Thousand ways to use aromatic plant already much
appreciated by ancient Romans: from the culinary to veterinary use

Peace Times 11

Field cumin is one of the most well known aromatic plants used since Roman times. It is a bi-annual herb with a long stem, reaching 50 - 80 centimetres, with ramifications on the upper part doted with a penetrating musky scent. Its flowers are small white or rosy.

Habitat - grows spontaneously in Europe and temperate Asia. Favours sunny and hot places.

Harvest and drying process - the fruits are used, picked in July, prior to the drying and beating of the plant. The flowering heads are cut and gathered in bunches before being hung in the shade of a well aired and dry place.

Therapeutic properties - cumin stimulates the appetite, facilitating the digestive process and elimination of intestinal gases. It has an aromatic, stimulating, anti-spasmodic, antiseptic and vermifuge action, and favours the rise of the milk.

In the kitchen - cumin seeds are added to flavour bread in many north European countries. Germans and the English as well as Arabs, use it in sauces as well as in meat and vegetable dishes. It is also used in the preparation of liquors. The French sprinkle cumin seeds on livariot and munster cheese. Norwegians use the leaves in karvekil soup. Inhabitants of the East eat its steamed roots.

Recipes - Cumin tomatoes filled with nuts: soak 60gms of rice flakes in water. Empty 4 large mature tomatoes, putting aside the pulp. Shell and crush 16 nuts, then grate a carrot. Mix the soaked flakes, carrot and nuts together. Add two crushed garlic cloves, a teaspoon of cumin seeds, salt and olive oil, as well as a part of the pulp to get a soft paste. Fill the tomatoes, sprinkle with chopped parsley and moisten with lemon juice and olive oil before serving.

Stuffed courgettes: boil 700gms of courgettes in a little water, drain when half cooked. Let them cool before removing the pulp. Mix the pulp with 150gms of cottage cheese, a teaspoon of cumin seeds and a little salt. Fill the courgettes with the mixture, sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and place on a tray brushed with olive oil. Cook in the oven for 10 minutes.

At the vets - farmers mix cumin with hay to increase its aroma and nutritional value. Such fodder is then given to cows, sows and mares to increase their sexual desire. The essence of cumin (10gms) mixed with castor oil (150gms) and alcohol (10gms) is excellent for scabies in dogs.

Luciano Zambotti - Naturopathic Physician