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What is cardamom and how is it used

Cardamom has gained popularity in recent years and can be found in a variety of desserts and baked goods. What is this spice and how can you use it in your kitchen?

A small pile of green cardamom pods on a light grey surface.

What is Cardamom?

Cardamom (Elettaria Cardamomum) is a spice from the ginger (Zingiberacaeae) family. Often used in South Asian cooking, Danish pastry recipes, and Middle Eastern coffee, cardamom has become more prevalent in North American recipes.

What we buy in the stores – whole pods or ground cardamom – is just a small part of the entire plant, which is found in moist, tropical regions in India, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Interestingly, while India was the largest producer of cardamom until the late 1970s and early 1980s a vast amount of cardamom that we purchase is grown in and exported from Guatemala. It’s more costly to produce cardamom crops in India vs Guatemala, weather conditions (drought and monsoons) in India aren’t always favourable to growing and inefficient production and post-harvest production. 1

History of Cardamom

Cardamom has been used for medicinal purposes, in rituals and in food & recipes for centuries and may be considered one of the world’s oldest used spices. The plant originated in the rainforests of South India and can be found referenced in Sanskrit texts around 3000 BCE.

Examples of medicinal use include being chewed for a breath freshener or digestive aid. Sometimes referred to as the Queen of Spices, cardamom can be seen in Ayurvedic writings to cure a variety of conditions and illnesses.

It held a role in the spice trade in the Middle Ages when Arab traders dominated the trade routes connecting Asia and Europe, and may have been used as a currency as it was considered one of the most expensive spices in the world and in high demand.

The Portuguese first introduced cardamom to Europe and during the 17th century cardamom became a popular ingredient in Scandinavia and is still popular in Danish baked goods and traditional Swedish sweet buns called Kardemummabullar.

How is it grown?

Cardamom is grown on a plant with long green leaves and small white flowers with purple streaks. The pods form after the flowers are pollinated, picked just before maturity and dried before being completely removed from the stalks. These dried pods are what we can purchase in the stores. The seeds inside of the pods is the part that we use to add flavour to baked goods, main dishes, coffee, tea and more.

Varieties of Cardamom

The two common varieties of cardamom are green and black. Green is more common and has a milder flavour than the black, which is a bit smoky. You may also find white and yellow cardamom, but they aren’t as readily available.

The colour comes from the outer pod while the bulk of flavour comes from the essential oil containing seeds inside. Inside each pod are sections with the small seeds covered in a very thin, white papery substance.

A small pile of green cardamom pods on a light grey surface. One cardamom pod is open and light brown seeds are spilling out.

Flavour profile and recipes

Green cardamom is milder in flavour and is often described a aromatic, fragrant, floral, maybe resinous or piney. Black cardamom has a stronger, smoky flavour.

There are a wide variety of ways to use cardamom in the kitchen, depending on which part of the world you are in. In South Asian cooking you can find it in biryani and rice dishes, curries and desserts. In Middle Eastern countries it can be found in pastries and baked goods, meat dishes, tea, coffee and confections.

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