Difference between revisions of "Cummin"

<p> <b> CUMMIN. </b> —Cummin (or cumin) is the seed of the <i> Cuminum cyminum </i> , an annual herbaceous umbellifer. It has a slender, branching stem, and grows to the height of a foot. The seeds, which are ovoid in form, are strongly aromatic, and have a flavour not unlike that of caraway, but more pungent. [[Cummin]] was used by the [[Jews]] as a condiment, and also for flavouring bread. It has carminative and other medicinal properties, and was employed not only as a remedy for colic, but also to stanch excessive bleeding, and to allay swellings. It is indigenous to Upper [[Egypt]] and the [[Mediterranean]] countries, but it was also cultivated from early times in Western Asia, India, and China. </p> <p> Cummin is mentioned twice in the [[Bible]] (Isaiah 28:25-27 בַּסֹן, and Matthew 23:23 κύμινον). In the latter passage Jesus rebukes the Pharisees, because they paid tithe of mint, and anise, and , and omitted the weightier matters of the Law. </p> <p> Literature.— <i> Encyc. Brit. s.v. </i> ; Tristram, <i> Nat. Hist. of the Bible </i> . </p> <p> Hugh Duncan. </p>