> cumin smells like disgusting body odour

You're not wrong. If you smell pure cumin (without any other spices or herbs), particularly if you grind and mix it with yogurt to make a salty lassi, you get a whiff of body odor. My kids called it "the BO drink".

It's a weird thing, but the smell becomes quite different in combination with other smells. It's an ingredient in many expensive perfumes, believe it or not! [1]

[1] https://www.fragrantica.com/news/CUMIN-Polarizing-Note-of-Sw...