"Philippe Lemaire (remove oldies)" > wrote
in message ...
> When use one or the other ?
>
> Philippe
>
these two should not be confused, though often are because they look very
similar, but their flavour is very different.
Cumin is the spice used in most cuisines, typically Asian, but also Mexican.
Caraway is typically only a European spice, but may have 'crept' into N.
African, like Morocco.
Never use caraway in Asian cooking, it is always cumin. Sometimes caraway is
confused with black cumin (also called Royal cumin, or Shah jeera). Caraway
is not used in Indian cooking. Caraway is used in bread in central Europe,
and supposed to be in cheese in Holland, though I have only found the cumin
variety. In North Africa, it is said to be a component of harrisa, a hot
condiment, but I wonder if this is even correct. To me, caraway does not
marry with other spices. Its flavour is similar to mint, the main flavour
component is (+)carvone, an optical isomer of (-) carvone, found in some
mints. Sometimes, caraway in bread gives the bread a minty flavour.
HTH
cheers
Wazza