Cumin was widely used in Mediterranean cooking long before widespread trade with India was established.
I find how cumin is identified to be very confusing. In my area, black cumin is the slender green/brown seed that looks a lot like the white. They also have a Nigella seed that is smaller, blacker and rounder referred to black cumin. When Nigella is called black, it is also called Kalinin and charnuska and the black is referred to as brown or bitter and good oil’ white brings up the rear. There are other regional names like kala for black, brown or bitter and shahi for something lighter, and many of them fall under the jeera umbrella.
I do not have access to anything called Indian or western cumin.
I do not have access to anything called Indian or western cumin.
I have. It says "Product of India" on the packet. If you shop at an Indian grocer specializing in product imported from India, you'll find that most product stocked is labelled as such.
Henceforth I shall recite "I acknowledge that cumin was widely used in Mediterranean cooking long before widespread trade with India was established" to mitigate my obvious racism each and every time I use "Indian" cumin.
I see no reason for this response, cumin is important in Mexican cooking and I've known Mexican cooks that insist on Mexican cumin. The racism comment is baffling, folks that insist on precise authenticity in every ethnic dish can be irritating but calling it racist is going too far. The same Cuminum cyminum plant is native from the Mediterranean to Asia so what does east and west mean here?
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If you check his posting history you will see he follows this trend and possibly thinks he is being funny or radical. One for the ignore list.
Well, I do live in one of the highest per capita countries of Indians living outside of India, and can assure you the cumin that is a product of India is labelled cumin or Jerra or the many variants. What I said to you is that, in all these local stores and bazaars, I don't seem to see anything called western or Indian cumin, hence my confusion.
To the others, may I assume that western is the lighter one and that black can be either the green/brown/bitter variety or even the black Nigella seeds?
It's called sarcasm. Why that particular historical factoid in response to the guy saying he buys his cumin at the Indian shop? I find enlightened types eager to correct or edify ones presumed cultural knowledge when it comes to something as diverse as food irritating and I really don't care where anyone at all sources their favorite spices from.
Or maybe it is just your thing to drop factoids arbitrarily and nothing should be interpreted from the apparent context.
By gum you are right, interesting.
We were walking once and my wife went up to a plant and said 'you can eat these seeds' probably thinking it was a wild cumin. I pointed out cow parsley is possibly not edible 🙂
Researching cumin has made me want some caraway cake (apparantly caraway is called cumin in some languages to confuse all and ruin recipes).
The guy in this thread who buys his cumin at the Indian grocery/deli did not say (unless I need to back read five hundred posts) that his cumin is labeled "Indian cumin". In this context "Indian cumin" (obviously!) means cumin that comes from India. There isn't cause here for too much confusion as far as I can see.
This discussion is hilarious.
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Correct, and this site (the Lounge area in particular) is saturated by people who drop benign factoids. I suggest getting used to it or moving on.
Same with Trix. Fun fact, the machine that makes them produces all of the different fruit shapes and colors at the same time in a continuous stream.
A pox upon resy.com
I enjoy eating at Chez Panisse, a Michelin featured restaurant (link) just down the street from John Curl's home, in Berkeley USA. The restaurant insists you use "resy.com" to make reservations, so I did. I created a special email box just for the occasion, made the reservation, and had a lovely meal a few days later. This was pre-COVID of course.
NOW they are bombarding me with junk mail and I know exactly why: because they've got that special email handle I use only for Chez Panisse reservations. See image below. They are scum! Bastard People! I don't give two excrements about resy dot com and only use their site because a favorite restaurant demands it. Grrr.
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I enjoy eating at Chez Panisse, a Michelin featured restaurant (link) just down the street from John Curl's home, in Berkeley USA. The restaurant insists you use "resy.com" to make reservations, so I did. I created a special email box just for the occasion, made the reservation, and had a lovely meal a few days later. This was pre-COVID of course.
NOW they are bombarding me with junk mail and I know exactly why: because they've got that special email handle I use only for Chez Panisse reservations. See image below. They are scum! Bastard People! I don't give two excrements about resy dot com and only use their site because a favorite restaurant demands it. Grrr.
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I'll skip the Carrot-Ginger Soup with Crème Fraîche and Chives @ $15.00 per pint thank you.
Mrs tobydog's carrot and corriander is souperb.😀
Mrs tobydog's carrot and corriander is souperb.😀
I am sorry to say I have never got on well with carrot and coriander. Not sure why but about the only soup I would turn down.
I will say that is one thing I have not ever got right. I will admit to throwing away some of my carrot soup attempts, much to my chagrin. I either don’t like carrot soup or I just don’t have the knack. Too bad, I love peasant type food and would love to show others how you can do a lot with a little. I get more thrills from that that almost any other type of cooking.
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