Black Cumin (Nigella) Cooking Notes:

Flavour: Pepper, Nutmeg, Strong Bitterness

Usage: Use the spice directly, no need to grind. Black Cumin can be used for cooking breads, tea, and ethnic desserts. Use with care, it's quite bitter!

Cuisine: Indian, Egyptian, Turkish, Sri Lankan

Food Pairings: Spice rubs, bread, meat, liquors

Serving size: 0.5 grams

Recipes: Stir fried Spinach

Black Cumin (Nigella) Technical Notes:

Origin: India

Quality: Grade A, Machine Sorted

Industry Knowledge: Although given the name "Black Cumin", this spice is worlds apart from the popular Cumin Seed. Black Cumin has a much more bitter flavour, with additional flavour notes of Nutmeg and Pepper. It's used throughout South West Asia, and is also very popular in Mediterranean cuisines. This spice is used most often to flavour breads, such as Peshwari Naan in India and Braided Dough Buns in Turkey. It's also used in numerous spice mixtures, used as a spice rub for meats, and also in liquors. Regency's Black Cumin is a superior variety, obtained from a single source of Black Cumin seeds, unadulterated with other varieties. Because of this, the flavour is more pronounced and only small amounts need to be added for a full flavour impact.

Black Cumin is by no means a modern spice - Black Cumin Seeds, much like these, were uncovered in Tutankhamen's Tomb, as well as other ancient Egyptian sites. Isaiah in the Old Testament also refers to Black Cumin seeds, and if that weren't enough, they were found in a Hittite flask in Turkey which was dated back to roughly 2000BC. In more modern times, due to it's numerous health benefits, companies such as Nestle have reportedly filed for patents covering its use in food allergy treatment

Also known as: Nigella sativa, NIGELLA, FENNEL FLOWER, NUTMEG FLOWER, BLACK CARAWAY, ROMAN CORIANDER, KALAJEERA, KALAJIRA, KALAUNGI, काला जीरा, 黑茴香