredients in the North African, Middle Eastern, Western Chinese, Indian, Cuban and Northern Mexican cuisine. The spice is native to Middle-East Asian region, and today, grown all over the world for its flavorful seeds.
• The plant is a small flowering herbaceous plant belonging in the family of Apiaceae, in the genus; Cuminum, and scientifically known as Cuminum cyminum.
• Cumin seeds impart distinctive strong flavor, and warm perception on taste buds, which comes from certain group of essential oils in them. The chief constituent and important aromatic compound in cumin is cuminaldehyde (4-isopropylbenzaldehyde).
• Black cumin (Bunium persicum), also popular as wild or shahi jeera in the Persian and Indian sub-continent, is related variety of regular cumin. Its seeds feature long, slender, curved, dark-brown pods with distinctive earthy flavor.

NUTRITIONAL VALUES

• Cumin seeds contain numerous phyto-chemicals that are known to have antioxidant, carminative and anti-flatulent properties. The seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber.
• Its seeds contain certain health-benefiting essential oils such as cuminaldehyde (4-isopropylbenzaldehyde), pyrazines, 2-methoxy-3-sec-butylpyrazine, 2-ethoxy-3-isopropylpyrazine, and 2-methoxy-3-methylpyrazine.
• The active principles in the cumin may improve gut motility and help in digestion by augmenting gastro-intestinal enzyme secretions.
• This spice is an excellent source of minerals like iron, copper, calcium, potassium, manganese, selenium, zinc and magnesium.
• The spice also contains very good amounts of B-complex vitamins such as thiamin, vitamin B-6, niacin, riboflavin, and other vital anti-oxidant vitamins like vitamin E, vitamin A, and vitamin C.
• The seeds are also rich source of many flavonoid phenolic anti-oxidants such as carotenes, zea-xanthin, and lutein.

USES

• Its seeds are used to prepare decoction, which sometimes used in treating flatulence and indigestion in traditional medicines.
• The seed is also consumed throughout the world in condiments and as an essential constituent in different recipes.
• The seeds are being used in traditional medicines to stave-off common cold.
• It is widely used as a spice and employed in cooking as a condiment and flavoring base.
• Its seeds have been in use since ancient times in the preparation of many popular dishes in Mediterranean, Asian and Chinese cuisines. Along with other spicy items, it is being used as flavoring agent in chicken, fish, and meat dishes.
• The seeds are also been used in the preparation of soups, barbecue sauces, pickling and as one of the ingredients in variety of curry powders.
• Black cumin (kala-jeera) seeds are popular spice ingredients in Persian and Mughlai cuisine.
• Spices play an important role in making a dish more flavorful. Indian cuisine is especially known to have some of the healthiest traditional spices as its main ingredients.
• The warm and bitter flavor of this aromatic spice as well as its abundant oil content make it usable in Indian, Mexican, North African, Middle Eastern and western Chinese cuisines.
• Cumin seeds are generally available in three colours- amber, white and black. The amber seeds are the most common. The black ones have a complex flavor and cannot be substituted for the other two. Black cumin seeds or nigella are different from cumin seeds though both are similar in appearance. Known as “kalonji” in northern India and ‘kaalo jeere’ in Bengal, they have a pungent, powerful, sharp and slightly bitter flavor and a spicy-sweet aroma. They have a thin crescent shape.