The Science of Spice

128 Spice Profiles

Region of cultivation

Native to southern Europe, Turkey, the

Caucasus, and the Middle East, nigella is

now cultivated in India – the largest modern-

day producer – and Egypt, North Africa, and

southern Asia.

The plant

Nigella is a small,

herbaceous annual plant

from the buttercup family.

It produces pale-blue,

five-petalled flowers and

feathery grey-green foliage.

Whole

Seeds will keep for up to two years.

They are very hard, so grind them in

a spice or coffee grinder rather than

by hand with a pestle and mortar.

Tear-drop

shaped

seeds are

beige until

dried in air

Plants reach a

height of about

60cm (2ft)

BOTANICAL NAME

Nigella sativa

ALSO KNOWN AS

Love-in-a-mist, black onion seeds,

black cumin, black caraway.

MAJOR FLAVOUR COMPOUND

Nigellone.

PARTS USED

Seeds.

METHOD OF CULTIVATION

An annual plant, it produces large seed

capsules that are harvested as they ripen.

COMMERCIAL PREPARATION

The capsules are dried then crushed to

release the seeds, which are either sold

whole or have their oil extracted.

NON-CULINARY USES

In natural remedies the seeds are used to

alleviate cold symptoms, treat digestive

ailments, and encourage lactation.

MIDDLE EAST

GREECE

NORTH AFRICA

SOUTHERN EUROPE

INDIA

NIGELLA

Mild | Peppery | Herbaceous

Reputedly found in King

Tutankhamun’s tomb in ancient

Egypt, nigella has been cultivated

for its seeds for more than 3,000 years.

Its name derives from the Latin

nigellus or niger (black). Ancient

Greeks and Arabs appreciated the

seed’s curative and preservative

properties; according to an Arab

proverb, nigella is “a remedy for all

diseases except death”. An ancient

Arab text describes it as habbatul

barakah, “seed of blessing”, while in

the Old Testament it is called ketzah.

The Roman physician and philosopher

Galen prescribed nigella seeds to

treat colds, and they are still used in

this way: a spoonful of seeds is

wrapped in muslin, held to the nostril,

and inhaled to clear a blocked nose.

Nigella has been used as a herbal

remedy across southern Europe,

western Asia, and the Middle East.

Spice story

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