Black cumin is a part of the buttercup family and the seeds are dark, thin, and crescent-shaped when whole. The seeds have been used for many centuries in the Middle East, the Mediterranean and India. Today, black cumin seeds are used as a seasoning spice in different cuisines across the world because of their nutty flavor. Besides their culinary uses, black cumin seeds also have a wealth of important health benefits and are one of the most cherished medicinal seeds in history.
| Name | Black cumin |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Nigella sativa |
| Native | Southwestern Asia or southeastern Europe |
| Common/English Name | Black Caraway, Black Cumin, Blackseed, Black Seed flower, Edible Love-In-A-Mist, Fennel-Flower Nigella, Fitches, Nutmeg Flower, Onion Seed, Roman Coriander. |
| Name in Other Languages | Kurdish : Siawasa Albanian : Fara E Zezë Korean : Nigella German : Echter Schwarzkümmel Azeri : Çörək Out Portuguese : Cominho-Negro Bulgarian : Chelebitka Posevna Slovašcina : Navadna Črnik Catalan : Sanuj Ukrainian : Chornushka Newari : Mugrela Coptic : Shouniz Sri Lanka : Kaladuru Czech : Černucha Seta Russian : Černuška Posevnaja Eastonian : Aed-Mustköömen Arabic : Habah Al-Brekah USA : Charnushka Farsi : Siah Daneh Spanish : Agenuz Finnish : Mustakumina Slovencina : Černuška Gaelic : Lus An Fhograidh Swedish : Svartkummin India : Kaljeera Turkish : Çörek Indonesia : Jintan Hitam Yiddish : Nigele, Tshernitshke Latvian : Melnsēklīte Amharic : Tik’ur Azmud Libya : Kaműn Aswad Vietnamese : Thì Là Ðen Lithuanian : Juodgrūdė Croatian : Crni Kumin Malaysia : Jintan Hitam Chinese : Hak Jung Chou Ethiopia : Abasuda Norwegian : Svartfrø Japanese : Kuro Tanetsou Pakistan : Kalonji Hungarian : Borzaskata Mag Brazil : Nigela Persian : Siyah-Biranj French : Cheveux De Vénus Serbian : Crno Seme Nepali : Mugrelo Kazakh : Sodana Danish : Nigella Hebrew : Ketzah Thai : Thian-Dam Italian : Cuminella Polish : Czarnuszka Siewna Dutch : Tamme Nigelle |
| Plant Growth Habit | Annual stout, erect, flowering herb |
| Growing Climate | Grows in full-sun |
| Soil | Wide range of well-drained soils, but prefers sandy loam soils. It is quite drought tolerant and can survive in dry soils but requires regular watering during prolonged dry periods. |
| Plant Size | 30–50 cm tall |
| Root | Well-developed tap root |
| Stem | Branched, sub terete, weakly ribbed, pubescent, dark green stem |
| Leaf | 7–5 cm, bi-pinnately, tripinnately to multi pinnately divided into thin sublinear, pilose lobes. The upper leaves and petiolate are long while the lower leaves are small. |
| Flower | Terminal and solitary, actinomorphic, hermaphrodite, pentamerous, hypogynous on 4–11 mm minutely hairy and ribbed pedicels. |
| Fruit Shape & Size | Inflated, ribbed, oblongoid, tuberculate capsule 6–16 mm × 5–12 mm |
| Fruit Color | Greyish-green to brown at maturity |
| Seed Shape & Size | Triquetrous to obpyramidal, rugose, |
| Seed Color | White turning black when mature |
| Flavor/Aroma | Pungent bitter smell |
| Taste | Taste like a combination of onions, black pepper and oregano |
| Major Nutrition | Manganese, Mn 8.53 mg (370.87%) Copper, Cu 2.6 mg (288.89%) Iron, Fe 9.7 mg (121.25%) Total Fat (lipid) 31.16 g (89.03%) Phosphorus, P 543 mg (77.57%) Magnesium, Mg 265 mg (63.10%) Calcium, Ca 570 mg (57.00%) Zinc, Zn 6.23 mg (56.64%) Protein 22.8 g (45.60%) Potassium, K 808 mg (17.19%) Total dietary Fiber 6.03 g (15.87%) Sodium, Na 17.6 mg (1.17%) |
| Health Benefits |
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