In the small town in the northwest where I lived when I was a child, residents are known for their love for eating mutton. The traditional way to eat is to stew or braise large chunks of lamb and ribs. It was not until the 20 0 90 0 0 90 that we found that there were also delicious food such as grilled lamb kebab and grilled lamb chop .
Children like me often save one or two yuan to gather in front of the oven, watching the skewers quickly turn the skewers in the misty smoke and the flashing charcoal fire, sprinkle pepper noodles and cumin when they are almost cooked, and emit a burst of spicy fragrance after baking.
There are many places where cumin is used in Xinjiang food. In addition to barbecue, cumin is also commonly used in roasted buns, naan, hand-pickled rice , etc. When I was traveling in Tokson County, southern Xinjiang, I found that farmers like to plant cumin in cotton and corn fields. Each cumin can grow half a meter tall, and small lilac flowers bloom on each branch. Some branches are blooming, while others have already produced light green fruits. All the flowers on the branches such as
have faded, and the fruits and branches have turned from green to yellow, and you can smell the smell of cumin floating in the fields. At this time, the farmers uprooted them and transported them to the wheat field to dry, crush, dust, and bag them, and sold them to merchants who came to buy them. Later, they were transferred to markets, Xinjiang restaurants, and grilled lamb kebab stalls across the country.
Source: pexls
Later, I tried the local traditional drink cumin water in Kerala, India. The buttery and oily smelled with spices. Sometimes there were a few fresh mint leaves on it to decorate and enhance the flavor. Because I drank the drinks such as Masala tea with various spices from Kolkata all the way south, the cumin water drink is light and delicious.
Speaking of which, Indians eat cumin a lot, often used in various meat dishes and soups, it is a ingredient for a variety of curries and is used as a medicinal herb. India has long been the world's largest cumin producer. Its northwestern region has grown a large grain of cumin, which is different from the variety in Xinjiang.
cuminum (Cuminum cyminum) is a plant of the genus Umbrella family cuminum. It is native to the eastern coast of Mediterranean and Iran regions. It was collected and used by humans very early. People from West Asia and North Africa were first artificially cultivated.
Syria was unearthed from the ancients' seed relics collected and used by them more than 4,000 years ago. Ancient Egyptian also used cumin as a preservative for spices and mummies.
Ancient Jewish The classics "Talmud" and "Old Testament" mention cumin. Ancient Greeks also often use cumin to season. During a regular meal, there are usually containers for cumin to be stored on the dining table for people to use.
cumin Hand-drawn map
Franz Eugen Kohler After
in 1890, cumin spread from West Asia to Central Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia and Europe. From the names of cumin in various places, it can be seen that there are roughly two transmission routes.
Ancient Persians called it "zireh". In the 2nd century BC, Persian invaded India, and soldiers introduced cumin to today's India and Pakistan , and then introduced it to Central Asia and Xinjiang, our country. Therefore, the local languages of India and Pakistan and the pronunciation of cumin in Uyghur are transliterations of its Persian pronunciation. The Chinese transliteration of Uyghur is also transliterated as the name "cumin".
and Hebrew calls cumin "kammon", Arabic is called "kammūn", so Greek is introduced to the west, Latin , and the English region evolved its English name today "cumin" (Kurming).
Family Banquet Wet mural
Pompeii site unearthed around the 1st century
At that time, At that time, Romans banquets often use various seasonings such as locally produced and imported from the East for seasoning
cumin formed different varieties such as Iranian, Turkish, Indian, etc. during the long-term cultivation process. What is grown in Xinjiang is Iranian-type cumin that spreads to Central Asia and Xinjiang region along the " Silk Road ". Perhaps cumin was brought to the Central Plains by Arab and Persian merchants during the Tang and Song dynasties, but it was often confused with dill and cumin, and it was not carefully distinguished by people. Mainlanders have very limited meat consumption and there is not a huge demand for cumin. For a long time, cumin has been regarded as only one drug.
But in the northwest, ethnic groups such as Uyghur , Hui , Kerkiz, and Kazakh all like to use cumin as seasonings, especially commonly used in barbecue meat. The aroma of cumin and the oil of barbecue are more intense. It not only removes the fishy smell of beef and mutton, but also enhances the flavor. 20 nd century 90 nd year with the popularity of Xinjiang restaurants and kebabs, cumin spread all over the country.
In Europe, in ancient times and medieval times, cumin and caraway were often confused. In contrast, cumin seeds are a little bigger than caraway and have a more spicy taste.
South Asia, West Asia, Central Asia, North America and Latin America are the most common areas to eat cumin now. Some areas in southern Europe may be influenced by the dual influence of Ancient Roman and medieval Arab . Some dishes and breads are also seasoned with cumin. For example, traditional paella and seafood paella in some places in Spain will be sprinkled with cumin. Nowadays, " Turkish barbecue " is common on the streets of Europe and America. Cumin is often the main seasoning. I remember that when I was traveling in Berlin, I could inadvertently smell its unique aroma when I was walking on the streets.
Source: "Chinese Taste: Natural History of Spices and Seasonings"
Author: Zhou Wenhan
Editor: Zhang Runxin
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