Jump to content

Menu

Cumin - how do you pronounce this seasoning?


Pegasus
 Share

Recommended Posts

The funny thing is that DH thinks I pronounce it "wrong."  I just now looked it up on dictionary.com and listening to their two different pronunciations, both are still different than either of us pronounce it.  I had DH listen and he now says that they are wrong too.   :lol:

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I used to say Q-min, but switched to coo-min years ago.  I can't remember why I decided the latter was better.

 

This threads are making it apparent to me that I've switched up a lot of pronunciations.  Over the years I've also switched my pencil grip and the way I knit.  Just a work in progress over here, I guess.

 

(I also switched from Q-pon to coo-pon because it made more sense to me.)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I hate that word. That has been my least favorite word for the last 28 years of my marriage. If I pronounce it the way I grew up pronouncing it (Q-min) mil corrects me insistently and emphatically (as she does with every little thing). She corrected me so many times the first few years of our marriage that I got used to pronouncing it her way -- cumin with a short u. Now when I say it, my family gives me a look that tells me they think I'm mispronouncing it, but thankfully they don't force their views down my throat. That word always reminds me that I never stood up for myself with my mil in the early years of our marriage. I've learned to now. Who knew alternate pronunciations could reveal so much about a person's psyche?

Edited by Jane Elliot
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've pronounced it Q-min most of my life...but I am trying to switch to the coo-min way of saying it because I'm guessing that is actually correct...based on how I've heard it on food shows, etc.

 

There are multiple pronunciations, all of which are equally correct. You should use the pronunciation most often used locally, as that provides the greatest chance that people will understand you.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We say comino, but my spouse is Hispanic. 

 

Before we got together I had never heard of it, so I didn't pronounce it any kind of way. 

 

In fact, I was trying to explain a recipe to someone on a message board and we ended up having a back and forth because she didn't know what comino was and I had no idea how she could possibly cook without it, LOL. That's the day I figured out that comino and cumin are the same thing.  

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

My son thinks I pronounce it wrong, and he is not a big fan after it ruined his cinnamon toast a few weeks ago, he was not paying attention and grabbed a brown spice with a red lid that started with c. He wasted a fair amount of my cumin, too, I am glad he did not waste a more expensive spice.

 

I say qmin and qpon. My son was sure that was wrong, LOL, but he says he never wants to eat any again no matter how it is pronounced. He did not like taco meat even before he found out there was cumin in it.

Edited by ElizabethB
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The funny thing is that DH thinks I pronounce it "wrong."  I just now looked it up on dictionary.com and listening to their two different pronunciations, both are still different than either of us pronounce it.  I had DH listen and he now says that they are wrong too.   :lol:

 

Kyoo-min

 

Alton Brown is wrong, I don't care who he is.

 

Aluminum is not pronounced "al-you-min-I-um" either. Because... wait for it... there is no "i" in the last syllable.

 

In Persian, it is "zira", in Russian it is tmin. In French it is also cumin which is indisputably pronounced "kyoo-min" and therefore that is how it is pronounced.

 

And "coupon". Koo-pon.

 

Because cou is pronounced "koo".

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Kyoo-min

 

Alton Brown is wrong, I don't care who he is.

 

Aluminum is not pronounced "al-you-min-I-um" either. Because... wait for it... there is no "i" in the last syllable.

 

In Persian, it is "zira", in Russian it is tmin. In French it is also cumin which is indisputably pronounced "kyoo-min" and therefore that is how it is pronounced.

 

And "coupon". Koo-pon.

 

 

Because cou is pronounced "koo".

I'm ignoring your pronunciation part because you're just wrong ;) but I wanted to talk about zira and tmin. It was a challenge figuring out which word to use for different spices in Kyrgyzstan. The tiny little spice packets of cumin would be labeled tmin, obviously, since they were marketed for Russian speakers, but when I lived in a smaller town and went to the bulk spice sellers at the bazaar, I'd ask for zira even though I was speaking Russian. And then when I'd finally pin down the name of a spice, I'd come home to see if the name was Russian, Farsi, Dungan, or from Turkic. Thanks for reminding me of that.
  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Kyoo-min

 

Alton Brown is wrong, I don't care who he is.

 

Aluminum is not pronounced "al-you-min-I-um" either. Because... wait for it... there is no "i" in the last syllable.

 

In Persian, it is "zira", in Russian it is tmin. In French it is also cumin which is indisputably pronounced "kyoo-min" and therefore that is how it is pronounced.

 

And "coupon". Koo-pon.

 

Because cou is pronounced "koo".

 

 

Zeera is also the word my Indian friends use.  Need to check with my Pakistani friends and see if it's Zeera as well in Urdu. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

 Share

×
×
  • Create New...