Cumin: The Spice of Life
Aromatic spices add flavor to food. Before tropical pepper reached the Middle East via trade routes, meals—mostly bread or legume stews—were seasoned with the seeds or leaves of Mediterranean plants: dill (Anethum graveolens L.), cilantro (Coriandrum sativum L.), cumin (Cuminum cyminum L.), and black cumin (Nigella sativa L.).
Like our native caraway (Carum carvi L .), cumin belongs to the umbellifer family. Both species are annuals, but differ significantly in aroma and flavor. Cumin is believed to originate from the Middle East and Egypt, where its seeds are still used today to flavor bread and stews. Indian curry blends also contain cumin. The spice did not reach Central Europe until the 13th century. Folk medicine uses cumin to treat mild digestive disorders.
The Old Testament mentions the plant in a sermon by the prophet Isaiah on the order established at creation: “Does the farmer plow every day to sow, does he till and harrow his fields every day? No, once he has leveled the fields, he scatters cumin and dill, sows wheat and barley, and spelt along the edges. Thus his God instructs and teaches him, so that he may do it right.
Nor does one drive the threshing sledge over the dill or the wagon wheels over the caraway; rather, one beats the dill with a staff and the caraway with sticks. Does one perhaps crush the grain (during threshing)? No, one does not thresh it endlessly; one does not let the wagon wheels or the hooves of the animals run over it until it is crushed. The Lord of Hosts teaches this as well; his counsel is wonderful, and he grants great success.” (Isaiah 28:24–29).
Isaiah uses the various field tasks of a typical small farmer as an example. These tasks are successful only if he performs them in a specific manner and sequence: Success in human endeavor results only from handling things properly. People in the Old Testament saw in this an order prescribed by God, which they could come to know both through experience and through divine instruction.
Against the backdrop of liberation from bondage, the Ten Commandments (Ex 20:2–17) similarly summarize what, according to divine guidance, is essential for a fulfilled human life.
Text from the information panel in the Botanical Garden, © Chair of Biblical Theology (Catholic) and Dr. Barbara Ditsch