Ajwain, also called carom seed, is exported mainly in machine-cleaned and sortex-cleaned grades. Within those, suppliers sort by purity, seed size and colour.
For most buyers the aroma counts as much as the look. That aroma comes from the seed's volatile oil, which is rich in thymol, so many specs add an oil or thymol figure to the purity grade.
Where Indian ajwain comes from
Ajwain is a winter seed spice grown mainly in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, with harvest usually in late winter and spring. Unjha is one of the markets where it is traded, alongside cumin and fennel. Timing varies by area and year, so confirm it with your supplier.
Common grades
The purity figures below are typical trade descriptions for illustration only. Your limit depends on use and market.
- Machine-cleaned: sieved, aspirated and de-stoned, often described as around 98 or 99 percent purity. Used for grinding, blends and oil extraction.
- Sortex-cleaned: colour sorted after machine cleaning, often described as 99 percent or higher. Chosen for whole seed in retail packs.
- Bold or medium: sorted by size. Bolder seed looks better whole.
- Colour: good ajwain is greyish brown to light brown. Very dark or dull seed can point to rain damage or age.
Quality points beyond the grade
- Volatile oil content and thymol share, which tell you about aroma strength.
- Admixture, including stalks, dust, stones and other seeds.
- Moisture, with a limit agreed in the contract.
- Pesticide residues against your market's maximum residue limits.
- Microbiology, if the seed is sold without further treatment.
- No ethylene oxide treatment, for the EU and many other markets.
Who buys which grade
Spice packers selling whole ajwain to retail usually take sortex grades. Grinders and blenders often take machine-cleaned seed. Essential oil distillers may care less about appearance and more about oil yield. Our guide on thymol content in ajwain explains how to set that figure.
Ajwain is small and light, so a container holds less weight than with dense seeds. Ask your supplier for their last actual loading of the same pack. The general guide on how much fits in a container explains why.
Writing the order
Name the grade, then turn it into numbers: purity, admixture, moisture, volatile oil, residues, microbiology and packing. Approve a sample from the actual lot and keep a sealed copy. Ask for the crop year, because aroma fades with age.
Then have the shipment sampled again before loading, so you can compare it with the approved sample before the goods leave India.
How we help
We source ajwain from seed spice processors in Gujarat, check their cleaning and sorting line, and have samples tested for volatile oil, purity and residues at NABL-accredited labs. Start with a free sourcing review.