Flavor – How to mask the taste of cumin

flavorspices

I strongly dislike cumin. Now that I accidentally bought bread that contains it, I wondered if there are any ways to mask the taste.

This question is meant to find out general ways to mask cumin, in dishes hot and cold. I'm aware that the options might be heavily limited in cold dishes, so the main focus presumably lies on hot meals.

Please note that while the cumin-contaminated bread was my incentive to write this question, answers should not focus on it too much. A general approach for hot (and cold) dishes is sought for.


The only existing question concerning cumin was "How do I save curry with too much cumin?", which has two answers related to indian cuisine. Since these are only concerned with curry, this question looking for a general approach is not a duplicate.

Best Answer

You'll never mask it completely, so the aim is mainly to dilute it to an acceptable level. If you can't stand even the faintest hint, I suggest you give the bread to someone who will enjoy it while it's still fresh (or freeze it to turn into croutons for someone who will enjoy them; they'd go nicely with some winter soups).

What masking you will get is mostly from spice, especially heat (as suggested at the "curry" question linked above).

For bread specifically: I would crumb it, then mix those crumbs with with plain breadcrumbs, and probably some cayenne pepper, black pepper and herbs, to use as a coating (e.g. for chicken pieces) or topping (I make a sort of bean stew out of an old vegetarian recipe book, with a crumb and cheese crust on top).

You can also add cheese, especially if using as a topping. You might be doing this for some time, as you'll probably need at least 5:1 dilution even with additional flavour, so mix up small quantities. You can freeze breadcrumbs so this doesn't have to be done quickly.