Cumin
Cumin is the reason your chili tastes like chili. That warm, slightly earthy, faintly smoky seed is the backbone of cuisines from Mexico to Morocco to India.
What It Is
Cumin is the dried seed of a small flowering plant related to parsley. It has been in use for thousands of years, which tells you something: no spice survives that long without earning its place. The seed is tiny, ridged, and pale brown, with a smell that is instantly recognizable once you know it. Ground cumin is more immediate and intense; whole seeds are a little more subtle and release their flavor when heated.
It shows up in taco seasoning, chili, hummus, curry, falafel, roasted vegetables, and spiced rice. It belongs to the warm, savory end of the spice world, not the sweet end.
What To Do
Start with about half a teaspoon per pound of meat or per can of beans and adjust from there. Cumin plays well with chili powder, garlic, coriander, and smoked paprika. Stir it into ground beef for tacos, whisk it into a yogurt sauce, or toss it with olive oil over chickpeas before roasting. It blooms fast in a hot pan, so if you are toasting it dry, thirty seconds is plenty before it turns bitter.
Store it in a sealed container away from the stove. Ground cumin stays lively for about a year; after that it fades to dust without much flavor behind it.
