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.

Penelope Periwinkle wrote:


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.


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.


--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral, 48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:23:24 -0500, The Cook
wrote:

Penelope Periwinkle wrote:


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.


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.


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

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:23:24 -0500, The Cook
wrote:

Penelope Periwinkle wrote:


Has anyone here ever grown their own cumin?
...
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.

I bought some cumin seed from Seed Savers www.seedsavers.com, 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

On Wed, 09 Mar 2005 09:35:28 -0500, Boron Elgar
wrote:

The Cook wrote:

cumin


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.


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.

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

Penelope Periwinkle wrote:

On Tue, 08 Mar 2005 15:23:24 -0500, The Cook
wrote:

Penelope Periwinkle wrote:


Has anyone here ever grown their own cumin?
...
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.

I bought some cumin seed from Seed Savers www.seedsavers.com, 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
I roast them in a skillet. No fat used.

--
Susan N.

"Moral indignation is in most cases two percent moral, 48 percent indignation, and 50 percent envy."
Vittorio De Sica, Italian movie director (1901-1974)

Hi Penelope,

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