Common Name: Cumin

General Information

Cuminum cyminum is an erect, much-branched, annual plant growing around 30cm tall. The roots penetrate to a depth of 10 - 20cm[].
Cumin is a very popular food flavouring, especially in tropical Asia, where it is used especially as an ingredient in curries. It also has various medicinal applications. With a history of cultivation going back over 2,000 years, the plant is often grown for its seed from the warm temperate zone to the tropics[, , ].

Known Hazards

None known

Botanical References

Range

Europe to N. Africa and S.W.Asia? Original habitat is obscure

Habitat

Not known in a truly wild condition.

Properties

Edibility Rating
Medicinal Rating
Other Uses Rating
Habit	Annual
Height	0.30 m
Pollinators	Insects
Self-fertile	Yes
Cultivation Status	Cultivated

Cultivation Details

An annual plant, it is cultivated from low elevations in the warm temperate to higher elevations in tropical zones. It does not do well in lowland areas of the tropics, but is successful at higher elevations, being grown up to 2,200 metres. It grows best in areas where annual daytime temperatures are within the range 17 - 26°c, but can tolerate 9 - 30°c[]. The plant is intolerant of frost. It prefers a mean annual rainfall in the range 1,200 - 1,800mm, but tolerates 800 - 2,700mm[].
Tolerant of most well-drained soils[], though it prefers a warm fertile well-drained sandy loam in a sheltered sunny position[, ]. Prefers a pH in the range 5 - 6.5, tolerating 4.5 - 8.3[].
The plant can be harvested for its seed about 60 - 110 days after sowing[].
Seed yields can be 500 - 1,200 kilos per hectare[].
When bruised, the plant has a pungent aroma[].

Edible Uses

Seed - cooked as a flavouring. Cumin seed was once widely used as a food flavouring in Europe, the Romans ground it into a powder and used it like pepper[]. It is little used at present in Western cooking, though it is very commonly employed in India[]. A hot and aromatic flavour, it is an important ingredient in curries, is used as a seasoning in soups and stews, and is also often used as a flavouring in biscuits, cakes and bread where it also helps in improving the digestion[, , , , , , , , , ]. The seed is harvested when fully ripe and is then dried and stored in airtight jars[].

An essential oil from the seed is used as a food flavouring[, , ].

Medicinal

Cumin is an aromatic, astringent herb that benefits the digestive system and acts as a stimulant to the sexual organs[]. It has been used in the treatment of minor digestive complaints, chest conditions and coughs, as a pain killer and to treat rotten teeth[, ]. Cumin is seldom used in Western herbal medicine, having been superseded by caraway which has similar properties but a more pleasant flavour[]. It is still widely used in India, however[] where it is said to promote the assimilation of other herbs and to improve liver function[].

The seed is antispasmodic, carminative, galactagogue, stimulant and stomachic[, , , ]. A general tonic to the whole digestive system, it is used in the treatment of flatulence and bloating, reducing intestinal gas and relaxing the gut as a whole[]. In India it is also used in the treatment of insomnia, colds and fevers and to improve milk production in nursing mothers[]. Ground into a powder and mixed into a paste with onion juice, it has been applied to scorpion stings[].

The herb has been used externally as a poultice to relieve stitch and pains in the side[].

The essential oil obtained from the seed is antibacterial and larvicidal[].

Other Uses

The seed contains about 2.5% essential oil[]. It is used in perfumery and for flavouring beverages[, , , ].

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in individual pots in a greenhouse. Grow the plants on fast, and plant them out after the last expected frosts[]. Give the plants some temporary protection such as a cloche for their first few weeks in the open ground to make sure that they keep on growing in the cooler weather of early summer[].