Cumin

[Penelope Periwinkle]

Has anyone here ever grown their own cumin?

Since I'm doing so much with peppers these days, I thought the cumin would be an interesting thing to try. It's a member of the parsley family, and I normally grow parsley as a winter crop. It will grow in the summers around here, but it doesn't usually take off until the weather turns cool in the fall. I'm in zone 8b.

And I also wondered how difficult the seed (or fruits, if you will) are to grind?

I have to put something out there to give the basil a run for its money!

Penelope.

[The Cook]

I planted a few seed about 4 days ago. Still have not germinated but neither has much of anything else. I just grabbed some from the container of McCormick's cumin seed.

I buy cumin seed rather than ground. I use a coffee grinder and it works well. Roast the seeds before grinding. If you have cumin seed, toss a few in the dirt and see what happens.

[Boron Elgar]

I do this with cilantro/coriander. I go to an Asian market and get a sizeable amount of seeds cheaply (it is likely labeled coriander seeds) and plant regularly and liberally.

Boron

[Penelope Periwinkle]

I bought some cumin seed from Seed Savers , and I got it started inside this weekend. It was a catalog-induced impulse buy! I didn't even think about getting the seeds from the herbs at the grocery store because I always buy the ground cumin.

Do you roast the seeds in the oven or in a skillet? I've roasted poppy seeds as part of an Indian cooking class, but we "roasted" them in a hot skillet.

Thanks for the information.

Penelope

[Penelope Periwinkle]

What's the summer heat like where you are?

I grow dill and cilantro as cool season crops, I plant a crop in the spring and fall. They just bolt and go to seed in the summer heat around here. Parsley is cold hardier than either dill or cilantro, but it's still not too happy in the heat. Cumin is related to parsley, but it's listed as an annual, so I was wondering if anyone knew if it likes the heat, or I should grow it as a cool season herb. Seed Savers says it's a self-seeding annual, actually.

I guess I'll plant some now, but I'll hold some of the seeds back for fall, just in case.

Penelope

[The Cook]

I roast them in a skillet. No fat used.

[smitha_sriram]

Hi Penelope,

Are you interested in taking an Indian cooking class? Thanks, Smitha