Nigella (Nigella sativa L.)

There is a lot of confusion about the names of this spice: It is referred by a multitude of names which, in other sources, might mean something else entirely. In some English sources, it is called black cumin, but I think this is a poor choice, as the name black cumin is already reserved for another, somewhat obscure, spice from Central Asia and Northern India. I have also read the name black caraway (for its usage, together with caraway, in Jewish rye breads) and black onion seed (motivated by the similarity to the seeds of onion); but there is no botanical relation between nigella and any of these plants. Most curious is the name nutmeg flower, which is quite dangerous to use because a host of European languages denotes mace as flower of nutmeg or similar.

In the USA, nigella is often known as charnushka (deriving from the Russian name chernushka [чернушка] and probably introduced into American English by Armenian emigrants). The Hindi term kalonji is widely used by Indians even when speaking English.

Moreover, nigella is sometimes confused with black sesame seeds; occasonally, it is even named such. More rarely, there is confusion with ajwain, which in some languages bears similar names; ajwain itself is notorious for being confounded with numerous other plants.

I have decided to stick with the more neutral botanical name Nigella, mainly on the reason that this name cannot so easily be confounded with anything else.

Note, however, that there are several Nigella species besides N. sativa; the second most important species seems to be N. damascena, a common ornamental in Europe. By the use of the genus name for the spice, I do not imply that all members of the genus can be used culinarily. The seeds of N. damascena do have some flavour, but I find them inferior to those of the true spice N. sativa.

The deep black, sharp-edged seed grains.

Ranunculaceae (buttercup family).

Nigella seeds have little odour, but when ground or chewed they develop a vaguely oregano-like scent. The taste is aromatic and slightly bitter; I have seen it called pungent and smoky and even compared to black pepper, but I cannot agree with that comparison.

There is, however, some pungency in unripe or not yet dried seeds.

The seeds contain numerous esters of structurally unusual unsaturated fatty acids with terpene alcohols (7%); furthermore, traces of alkaloids are found which belong to two different types: iso­chinoline al­kaloids are repre­sented by nigellimin and nigellimin-N-oxide, and pyrazol alkaloids include nigellidin and nigellicin.

In the essential oil (avr. 0.5%, max. 1.5%), thymo­quinone was identified as the main component (up to 50%) besides p-cymene (40%), α-pinene (up to 15%), di­thymo­quinone and thymo­hydroquinone. Other terpene derivatives were found only in trace amounts: Carvacrol, carvone, limonene, 4-terpineol, citronellol. Further­more, the essential oil contains significant (10%) amounts of fatty acid ethyl esters. On storage, thymo­quinone yields di­thymo­quinone and higher oligo­condensation products (nigellone).

The seeds also contain a fixed oil rich in unsaturated fatty acids, mainly linoleic acid (50 – 60%), oleic acid (20%), eicodadienoic acid (3%) and dihomo­linoleic acid (10%) which is charac­teristic for the genus. Saturated fatty acids (palmitic, stearic acid) amount to about 30% or less. Commercial nigella oil (Black Seed Oil, Black Cumin Oil) may also contain parts of the essential oil, mostly thymo­quinone, by which it acquires an aromatic flavour.

Probably Western Asia. Although nigella is not mentioned in the common Bible translations, there is good evidence that an obscure plant name mentioned in the Old Testament means nigella; if true, this would indicate that nigella is cultivated since far more than two millennia (see pomegranate).

Today, the plant is cultivated from Egypt to India.

Nearly all names of nigella contain an element meaning black in reference to the unusually dark colour of the seeds. The following table compares some names of Nigella to local term for black. Most of the names have a second part that means cumin, caraway or simply grain.

The Epicentre: Nigella Nature One Health: Fennel Flower Pflanzen des Capitulare de Villis: Schwarzkümmel (biozac.de) Sorting Nigella names (www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au) Introduction to Bengali Cooking (milonee.net) Rezept von goccus.com: Panch phoron [পাঁচ ফোড়ন] Recipe: Shukto [শুকতো] (userpages.umbc.edu) Recipe: Shukto [শুকতো] (www.bawarchi.com) Recipe: Stuffed Parwal [पर्वाल] (www.bangalinet.com) Some Bengali Fish and Prawn Recipes (www.bangalinet.com) Recipe: Bengal Carp Curry (shaboomskitchen.com) Recipe: Mutton Kolthapuri Collection of Bengali Recipes (groups.google.com)