Note from Cheri: Like most herbs, there are two sides to cumin: the culinary and the medicinal. For centuries people have used plants and herbs of all sorts for their apparent health giving quailities. How convenient that something so healthy can also add so much flavor to our daily diets. To explore the two sides of cumin, we've enlisted the help of Brenda Hyde, editor of SeedsOfKnowledge.com, a website dedicated to creating and sharing family memories, and Lucinda Jenkins, is a Licensed Practical Nurse, an Herbal Consultant and editor of GlenbrookFarm.com, a comprehensive herbal website. I've filled this article out with some recipes from right here at FabulousFoods.com, so you can experiment with the distinctive flavor of cumin yourself.

Recipes Using Cumin Chili Seasoning Blend Lime Honey Marinade for Fish, Shrimp, Pork or Chicken Zinfandel Restaurant Rib Rub Zinfandel Restaurant Barbecue Sauce Hellfire Harissa Hot Sauce Tropical Heat Mango Habenero Sauce Gujerati-Style Spinach with Lemon & Black Pepper Tandoori Salmon Spicy Pork Kabobs with Moorish Flavors Puerco Adobo Santa Fe Meatloaf Healthy Enchilada Casserole Grilled Lime Cilantro Steaks Papas Rellenas (Stuffed Potatoes) Spicy Black Beans Cranberry Slaw Calypso Strawberry Salad Curried Pear & Butternut Squash Soup Pepper Quesadillas Glenbrook Farms Herbs and Such -- Your on line source for bulk herbs and spices. Get just what you need from one ounce to several pounds.

The Culinary Side of Cumin By Brenda Hyde Cumin is a savory herb and should be in every cook's spice drawer. It's not a particularly attractive herb, and is grown mainly for the seeds, which are ripened and then dried. I buy my cumin in bulk and store it in an airtight container. My family loves spicy food so we use it mainly in Mexican type dishes, but Cumin is also a Mediterranean spice, as well as one used in many other countries. In Germany brides and grooms carry Cumin to symbolize faithfulness. It's an herb of many uses! Try adding Cumin to your meatloaf recipes, as well as stews and soups. It's a wonderful addition to spicy fondues and all chili recipes. Try a different angle on pot roast by adding onions, peppers and cumin and cook it all day on low in your crock pot. Pork roast can be cooked the same way, then taken out of the crock pot to remove the fat and shred the meat. Place back in the crock pot and add more cumin and chili powder for a shredded meat that can be served in tortillas shells with cheese and lettuce.

The Medicinal Side of Cumin By Lucinda Jenkins Cumin seeds (pronounced kuhmin or almost like come-in) is an umbelliferous herb which originated in Egypt. Carrots and parsley are from the same umbelliferous family. Ancient Egyptians used cumin seeds to flavour meat, fish and to preserve their dead. Ground cumin was part of recipe for making a good mummy wrap. The medicinal properties of cumin, like its close relatives anise and caraway, help to stimulate digestion, relieve bloating, and distension. Cumin has several anti-inflammatory compounds that help to relieve pain. A poultice of cumin powder, some clay or flour and water can be applied to arthritic joints. Cumin is widely used in Ayurvedic medicine and there is a lot of research being conducted by India and Israel. According to a study done at the Cancer Institute Adyar, Madras, in India, cumin was found to block 83 % of the chromosome damage that is done by cancer causing chemicals. This may turn out to be a very easy way to detox the body. Cumin tea anyone?