Is Cumin a spice or a herb?

Anyone who can prepare a meal knows the importance of Cumin (spices and herbs). Cumin (herbs and spices) is essentially the soul of the dish.

Cumin seeds are the hand-harvested seeds of the Cuminum cyminum plant from the parsley family. They are tiny and boat-shaped and can easily be confused with caraway seeds. Cumin seeds have been vastly used by Greeks, Romans, Asian, and Middle Eastern countries.

In India, cumin is one of the key ingredients of the all-spice mix (garam masala) and is used in almost every dish. It also knows as Jeera.

If one had to describe its taste and aroma, cumin has a warm, earthy aroma and an eclectic mix of sweetness and bitterness. A great tip to enhance its flavor is to use cumin seeds after roasting them lightly.

Rhizomes, bulbs, barks, flower buds, stigmas, fruits, seeds, and leaves are various parts of the plants. To simplify, they can be clubbed together into three broad categories, i.e., spice, spice seeds, and herbs. While some parts of the plant are medicinal, others are only used for their aroma.

How to distinguish between spice(jeera) and herbs?

Cumin (Herbs) are tiny seed-bearing plants used for medicinal purposes and for adding flavor to your dishes. On the other hand, spices are the dried parts of the plant, used for their aromatic properties and taste, a valuable addition to every meal.

Together they can be used to add an overall enhanced flavor. But be careful to strike a balance and not overdo spices. You don’t want to lose the taste of your primary ingredients. Jeera (spices and herbs) enhance the flavor and add to the existing nutritional value, but overdoing them can harm your health.

Spices and herbs both endow different textures and tastes. For a regular user, it’s straightforward to spot that herbs are more subtle than spices.

Herbs and spices(jeera) are derived from plants. In a broader sense, herbs are the new parts of the plants; spices, on the other hand, are the dried plants such as dried root or dried fruit or seeds.

We can now comfortably conclude that cumin seeds are spices and not herbs as they are the dried part of the plant.

Add flavor and health to your dishes by using good-quality cumin seeds. ORDER NOW