Green Cardamom

Cardamom is a spice native to the Middle East, North Africa, and Scandinavia. There are three types of cardamom; green cardamom, black cardamom and Madagascar cardamom. To obtain the best results buy cardamom still in the pods, which are removed and discarded. Seeds tend to have less flavour and ground cardamom even less. Most recipes usually call for green cardamom which has a strong, unique spicy-sweet taste, which is slightly aromatic. Cardamom is more expensive than average spices but don’t be put off -  a little goes a long way. Grinding the pod yourself will result in a fresher, stronger representation of the spice. Matches well with: chicken, coffee, curries, duck, lentils, meat, oranges, peas, rice, squash East Indian, Scandinavian, Arabic and Central African cuisines use cardamom frequently. It is an essential ingredient in Arabic coffee. The freshly ground seeds are added to the coffee or a few pods are put in the coffeepot. Arabic nomads sometimes own coffeepots that can keep several cardamom capsules in their spouts. Arabs also use cardamom in meat and rice dishes with other spices. It is a popular spice in Northern and Eastern Africa. It is used in the Moroccan spice mixture ras el hanout. Scandinavian countries use cardamom for cookies and sweetbreads. Curry contains small amounts of cardamom. Available in a 40 gram flip top spice bottle.