Spice Nest
What follows is a Spice Nest article that looks at the spice Cardamom and some of its uses.
Cardamom
Cardamom comes in two main types that are slightly different from each other and have different properties when used in culinary situations. Cardamom has a very strong and unique taste, with an aromatic fragrance of great intensity.
Green Cardamom (Elettaria) is also known as true cardamom and is native to South East Asian countries, Indonesia and Malaysia. Cardamom is also grown in Vietnam, Nepal, Thailand, and Central America. Ihe Indian states of Kerala and Sikkim are the chief producers of cardamom. They are the highest ranking both in production and cultivated area.
The plant itself is a pungent and aromatic herbaceous perennial that grows anywhere between two to four metres in height. The cardamom fruit is a three-sided greenish pod approximately a centimetre or so long, which contains several dark, sometimes black seeds. For culinary purposes as a spice, the cardamom pods are picked before they ripen, so the seeds are still relatively soft. They are then dried in the sun before being ready to use in cooking.
Ground green cardamom is an important ingredient in many Indian curry dishes. It is a primary flavouring of the masala chai dish although it is also used in varying amounts in many different Indian curry dishes. It is also used to flavour the very rich Indian ice cream known as Kulfi.
In Turkey, cardamom is used to flavour the Turkish black tea (called Kakakule).In the Middle East and especially Iran, cardamom is often used to flavour coffee and tea.
Black Cardamom (Amomum) is also known as brown cardamom, Java cardamom, Siamese cardamom, Bengal cardamom, white or red cardamom.
In Indian cooking, the black cardamom pods are used more sparingly as they are highly aromatic and can be overpowering when used in too great a quantity.
Janice White
Spice Nest
