Topic: Black cumin seeds!

[meggeth]

Tried black cumin seeds today for the first time, after a few had said how much better they are than normal cumin seeds. All I can say is....

YEEUUUGGGHHHH!   

Really don't like the taste of them. Bought a whole bag of them, but have now thrown them away. Put just a small amount in the pilau rice. To me, they taste very similar to black cardomon, which I also dislike.

Isn't taste a strange thing?

[Peripatetic Phil]

Tried black cumin seeds today for the first time, after a few had said how much better they are than normal cumin seeds. All I can say is....

YEEUUUGGGHHHH!   

Now you know how I feel about bananas / Brussels sprouts / turnips / pickled walnuts / ... !
** Phil.

[RubyDoo]

Tried black cumin seeds today for the first time, after a few had said how much better they are than normal cumin seeds. All I can say is....

YEEUUUGGGHHHH!   

Now you know how I feel about bananas / Brussels sprouts / turnips / pickled walnuts / ... !
** Phil.

But you DO like and use black cumin Phil. I much prefer the white butbthe black does have uses. Shouldn't have thrown it so promptly G. 

[Graeme]

Hi,
I use a small amount of Royal Cumin (Black Cumin) in my yellow rice.
I would myself never say they were great, just diffrent 

[Malc.]

Very odd Meggeth, what a shame you threw them. I can only assume you over cooked them or they were not right to start. They don't taste anything like black cardamon.

[haldi]

Tried black cumin seeds today for the first time,  they taste very similar to black cardomon, which I also dislike.

Hi Meggeth
Black cummin and black cardamon have similar smokey tastes
But either of them should be used very sparingly
Just a tiny amount or they dominate and ruin dishes
Two places I know use black cummin in their pillau rice
But just a touch
If they are subtle they are very very nice
For the quantities of my home use, one pack of black cummin, will last me probably 5 years
Black cardamon goes into garam masala too
And that spice is widely used in many BIR dishes

[RubyDoo]

5 years? Not sure the quality would not suffer a tad after 5 years! 

[spiceyokooko]

But either of them should be used very sparingly
Just a tiny amount or they dominate and ruin dishes

I agree.

Black cumin has a much stronger flavour than the more common white cumin variety and should not be used in comparable quantities. As you rightly say, black cumin should be used much more sparingly. I would use it in a 4:1 ratio (when you usually use 4 parts white cumin, use 1 part black) depending on what you're using it for.

It's a common mistake many people make in using the same quantities of each and thinking they're interchangeable which they're not.

[spiceyokooko]

Really don't like the taste of them.

As others have mentioned, it does sound like you may have used them in too large a quantity - given their stronger flavour they really can over power a dish.

Were you following the guidelines in a recipe that called for that amount of black cumin, or did you simply substitute black cumin for white?

A less drastic way of introducing the stronger flavour of black cumin is to use a mix of white and black in the same recipe in a ratio of around 1:4 or 1:6 black to white.

[meggeth]

In pilau, I usually add half tsp of normal cumin seeds, when using the black ones I added a little less, maybe quarter to one third - so obviously too much. But I think it certainly seems to be something I don't like the taste of. I don't like the smell of them either. Think I'll stick to normal seeds in future!

Anyone want a pack of black cumin seeds, fresh out of the waste bin?