Is it "kyoo-min" or "coo-min"?

Cuminum cyminum, better known as cumin, is easily my favorite spice.  While not a spice in the sense of giving heat, it gives food a wallop of flavor.  It has a distinct taste that is often called "earthy" but to me that just sounds like dirt.  Anyone who says it tastes like dirt is getting smacked upside the head with grandma's cooking spoon.  Cumin is AWESOME.

For the non-initiated, cumin is used just about everywhere in the world, but is most prominent in Mexican and Mediterranean food.  This is why most people associate the smell and taste with tacos and falafel.  Got a jar?  Give it a sniff.  Doesn't it smell delicious?  DON'T YOU JUST WANT TO PUT IT IN YOUR FACE?!?!?!

My first real exposure to the power of cumin was in my very first attempts to cook healthily.  One of my favorite boxes of bachelor chow to get was Goya's rice & beans.  I tried just cooking rice in water and adding beans when it was done.  I was thoroughly stumped as to why this didn't taste too good (hint: it needed spices).  After looking at the list of ingredients I saw which spices were in the baggie of flavor (a terrifying concept).  Cumin was one of the first.  I gave it a smell and right away I knew that was the big one.

Since then I've gone on to really nail rice and beans.  I constantly tweak this recipe but here is how to make the simple version of the rice & beans your life is incomplete without:

ENJOY!

FUN CUMIN FACTS!!!

• Cumin is an ancient spice, having been mentioned in the old testament and seeds dating to 2000 BC have been excavated in India.
• Cumin is used in bird seed.  Even birds can tell how amazing it is!
• Cumin as a plant is in the same family as parsley.  I'm guessing parsley is the middle child...
• Cumin was first known by the Egyptians who used it in temple rituals.  Presumably this is because cumin is so amazing that even the gods are like "don't hold out on me, brah!"
• The moors brought cumin with them to Spain, and the Spaniards took it to the new world.  The Ottoman empire took to to India where it became so popular that it spread to southeast Asia.  Cumin has LITERALLY CONQUERED THE WORLD!!!!!