What is cardamom?
A: Cardamom is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae.
Both genera are native to where?
A: The Indian subcontinent and Indonesia.
They are recognized by what?
A: Their small seed pods: triangular in cross-section and spindle-shaped,
with a thin, papery outer shell and small, black seeds.
Elettaria pods are light green and smaller, while
Amomum pods are what?
A: Larger and dark brown.
The first references to cardamom are found in what?
A: Sumer, and in the Ayurvedic literatures of
India.
Nowadays it is also cultivated where?
A: In Guatemala, Malaysia, and Tanzania.
The German coffee planter Oscar Majus Klöffer
introduced Indian cardamom to cultivation in what country?
A: Guatemala before World War I.
By 2000, that country had become the biggest producer
and exporter of cardamom in the world, followed by who?
A: India.
True or green cardamom (or when bleached, white
cardamom) comes from what species?
A: Elettaria cardamomum.
What is often referred to as white cardamon is
actually what?
A: Siam cardamom, Amomum krervanh.
Black cardamom, also known as brown, greater, large,
longer, or Nepal cardamom, comes from what species?
A: Amomum subulatum.
Both forms of cardamom are used as what?
A: Flavorings and cooking spices in both
food and drink, and as a medicine.
E. cardamomum (green cardamom) is used as a spice, a
masticatory, in medicine and what?
A: It is also smoked.
Where is cardamom-flavored tea, also flavored with
cinnamon, consumed as a hot beverage?
A: In Bangladesh, India, Nepal,
Pakistan and Trinidad and Tobago.
Cardamom has a strong, unique what?
A: Taste, with an intensely aromatic, resinous fragrance.
Black cardamom has a distinctly more what?
A: Smoky, though not bitter, aroma, with a coolness some consider similar to
mint.
Green cardamom is one of the most expensive spices by
what?
A: By weight.
It is best stored where?
A: In the pod, as exposed or ground seeds quickly lose their flavor.
It is often used in baking in the Nordic countries, in
particular where?
A: In Sweden, Norway, and Finland.
It is used in traditional treats such as what?
A: The Scandinavian Yule bread Julekake, the Swedish kardemummabullar sweet
bun, and Finnish sweet bread pulla.
In the Middle East, green cardamom powder is used as a
what?
A: A spice for sweet dishes, as well as traditional flavoring in coffee and
tea.
Individual seeds are sometimes chewed and used in much
the same way as what?
A: Chewing gum.
It is used by confectionery giant Wrigley; its Eclipse
Breeze Exotic Mint packaging indicates the product contains what?
A: Cardamom to neutralize the toughest breath odors.
It is also included in aromatic bitters, gin, and what?
A: Herbal teas.
