Cumin - description
Cumin is a wonderful spice, an amazing supplement with which food becomes more lively and appetizing. Its tart pleasant taste and smell decorates spicy compositions. Seeds are mainly used in food. The plant itself belongs to the umbrella family, it came to us from Asia. A few millennia ago, it was already eaten in the Mesopotamian region. And now it can be found even in the wild. In mass production, cumin is grown in most parts of Europe and Asia, India and Pakistan. It also grows in North Africa and New Zealand. The world leader today is the Netherlands.
Cumin seeds are most often used in breadmaking, as well as for flavoring confectionery and as part of sets of spices for cooking meat, vegetables and other dishes. There are several recipes for kvass with cumin and some low-alcohol drinks, such as beer. It is an indispensable ingredient for pickling marinade, gravy and sauces. Not only seeds can be used as food, but also young leaflets and rhizomes, like celery and carrots, they are added to salads and pies. Essential oil with a peculiar spicy aroma is made from cumin seeds.
Cumin - properties
What is attractive Cumin? This plant is used not only in cooking, but also in traditional medicine, as part of medicinal fees. The popularity of the spice is due primarily to the fact that it activates the secretion of gastric juices and causes appetite, relieves spasms of the intestines, facilitates the digestion of food. Cumin also has a diuretic and mild laxative effect.
It is useful for mothers during breastfeeding, so it is useful to eat it in order to increase lactation. Together with other drugs, it helps in the treatment of hepatitis and as a sedative in cardiovascular and nervous diseases. When the head bolt use thyme infusions. Essential oil is also used in perfumes and soap making. It helps with neurosis and the treatment of eye diseases. There are no contraindications to its use.
Cumin - use in cooking
Grain spice is widely used in all categories of dishes. Especially well it helps with the digestion of fatty meat (pork, lamb), as well as in dishes from legumes. Everybody loves sauerkraut or roasted apples with cumin. It is rarely added to sweets, but it is used in all countries in unleavened dough. Fragrant cumin gives spice to many baked goods. Good soups puree. We all know herring or sprat-salted sprat, fresh vegetable salads as well as Asian pilaf and porridge. In India, it is customary to fry it in oil or in dry pans, German and Austrian cuisines are famous for their stewed vegetables and many others.
Recipe Examples with Cumin
Recipe 1: Cheese Sticks with Cumin
We offer the recipe for the fastest and most delicious pastry made from ready-made puff pastry with cheese. There is nothing complicated here - just one teaspoon of cumin will make our dish for tea interesting: spicy and delicious. Thaw the ready dough, cook the cheese and start baking right away.
Ingredients: puff pastry (250 grams), cheese (200 grams), cumin (to taste, about 1 teaspoon), egg (1 piece), salt.
Method of preparation
Roll out the dough and cut out the rectangles, sprinkle liberally with grated cheese and cumin. Grease the baking sheet with vegetable oil, lay out the sticks are not too close. To give the original form they can be twisted into a pigtail. We bake 15-20 minutes at 180 degrees.
Recipe 2: Pork with Cumin
Sausage with cumin - what could be more beautiful? Only baked pork with cumin.
Ingredients: pork (2kg), onions (2 pcs), boiled chicken egg (2 pcs), lard (100 grams), mustard, cumin, salt.
Method of preparation
Lubricate the meat with mustard and leave for a couple of hours in the refrigerator. Salt, pepper, cut onions and lay out on the pan. Fry with chopped onion. Sprinkle meat with cumin after it becomes golden brown, and pour half a glass of water. We put in the oven and bake, pouring juice every 10-15 minutes. The finished meat should cool. Cut it into pieces and lay out on a dish, decorate with circles of eggs and vegetables with greens. Along with the meat, pickled vegetables and fruits are served - plums, cucumbers, mushrooms or beets.
Recipe 3: Bean pate with cumin and herbs
Cumin is well combined in legumes. This dish can be used for sandwiches, especially when cold. There are a lot of spices and seasonings, greens, which means it is very useful.
Ingredients: frozen beans (1 pack, 300 grams), garlic (4 cloves), red pepper, olive oil (2 spoons), juice of one lemon, ground cumin (1 teaspoon), salt to taste ( 1/2 teaspoon), ground pepper (to taste), dill, mint, cilantro or parsley.
Method of preparation
Put a saucepan on the stove and boil water in it. Spread lima beans, garlic, red pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Beans should be soft. Remove from heat and cool. Water is drained, the beans in a colander should be almost dry. We load products in the combine or the blender and we mix to turn out paste weight. Add lemon juice, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir until smooth. Done!
Recipe 4: Pickled Cabbage with Cumin
Sauerkraut is several times better than fresh in healing properties. Especially if you cook it with a wonderful spice - cumin. During fermentation in these products all useful properties are preserved, plus lactic acid and vitamin B12 are added. Kvass!
Ingredients: cabbage (4 kg), carrot (2 pieces), fennel and cumin seeds (per tablespoon).
Brine: water (1 liter). Sugar (1, 5 tin spoons), coarse salt (2 spoons).
Method of preparation
Spread the cabbage on the table on the leaves, let it soak, chop thinly. Carrots cut or shred in length. Mix with cabbage, cumin and dill seeds. We put everything in an enameled pan or glass bottle, pour it with warm water and salt. Leave it warm for fermentation. The next day, we pierce the cabbage to release gases. On the third day, merge the brine, mix well, add sugar and pour the new sweetened brine. After a day we put in a dark cool place.
Cumin - useful tips from experienced chefs
- It is better to store spices in glass jars, closing them tightly. Shelf life reaches 7 years. In hot dishes, cumin is added 15-20 minutes before the end of cooking.
- With cumin, you can cook not only pastries and meat dishes, but also drinks. For example, prepare bread kvass. Slice stale bread, dry in the oven. Pour 2 liters of boiling water and pour a spoonful of cumin. Sourdough - grind the yeast with a spoonful of sugar, pour in a spoonful of flour and dilute everything in a glass of warm water. Pour the leaven, give a wander. Add sugar and raisins to taste, honey. Leave in the refrigerator for 3-5 days.
