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Cardamom has a lovely sweet, warm aroma and flavor with a
lemony layer and a eucalyptus-like kick. Used extensively
in both Scandinavian and Indian cuisine, cardamom plays a
starring role in both sweet and savory dishes. Indian cooking
features cardamom in curries, garam masala, kulfi (Indian
ice cream) and milk puddings. In Scandinavian cuisine, you'll
find cardamom in everything from pickles and herring to sweet
cakes and Aquavit. The cardamom-infused coffee gahwa
is a symbol of Arab hospitality.
India grows most of the world's cardamom, using half of the
crop domestically. Cardamom must be hand-harvested, making
it a relatively expensive spice. Luckily, it has a wonderful
one-of-a-kind flavor and you don't need to use much.
The most cardamom is the green type; the less common black
cardamoms have a coarser flavor and are usually only used
in certain slow-cooked Indian dishes. If a recipe simply calls
for "cardamom," you'll want to use green ones.
While cardamom is available ground, for superior flavor and
aroma, you'll want to use the whole pods. Not only will you
get excellent flavor, you'll enjoy the heavenly aroma fresh
pods provide. Lightly smash the pods or simply pick them apart
and dump out the little seeds, which range in color from white
to brown to black. For a flavor explosion, lightly pan-fry
the seeds, dry or with a bit of oil, before you add them to
a recipe.
Cardamom is thought to have aphrodisiac effects, and, like
caraway and aniseed, it's a wonderful breath sweetener and
helps eradicate garlic or alcohol breath.
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