Cumin is an essential component of Indian, North African, Levantine, and Mexican cuisine. Used alone or in combination with other spices, it imbues a diverse range of savoury dishes with its distinctive, highly aromatic, and pungent flavour.
Cumin’s uniquely musky, spicy flavour derives from cuminaldehyde, a compound found in found in roast beef and cinnamon but sparingly in other spices. Oher important compounds include pinene, which gives the spice its dry, pinewood nuance, and cymene, which has a fresh, turpentine-like aroma.
