Ground Cumin

Food · Vegetable · Food, Typed Supps

A spice whose iron content looks spectacular on paper and arrives a teaspoon at a time.

Stage by stage

Intake (Aromatic oils released): Grinding or dry-toasting releases cumin’s volatile oils.
Stomach (Digested with the meal): It moves through digestion alongside the rest of the food.
Small intestine (Partial absorption): Its non-heme iron and aromatic compounds are partly absorbed, at the modest rates typical of plant minerals.
Bloodstream (Metabolized): Absorbed compounds are metabolized; most of what is eaten is excreted rather than stored.

Timing

Bloomed in oil at the start of cooking rather than stirred in at the end.

Time to effect

Per meal: Contribution is per-serving and marginal; nothing accumulates.

Allergens

None of the fourteen major allergens. Derived from what this food is, not from a product label.

Eating patterns

Fits: Vegan, Vegetarian, Pescatarian, Halal, Kosher, Gluten-free. Depends on the product: Low-FODMAP.

Satiety

Not scored: the satiety index is measured on 240 kcal servings, and nobody eats a 240 kcal serving of this. The question does not apply rather than the answer being unknown.

Environmental footprint

0.5 kg CO2e and 108 litres of freshwater per kg, matched to "Other vegetables" in Poore & Nemecek (2018), Science 360.

Cost band

Pricey — roughly £18 per kg, as a band midpoint rather than a price.

Key nutrients

Nutrition per 100g

Calories: 375
Protein: 17.8g
Carbohydrate: 44.2g
of which sugars: 2.3g
Fat: 22.3g
of which saturated: 1.5g
Fibre: 10.5g
Sodium: 168mg

Food vs. supplement

Cumin’s per-100g iron figure is among the highest in this database, but a teaspoon is 2g — about 1.3mg of non-heme iron, not an iron source in any practical sense.

Kitchen tip

Toast whole seeds and grind them fresh, or bloom the ground spice in oil before adding liquid.

Common myth

"Cumin is one of the best iron sources you can eat." In reality: Per 100g, that is nearly true. Per teaspoon — which is how anyone actually eats it — it contributes about 1.3mg of poorly absorbed non-heme iron.