How to Cook With Cumin

The use of cumin dates back to Egyptian times and to the Hebrew culture of the Old Testament, and it's still popular in many dishes of various regional cooking including Mexican, Thai, Vietnamese, and American. Many of our spicy chili dishes feature cumin. It's also frequently used as a flavoring for other meat dishes. Read on to learn more.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Grind from whole seeds. Grinding the cumin fresh provides a bigger flavor, and many chefs recommend grinding as opposed to using stored powder.
2. Roast Cumin. Like many other "seed" herbs, cumin attains additional flavor when roasted. You can roast the seeds themselves, or heat the ground cumin in a little oil.
3. Stir the cumin into the oil.
4. Add the cumin and oil mixture to your dish. For chili, just stir into the pot. You can also use the mix as a dressing on salads, just drizzle it over the assembled vegetables. Cumin is also a popular seasoning for tacos, in which case you can mix it in with the ground beef.
5. Store cumin away from light and heat. Again, the whole seeds will keep better than the ground spice.

Tips & Warnings

• Use cumin for iron. Nutritionists have suggested that people have used cumin over the centuries, not just for its taste, but for health benefits, most notable as a source of iron and manganese, necessary elements for daily health. Consider cumin as a way to alleviate an iron deficiency, but as always, consult your doctor for a balanced plan. In addition to providing iron, some have suggested that cumin also has anti-carcinogenic properties.