How to Process Cumin

Processing of Cumin

Cumin (Cuminium Cyminium)	.
Main countries of production:	Iran, Morocco, India and Guatemala
Optimal climate:	Mild, plenty of sun
Elevation:	Up to 1000m above sea level
Rainfall:	Over 2000m
Spacing:	Well spread, 0.75m apart

Agricultural and botanical aspects

Cumin is an annual herb that grows to a height of 20-80cm with white or purple flowers and produces seed-like fruits.

Harvesting

The cumin is ready to harvest 60-90 days after sowing, when the plant begins to wither and the seeds lose their dark green colour. The whole plant is removed from the ground.

Drying

The plants are dried in the sun or sometimes in the partial sun.

Threshing and winnowing

The 'seeds' are beaten out by threshing the dried plants with sticks. The seeds are then further dried to 10% moisture content (wet basis) and winnowed using a traditional winnowing basket.

Yield

The yield can be as much as 100kg/hectare.

Standards

Indian standard

.	Special	Standard	General
Moisture % (wet basis)	<10	<10	<10
Extraneous material (% by weight)	2	5	7
Damaged 'seeds' (% by weight)	2	4	6
Shrivelled, immature (% by weight)	1.5	3.0	4.0

References and further reading

This Howtopedia entry was derived from the Practical Action Technical Brief Processing of Cumin.
To look at the original document follow this link: http://www.practicalaction.org/?id=technical_briefs_food_processing
Related articles: Processing of Coriander, Practical Action Technical Brief
Drying of Foods, Practical Action Technical Briefs
Small-scale Drying Technologies, Practical Action Technical Brief

Useful addresses

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Tel.: +44 (0) 1926 634400, Fax: +44 (0) 1926 634401 e-mail: practicalaction@practicalaction.org.uk web: www.practicalaction.org