Food Alphabet
Cumin
The homeland of cumin is considered to be Eurasia, or rather, the northern and central regions of Europe and Asia.
It is known that people have used cumin for food since ancient times. This is evidenced by the excavations of archaeologists who discovered cumin in Mesopotamia, the seeds of which are more than 5,000 years old.
There are wild and cultivated types of cumin. Wild thyme grows almost throughout the territory of Russia: in meadows, forest edges and forest openings. This is an unusually fragrant plant. Cultivated varieties of cumin are not so fragrant.
There are many varieties of cumin in the world, the most famous of which are: common cumin, Roman, Korean, Egyptian and black.
Cumin is widely used in the manufacture of bread, confectionery, and culinary products. So, even in the English cookbooks of the 13th century, there are recipes for dishes with the addition of cumin. In general, you can eat not only cumin seeds (whole and ground), but also young leaves and even roots (like carrots).
In cooking, cumin is used mainly as a spice, which gives dishes a sharp taste and spicy aroma. It is used to prepare soups (cabbage, onion, potato), sauces, sauerkraut, meat dishes (chicken, goose, duck, turkey, lamb, pork); it is used for salting tomatoes and cucumbers; it is added to cottage cheese and cheese; it is used in salads with fresh vegetables.
Indeed, we must pay tribute to cumin: it goes well with many vegetables – potatoes, cabbage, beets, carrots, as well as with mushrooms. By the way, cumin is introduced into hot dishes for 10-12 minutes before they are ready.
In industrial production, cumin seeds are used for flavoring bakery and confectionery products (Riga and Minsk bread, famous English muffins and Canadian bagels with cumin), in the preparation of kvass and the production of alcoholic beverages, as well as for pickling or salting vegetables.
