Herb. No. 112 · Apiaceae
Heat-loving umbel of the eastern Mediterranean and South Asia.
Native · Mediterranean · West Asia · South Asia
Native Also grown
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Cumin
Cuminum cyminum
The warm, earthy seed of every chili and curry — a carminative kitchen spice with a long gut record.
Cumin is a heat-loving Mediterranean and South Asian umbellifer grown for the ribbed seed. Traditional use is as a carminative after beans and fat. Culinary amounts are gentle. The plant looks like a frail carrot; do not confuse a wild umbel you cannot name with this garden annual.
Flavor
Warm earth, bitter citrus, a little sweat-spice. Toast wakes it.
Parts used
Ripe seed
Helpful
- A jar in every kitchen
- Grows in a hot summer
Cautions
- Needs heat to ripen
- Umbellifer lookalikes if you forage