Cumin
Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to a territory including the Middle East and stretching east to India. Its seeds - each one contained within a fruit, which is dried - are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole and ground form. Although cumin is thought to have uses in traditional medicine, there is no high-quality evidence that it is safe or effective as a therapeutic agent.
Etymology
The term comes via Middle English and Old French from the Latin term cuminum, which in turn comes from the Ancient Greek κύμινον. This is a Semitic borrowing related to Hebrew כמון and Arabic كمون, all of which ultimately derive from Akkadian ???.Description
Cumin is the dried seed of the herb Cuminum cyminum, a member of the parsley family. The cumin plant grows to tall and is harvested by hand. It is an annual herbaceous plant, with a slender, glabrous, branched stem that is tall and has a diameter of 3–5 cm. Each branch has two to three subbranches. All the branches attain the same height, so the plant has a uniform canopy. The stem is coloured grey or dark green. The leaves are long, pinnate or bipinnate, with thread-like leaflets. The flowers are small, white or pink, and borne in umbels. Each umbel has five to seven umbellets. The fruit is a lateral fusiform or ovoid achene 4–5 mm long, containing two mericarps with a single seed. Cumin seeds have eight ridges with oil canals. They resemble caraway seeds, being oblong in shape, longitudinally ridged, and yellow-brown in colour, like other members of the family Apiaceae such as caraway, parsley, and dill.History
Likely originating in a region of the Eastern Mediterranean called the Levant, cumin has been in use as a spice for thousands of years. Seeds excavated in Syria were dated to the second millennium BC. They have also been reported from several New Kingdom levels of ancient Egyptian archaeological sites. In the ancient Egyptian civilization, cumin was used as a spice and as a preservative in mummification.Cumin was a significant spice for the Minoans in ancient Crete. Ideograms for cumin appear in Linear A archive tablets documenting Minoan palace stores during the Late Minoan period.
The ancient Greeks kept cumin at the dining table in its own container, and this practice continues in Morocco. Cumin was also used heavily in ancient Roman cuisine. In India, it has been used for millennia as a traditional ingredient in innumerable recipes, and forms the basis of many other spice blends.
Cumin was introduced to the Americas by Spanish and Portuguese colonists. Several different types of cumin are known, but the most famous ones are black and green cumin, both of which are used in Persian cuisine.
Today, the plant is mostly grown in the Indian subcontinent, Northern Africa, Mexico, Chile, and China. Since cumin is often used as part of birdseed and exported to many countries, the plant can occur as an introduced species in many territories.
Cultivation and production
Cultivation areas
The main producers of cumin are China and India, which produces 70% of the world supply and consumes 90% of that. Mexico is another major producer. In total, around 300,000 tons of cumin per year are produced worldwide.Climatic requirements
Cumin is a drought-tolerant, tropical, or subtropical crop. It has a growth season of 100 to 120 days. The optimum growth temperature ranges are between 25 and 30 °C. The Mediterranean climate is most suitable for its growth. Cultivation of cumin requires a long, hot summer of three to four months. At low temperatures, leaf colour changes from green to purple. High temperature might reduce growth period and induce early ripening. In India, cumin is sown from October until the beginning of December, and harvesting starts in February. In Syria and Iran, cumin is sown from mid-November until mid-December and harvested in June/July.Grading
The three noteworthy sorts of cumin seed in the market vary in seed shading, amount of oil, and flavor.- Iranian
- Indian
- Middle Eastern
Cultivation parameters
Two sowing methods are used for cumin, broadcasting and line sowing. For broadcast sowing, the field is divided into beds and the seeds are uniformly broadcast in this bed. Afterwards, they are covered with soil using a rake. For line sowing, shallow furrows are prepared with hooks at a distance of. The seeds are then placed in these furrows and covered with soil. Line sowing offers advantages for intercultural operations such as weeding, hoeing, or spraying. The recommended sowing depth is 1–2 cm and the recommended sowing density is around 120 plants per m2. The water requirements of cumin are lower than those of many other species. Despite this, cumin is often irrigated after sowing to be sure that enough moisture is available for seedling development. The amount and frequency of irrigation depends on the climate conditions.
Cultivation management
The relative humidity in the center of origin of cumin is rather low. High relative humidity favours fungal diseases. Cumin is especially sensitive to Alternaria blight and Fusarium wilt. Early-sown crops exhibit stronger disease effects than late sown crops. The most important disease is Fusarium wilt, resulting in yield losses up to 80%. Fusarium is seed- or soil-borne and it requires distinct soil temperatures for development of epidemics. Inadequate fertilization might favour Fusarium epidemics. Cumin blight appears in the form of dark brown spots on leaves and stems. When the weather is cloudy after flowering, the incidence of the disease is increased. Another, but less important, disease is powdery mildew. Incidence of powdery mildew in early development can cause drastic yield losses because no seeds are formed. Later in development, powdery mildew causes discoloured, small seeds.Pathogens can lead to high reductions in crop yield. Cumin can be attacked by aphids at the flowering stage. They suck the sap of the plant from tender parts and flowers. The plant becomes yellow, the seed formation is reduced, and the quality of the harvested product decreases. Heavily infested plant parts should be removed. Other important pests are the mites which frequently attack the crop. Since the mites mostly feed on young leaves, the infestation is more severe on young inflorescences.
The open canopy of cumin is another problem. Only a low proportion of the incoming light is absorbed. The leaf area index of cumin is low. This might be a problem because weeds can compete with cumin for essential resources such as water and light and thereby lower yield. The slow growth and a short stature of cumin favours weed competition additionally. Two hoeing and weeding sessions are needed for the control of weeds. During the first weeding session, thinning should be done, as well, to remove excess plants. The use of preplant or pre-emergence herbicides is very effective in India, but this kind of herbicide application requires soil moisture for a successful weed control.
Breeding
Cumin is a diploid species with 14 chromosomes. The chromosomes of the different varieties have morphological similarities with no distinct variation in length and volume. Most of the varieties available today are selections. The variabilities of yield and yield components are high. Varieties are developed by sib mating in enclosed chambers or by biotechnology.Cumin is a cross-pollinator, i.e. the breeds are already hybrids. Therefore, methods used for breeding are in vitro regenerations, DNA technologies, and gene transfers. The in vitro cultivation of cumin allows the production of genetically identical plants. The main sources for the explants used in vitro regenerations are embryos, hypocotyl, shoot internodes, leaves, and cotyledons.
One goal of cumin breeding is to improve its resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses. The potential genetic variability for conventional breeding of cumin is limited and research about cumin genetics is scarce.
Uses
Cumin seed is used as a spice for its distinctive flavour and aroma. Cumin can be found in some cheeses, such as Leyden cheese, and in some traditional breads from France. Cumin can be an ingredient in chili powder and is found in achiote blends, adobos, sofrito, garam masala, curry powder, and bahaarat, and is used to flavor numerous commercial food products. In South Asian cooking it is often combined with coriander seeds in a powdered mixture called dhana jeera.Cumin can be used ground or as whole seeds. It imparts an earthy, warming and aromatic character to food, making it a staple in certain stews and soups, as well as spiced gravies such as curry and chili. It is also used as an ingredient in some pickles and pastries.