Cardamon

Cardamon is the third most expensive spice in the world!

Cardamon is a plant in the ginger family that was originally found in the Western Ghats of Southern India. Cardamon grew in such abundance in this region thus this region was called Cardamon Hills.

Vikings first came across this spice during one of their travels through Turkey. They encountered cardamon in Constantinople, which was the trading hub between Europe and Asia. The Vikings then brought cardamon back to Scandinavia, where it has been a staple in their food dishes since.

When opening up cardamon pods you want to look for seeds that are darker in color. The darker the color the more flavor they hold, you would have to use about twice the amount of light colored seeds to get the same flavor affect as the darker colored seeds.

Cardamon has a very complex and fragrant smell of citrus, mint, spice, herbal, fennel, and anise. Cardamon pairs well with ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

Photos by: Valerie Dingman