SC - cumin

[Decker, Terry D.]

Bear wrote:
"Cumin is Cuminum cyminum.  Black cumin is Nigella sativa.  The spice cumin
is made from the fruit of the cumin.  The spice black cumin is made from 
the
seeds of the black cumin.  Just to make matters fun, cumin is sometimes 
used
to referred to black cumin."

Bear, are you sure?  I was under the impression Nigella is black onion seed 
(I love the stuff!)  

I went poking around in the spice pages
http://www-ang.kfunigraz.ac.at/~katzer/engl/index.html
I do not know if this gentleman knows his stuff, but he mentions "...The 
name black cumin is frequently erroneously given to nigella (also called 
onion seed), a spice popular in the Middle East and Northern India. Also 
the Hindi name kala jeera is sometimes misapplied to nigella. "
Also from there (for those without web access
 "...Black Cumin (Cuminum nigrum)

Synonyms
      French
             Cumin noir 
      German
             Schwarzer Kreuzkümmel 
      Hindi
             Kala jeera, Shahi jeera, Chahi jeera, Kashmiri jeera 
      Italian
             Comino nero 
      Sanskrit
             Krishna jiira 
      Spanish
             Comino negro 


Note
     Some books give the identity of this spice as Carum bulbocastanum or 
several species
     of genus Bunium. 

Used plant part
     Fruits. These are dark brown, 3 mm long and very thin. 

Plant family
     Apiaceae (parsley family). 

Sensoric quality
     The fruits' aroma is earthy and heavy, not pleasant at all. On frying 
or cooking, the taste
     changes to nutty. 

Main constituents
     Unknown (at least, to me). 

Origin
     Central Asia to Northern India 

Etymology
     The Hindi name shahi jeera "Imperial cumin" refers to the popularity 
of black cumin in the
     imperial (mughal) cuisine of Northern India; kali means "black". The 
name kashmiri jeera
     refers to the North-Western region Kashmir, where the Moghul Emperors 
usually spent
     their summers (Kashmir's climate is cool, compared to the rest of 
India). 



Black Cumin, in India also called Kashmiri cumin, is nor much known outside 
Iran, Pakistan and
Northern India. It is preferred to ordinary (white) cumin for some Northern 
Indian (Moghul)..."

Curious (and looking for the rock)
Gwen-Cat
Caerthe

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