Elettaria cardamomum

Cardamom is the fruit of a large perennial shrub that grows in the rainforests of the Western Ghats (also known as the Cardamom Hills) in eastern India.

Today, both varieties are cultivated in the regions of origin and in Tanzania, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, but Guatemala is the main exporter.

In India, cardamom has been used for 2000 years. It reached Europe via caravan routes, and the Vikings brought it from Constantinople to Scandinavia, where it is still very popular today.

TASTE 

The aroma of cardamom is strong but juicy, fruity, and penetrating. The taste is lemony and floral, with notes of camphor and eucalyptus due to cineole in the essential oil; it is pungent and smoky, with a warm, bittersweet note, yet it is clean and fresh.

USED ARE dried seeds or powder.

BUYING AND STORING 

Green pods containing seeds can last up to a year if stored in a tightly closed container, but their color and aroma will fade. Exposed to air, the seeds will quickly lose their essential oils, and grinding them further accelerates the loss.

CULINARY USE

Cardamom enhances both sweet and savory flavors.

In India, it is one of the basic components of spice blends. It is added to sweets, cakes, puddings, and ice creams (kulfi); it is also used for paan (Indian chewing mixture) for digestive stimulation or breath freshening, and is used with fennel, anise seeds, and areca nuts. In India, it is also used to flavor tea, while in Arab countries, coffee is flavored with cardamom, often by sprinkling over pods placed in a teapot spout.

Cardamom is an essential ingredient in spice blends such as baharat in Libya, Syria, and Gulf countries and berbere in Ethiopia.

Scandinavia remains the largest importer in Europe, and in Germany and Russia, cardamom is widely used in spiced cakes, pastries, and bread, and occasionally in hamburgers and meatloaf.

Whole pods, lightly crushed, can be used to add flavor to rice, poached and stewed dishes, and casseroles. It is an essential ingredient in many Indian slow-cooked meat dishes (korma) where a thick marinade is used to obtain a creamy sauce.

Peeled seeds can be either lightly crushed and fried or baked and ground before adding to the dish.
Cardamom is good in baked apples, poached pears, and fruit salads. It is good combined with orange and coffee in desserts, but it is equally good with roasted duck or poached chicken, in marinades or spiced wine. It is useful in pickled vegetables.

IT IS IMPORTANT for berbere, baharat, curry powder, dal, masalas, pilafs, Indian rice pudding kheer.

IT IS GOOD with apples, oranges, pears, legumes, sweet potatoes, and other root vegetables.

IT COMBINES WELL with caraway, chili, cloves, coffee, coriander, ginger, red pepper, black peppercorn, saffron, yogurt.