If you were wondering what other major spice Hungarian dishes are made with, one of the spices that stand out is ground (or traditionally whole) caraway or Komeny in Hungarian. Despite the similarity, however, cumin and Hungarian komeny (properly spelt as kömény) are not the same, though they are often confused due to their close resemblance in spelling and pronunciation.
- Cumin (Cuminum cyminum in Latin) is a spice that comes from the seeds of a plant in the parsley family. It has a warm, earthy flavour with a hint of bitterness and is commonly used in Middle Eastern, Indian, and Mexican cuisines, like chilli con carne.
- Komeny (Kömény) (Carum carvi L. in Latin ) in Hungarian refers to ground or whole caraway seeds (Carum carvi), which have a more distinctive, slightly sweet, liquorice-like flavour with hints of anise and fennel. Caraway is commonly used in Hungarian and Central European dishes, especially in bread, sauerkraut, and goulash. If you are wondering what to take home from Hungary, besides Hungarian paprika of course, we would vote for the humble ‘ground caraway’ sachets you can buy in any grocery store / supermarket in Budapest. You will find them as ‘őrölt kömény’ among the spices, often in unassuming brown sachets. An absolute must if you wish to make Hungarian Goulash soup, a hint needed for a lovely Stew, roasted ribs (that often accompany veggies dishes known as Fozelek)
Despite their similar appearance, caraway seeds (kömény) and cumin seeds are different in both taste and culinary use. In Hungary, when a recipe calls for kömény, it typically means caraway, not cumin.
Recommended brands are any of the better (ground) caraways like Kotanyi or Horvath Rozi. Some of the Hungarian housewives opt for the ground caraway seeds while others for the whole ones. The latter is not always popular as the whole seeds can be a mild surprise when eating, which may not work so well (like biting on a raspberry seed vs the seedless product).