🇸🇦 Arabicar
كمون
kammun
Western India, India
Cumin
300k t
global production / year
India ~70% of supply
2.5–4%
essential oil content
of dry seed weight
20–40%
cuminaldehyde share
of the volatile oil
120 d
from sowing to harvest
rainfed winter crop
Visual atlas
Profile
Cumin is a flowering plant in the family Apiaceae, native to the Irano-Turanian Region. Its seeds – each one contained within a fruit, which is dried – are used in the cuisines of many cultures in both whole and ground form. Although cumin is used in traditional medicine, there is no high-quality evidence that it is safe or effective as a therapeutic agent.
Cumin — Cuminum cyminum — is the dried fruit of a small annual of the parsley family, native to the eastern Mediterranean and cultivated at scale in Gujarat and Rajasthan, India. Its warm, earthy, slightly bitter aroma comes from cuminaldehyde and dries to a deep brown after harvest. Nearly every cuisine between Lisbon and Lahore leans on it: Mexican chili, Tex-Mex taco seasoning, Indian tadka, Middle Eastern falafel, North African merguez, Sri Lankan black curry, and Uzbek plov. Toasting it whole for thirty seconds before grinding unlocks a second layer of nuttiness that is lost if you buy it pre-ground.
Origin
Western India, India.
India
Western India · Unjha, Gujarat
Process
01Oct–Nov
Sowing
Seeds broadcast into cool, well-drained loam after the monsoon recedes. Rainfed across Gujarat and Rajasthan.
02Dec–Jan
Flowering
Tiny white-pink umbels open. Cool nights below 15°C concentrate the volatile oil in the developing fruits.
03Feb–Mar
Hand-cutting
Stalks are cut at the base when umbels turn straw-yellow, before they shatter and drop seed in the field.
045–7 days
Sun-drying
Bundles laid on threshing floors. Daytime sun, night dew, until the seeds rattle dry inside the umbel.
05Manual
Threshing & winnowing
Beaten with sticks or trampled, then tossed against the wind to separate seed from chaff and dust.
06Your jar
Whole, toasted before use
Ground cumin loses 50% of aroma in 6 months. Buy whole, dry-toast in a pan, crush fresh.
Inside the berry
The molecules that make it taste like Kampot — and not like anything else.
GC-MS of Indian Cuminum cyminum: cuminaldehyde dominates, framed by p-cymene and γ-terpinene that lift the nose.
3.2%
Essential oil
average dry seed
32%
Cuminaldehyde
of the volatile oil
8.5%
Moisture
post sun-dry
100+
Volatile compounds
identified across origins
Volatile compound profile
- Cuminaldehyde32.0%
The signature: warm, earthy, slightly bitter — the smell of cumin itself.
- γ-terpinene18.5%
Citrus-pine, lifts the heavy base into the nose.
- β-pinene14.2%
Resinous pine, cool green — the forest behind the seed.
- p-cymene12.8%
Solvent-citrus, sharp — gives cumin its medicinal edge.
- 2-methyl-3-phenylpropanal4.1%
Roasted, almost meaty — emerges on toasting.
- Safranal1.6%
Hay-like, distantly saffron — trace warmth.
Versus other peppers
| Pepper | Piperine | Oil |
|---|---|---|
★ Indian (Unjha) Gujarat · cuminaldehyde lead | 32% | 3.2% |
Syrian Aleppo · highest oil yield | 28% | 3.8% |
Iranian Khorasan · earthier, drier | 35% | 2.9% |
Black (Bunium) Kashmir · different species, smoky | n/a | 5.2% |
Moroccan Souss · lighter, more floral | 26% | 2.5% |
Cuisines
How the world cooks with it.
3 signature dishes
Cumin (jeera) opens nearly every tadka in India — bloomed in hot ghee until it crackles and turns mahogany.
- Jeera ricegrade: indian
Basmati tempered with whole cumin in ghee, bay leaf, a single clove.
- Garam masalagrade: indian
Toasted cumin is the warm core, balanced with coriander, cardamom, cinnamon.
- Dal tadkagrade: indian
Yellow lentils finished with a sizzling cumin-and-chili tempering.
Around the world
What it's called, from Phnom Penh to Palermo.
🇧🇩 Bengalibn
জিরা
jira
🇨🇳 Chinesezh
孜然
zīrán
🇳🇱 Dutchnl
Komijn
🇬🇧 Englishen
Cumin
🇫🇷 Frenchfr
Cumin
🇩🇪 Germande
Kreuzkümmel
🇮🇱 Hebrewhe
כמון
kamun
🇮🇳 Hindihi
जीरा
jeera
🇮🇩 Indonesianid
Jinten
🇮🇹 Italianit
Cumino
🇯🇵 Japaneseja
クミン
kumin
🇰🇷 Koreanko
쿠민
kumin
🇮🇷 Persianfa
زیره سبز
zireh sabz
🇵🇹 Portuguesept
Cominho
🇪🇸 Spanishes
Comino
🇮🇳 Tamilta
சீரகம்
seeragam
🇹🇭 Thaith
ยี่หร่า
yi-ra
🇹🇷 Turkishtr
Kimyon
🇵🇰 Urduur
زیرہ
zeera
🇻🇳 Vietnamesevi
Thì là Ai Cập
Seasonality
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
Peak harvestTail harvestStored, available
Pairings
Protein
- Carnitas & tacos
- Lamb shoulder
Plant
- Black beans & lentils
- Jeera rice
- Roasted potatoes
- Falafel & hummus
Substitutes
- Coriander Seed55% match
- Fennel Seed40% match
- Caraway70% match· soon
Frequent questions
They look similar but smell opposite. Cumin (Cuminum cyminum) is warm, earthy, slightly bitter — driven by cuminaldehyde. Caraway (Carum carvi) is sweet, anise-like, driven by carvone. Caraway belongs in rye bread and sauerkraut; cumin in chili, curry, and tagine.