Description of cumin as a seasoning and as a plant, composition and useful properties. Is it okay for everyone to use the spice. Spice recipes and interesting facts about her. For cooking, not only seeds are used, but also the root of the plant. Grated root is added to desserts. But for medicinal purposes, caraway seeds are preferred.
Useful properties of cumin
Cumin seeds are still used in traditional medicine recipes, and extracts from them are added to pharmaceuticals.
Beneficial effect on the body
- Promote increased immunity and improve memory function;
- Prevents the development of anemia, improves peripheral blood supply;
- Eliminate flatulence, accelerate metabolic processes in the intestines, stabilize peristalsis and eliminate intestinal spasms;
- Relieve pain caused by hemorrhoids, eliminate itching in the lower rectum and prevent secondary infection;
- During lactation, the amount of milk is increased and its quality is improved;
- In case of a cold, they dilute phlegm and facilitate its excretion;
- Increase the acidity of gastric juice;
- Reduce blood pressure;
- They prevent the development of urolithiasis, dissolve kidney stones;
- They have an antiseptic and antibacterial effect, inhibit the activity of pathogenic microorganisms lurking in the lymphoid tissue;
- Improve visual function, eliminate increased lacrimation;
- Increase the tone of the body, while not causing increased excitement;
- Eliminate insomnia, increase stress resistance;
- Isolates and removes free radicals.
In Indian alternative medicine Ayurveda, cumin is used to cleanse the liver and restore its functions. The official one uses the anticancer properties of the plant in its tinctures: the extract of cumin is most effective in the treatment of colon cancer.
Cumin is useful for women. It stabilizes the menstrual cycle, reduces the amount of menstrual flow, relieves pain, stimulates the production of female hormones, progesterone and estrogen. Thanks to their production, aging slows down, skin tone increases, fine wrinkles are smoothed out.
Harm and contraindications to the use of cumin
The harm from cumin when eaten is minimal, its use is limited to 0.5-1 tsp. But nevertheless, it is worth considering the following contraindications:
- Pregnancy - stimulation of peristalsis and laxative effects can provoke uterine tone and cause miscarriage;
- Diabetes mellitus - blood sugar levels increase;
- Heart attack or ischemic disease - due to increased vascular tone, a load on the cardiovascular system is created;
- Acidic gastritis;
- Gallstone disease - stimulation of liver function promotes the elimination of gallstones, which causes painful biliary colic.
An absolute contraindication to caraway seeds is internal organ transplant surgery. It has a pronounced immune effect, stimulates the production of natural immunity. This action can lead to rejection of the implant.
Caraway recipes
Caraway is combined with lamb and pork, it is added when harvesting vegetables for the winter - cabbage, cucumbers and pickled apples, it is used to improve the taste of desserts, baked goods and dairy products. If you add seasoning to your diet for weight loss, you can not be afraid of the deposition of body fat.
Cumin recipes
- Weight Loss Salad … By adding caraway seeds, you can improve the taste of beetroot salad, which no weight loss diet can do without. Beets are boiled, grated on a fine grater, seasoned with vegetable oil, grated with a little pickled cucumber and 1 clove of garlic is chopped. For 0.5 kg of boiled beets, add 0.5 teaspoon of caraway seeds.
- Diet carrot soup … 1 kg of peeled carrots is chopped with a blender or on a fine grater, juice is squeezed out of a fresh orange - 1/3 cup is required. A broth of medium saturation is cooked from a chicken breast, dipping the meat into boiling water, adding salt and adding an onion, then discard it. You need to get 1 liter of broth. Cumin in the amount of 2 teaspoons is ground in a coffee grinder. A tablespoon with the top of butter is melted in a deep frying pan, the shredded onion is fried. 2-3 minutes after frying the onions, put the carrots and a bunch of chopped parsley into the pan. Stew the carrots for 15 minutes, stirring constantly, then pour in the broth and orange juice. Everything should languish on low heat. When all the ingredients become soft, remove the soup from the heat, interrupt with a blender, put it back on the fire and, stirring constantly, add cumin and salt.
- Rice beans … This is what the dish is called in Tahiti. Garlic (6 large teeth) is cut into thin petals, lengthwise. A large tomato is poured over with boiling water and divided into beautiful even cubes. It is best to use canned beans from a jar, as it will take a long time to cook on your own. The jar is opened, the beans are laid out in a colander, washed with clean water and the excess liquid is left to glass. In a preheated deep frying pan, heat the vegetable oil and spread it gradually: garlic (fried for a minute), tomatoes (stew for 3 minutes), washed rice in an amount of 1 cup, cook until the cereal acquires a uniform golden hue. In addition, you will need the following spices: a third of a teaspoon of thyme, half of cumin, and a whole of turmeric. After adding the beans, immediately pour boiled hot water over everything. The water should be 4-5 cm above the level of the contents of the pan. Salt to taste, given that the rice absorbs salt, cover it with a lid and, without interfering, bring it to readiness. Before serving, add chopped herbs to taste into each portion. The dish is not tasty when cold.
- Chicken with cumin … The chicken is cut, the bones are separated, the meat is cut into portions. Mix the marinade: half a glass of soy sauce, 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise, a teaspoon of cumin, salt and pepper to taste. The meat is poured into a ceramic bowl or glass jar, poured over with marinade, mixed so that the marinade covers each piece. Cover the chicken with a lid and leave it on the refrigerator shelf overnight. Fried on a grill or in the oven on a baking sheet at 180 ° C until golden brown on both sides. The dish is not cooked in a slow cooker - the meat will give juice, but when it cools it will turn out to be dry.
- Honey cimes … 2 tablespoons of oils, sunflower and butter, are heated in a pan. In the original recipe, olive oil is used instead of sunflower oil, but in this case, the dish may burn. The leek stalk is cut into 0.5 cm pieces and caramelized in brown sugar. 800 g of carrots are first cut in half lengthwise, then cut into thin slices. Stew in a saucepan with water for about 8-10 minutes. 5 medium sour apples, peeled, halved, cored, then diced, mixed with 10 chopped dried apricots and half a zest of one lemon. Put everything on the carrots, remove excess water, add raisins to taste, mix. Then spices are added to the dish to taste: thyme, cumin, black pepper, cinnamon, nutmeg. Bring the carrots to a puree state, remove from heat and mix everything. Apples can remain medium soft, so it tastes better. Cool slightly, lay out the caramelized onions, bring the taste to perfection with the help of honey and the remaining zest. If tsimes is planned as a side dish for meat, then the amount of sugar and honey is halved.
- Simple cookie … Melted butter (100 g) at room temperature and knead the dough into a glass of flour, add about 2 tablespoons of sugar and beat in 1 egg. Add about 1 teaspoon of salt and add 2 teaspoons of large cumin seeds. The dough is kneaded, left to walk for 15 minutes. The baking sheet is covered with parchment, greased with sunflower oil. Roll out the dough into a thin layer, transfer it to a sheet, cut the outlines of the cookies into Christmas trees. Bake in a preheated oven at 180-200 ° C until tender. Ready biscuits are easily poured off the sheet. Sprinkle with icing sugar on the hot dessert.
Caraway drinks
- Tea … A teaspoon of seasoning is brewed with boiling water, allowed to stand in a wrapped state for 10 minutes, honey is added for taste before use.
- Lithuanian tincture … Ingredients: half a teaspoon of caraway seeds and the same amount of sugar, dry yeast and citric acid on the tip of a knife, balm or cognac - 50 g, 2/3 cup of water. Caraway is poured into a ladle, poured with very cold water (it is better to first cool the liquid in the refrigerator), heated over low heat, brought to a boil and kept for 30 minutes. Strain the seed, cool the liquid to room temperature, add sugar and stir until it dissolves. Add yeast and citric acid, leave warm for 12 hours to ferment everything. Before use, pour in a balm or brandy. Lemon juice can be used to enhance the taste.
- Slimming cocktail … Seasonings are mixed: half a teaspoon of cinnamon and a teaspoon of grated ginger and caraway root. Pour a glass of boiling water over, dip a thick slice of lemon with the peel. Let it brew in a wrapped state for 20 minutes, then filter. Drink a day, dividing into 3 equal portions, before eating.
When preparing dishes, it is necessary to adhere exactly to the dosage of the seasoning! It is worth overusing the amount, and you will have to experience the laxative effect on yourself.
Interesting facts about cumin
Caraway drinks were served at weddings in ancient Rome and Babylon, and it was believed that this would prevent future cheating.
In India, it is still considered one of the main ingredients in soap making.
The Prophet Muhammad is credited with the words: "Cumin heals all diseases except death." It is not known whether the prophet said so or did not say anything, but among Muslims, cumin is widely used in cooking meat dishes.
Hippocrates and Avicenna used caraway seeds to treat chronic liver and intestinal diseases, and were used to stop dysentery.
The Dutch have developed a caraway variety that can be harvested gradually, as the seeds do not crumble when dry. Maturity can be recognized not only by the drying of the seed, which breaks down into 2 lobes after drying. The composition of an essential oil changes with aging. Unripe seeds smell more pungent, they contain D-limonene, and fully ripe seeds are dominated by carvone, which gives a spice, oriental flavor.
Research into the properties of caraway began in 1959. Since that time, more than 200 studies have been carried out and about 160 scientific papers of various levels have been written.
When sour cabbage soup is boiled from peroxidized cabbage, it is enough to add a pinch of caraway to remove the unpleasant odor. In order for it to fully develop its aroma, it must be fried in a dry frying pan before using it for cooking.
Watch a video about caraway seeds: