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Cardamom is a wonderfully aromatic and highly valued spice with its'
origin
in the moist, rich forests of Southern India, and has over the years
earned
the title of "Queen of Spices".
In modern times, the cultivation of the true "Green" Cardamom
is still
limited to a few countries such as India, Sri Lanka & Guatemala,
although
there are several cardamom related species, referred to as either
"Black" or
"Brown" Cardamom, that are found growing in the mountainous
areas of Nepal,
Central Africa and Vietnam. It is important not to confuse these
different
types as they are quite different in character.
Cardamom has a pleasant aroma with a characteristic, light pungent taste
that gives a warm feeling in the mouth and contains an aromatic oil
which
can be extracted by distillation or as an alcoholic tincture for use in
traditional medicines, perfumery and as a flavouring for liqueurs and
bitters. It is also of course, used extensively in cooking throughout
India,
Sri Lanka, the Middle East, Northern and Eastern Africa and South East
Asia
where it is an essential part of traditional spice mixes such as Baharat,
Berebere, Ras el Hanout, Zhoug and Garam Masala.
In Arab countries cardamom is widely used to flavour coffee which is a
very
important symbol of hospitality and is prepared either by adding freshly
ground seeds to the coffee powder or by steeping a few cardamom pods in
the
hot coffee.
Cardamom is used to flavour curries, cakes, bread, confectionary, meat
dishes, sweets... and is finding many new fans who are eating modern
creative ( fusion ) cuisine.
Like all spices Cardamom should be purchased as fresh as possible and
complete - as the whole green pods. It quickly loses its flavour once it
is
ground and even as whole pods will lose about 40% of their potency per
year
of storage.
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