Black and Green Cardamom

Cardamom is native to India. It is an upright clumping plant flourishes in the countries tropical climate. Cardamom belongs to ginger family, the height of these cardamom clumps is around 150cm. In the summer, they give flowers in yellow, purple, and cream. That is why people like to cultivate this spice plant in their garden. When the cardamom flowers fade, they produce hard, thin-skinned fruits. This type of pod is small with many small seeds inside. These tiny seeds are the source of the spice which is rich health benefits. People harvest the pods to get the seeds then dried them, and save for cooking.

In traditional medicine, Cardamom is known as one of the most ancient herbs that have sustained humanity for millennia. Cardamom give many health benefits and very easy to use in daily life. The aromatic seeds fit well both in desserts as well as more elaborate spicy dishes. Cardamom tea relieves stomach aches and digestion problems. Even People can chew it to refresh their breath.

There are two types of cardamom. The Green cardamom and the Black Cardamom. In market, there is also white cardamom which is a bleached version of green cardamom, so white cardamom is not as fragrant as the original version. Both of them, Black cardamom and Green Cardamom vary widely not just in their looks, but also in their taste.

Green Cardamom has a strong, sweet, pungent flavor and aroma, with hints of lemon and mint. Black cardamom has a smoky note and a cooling menthol one as well.

Green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomom) is known as true cardamom. It is the top choice for sweet dishes but also works well in savory dishes. The bleached version, white cardamom, has less flavor. While Black cardamom (Amomum subulatum) has larger pods that are dark brown. It has a smoky element that makes it more appropriate for savory dishes.

Green cardamom is used the most. Before reaching full maturity, the pod is harvested and dried in curing facilities. People choose to harvest the pod at such an early stage to ensure that the pods are still closed and green. The best way to store cardamom seeds, is to keep them in an airtight pod before use, once open, they quickly lose their flavor. Due to that, Green Cardamom is classified as a premium spice in the spice market. While Black cardamom is harvested much later than green cardamom. Its flavour is distinctively different from the green cardamom also. Black cardamom has much larger pods than the early harvested green cardamom. Unlike the green pods, the black pods are discarded and only the seeds are used. This makes Black Cardamom economically cheaper.

Green cardamom has an intense, unique flavour and is often used to flavour sweet dishes found in Indian cuisine. The seeds are best stored in their closed pods before use; once they are exposed, they will quickly loose their flavour. Rather than opening the pods to reveal the seeds, green cardamom is often used as a whole pod. In medicine, people often use the seeds to treat mouth infections and soothe problems of the gastrointestinal tract. Surprisingly, people also use ground seeds to treat venomous bites.

Black cardamom is often dried by exposing the pods to intense heat through placing them over a fire pit. This can produce a strong Smokey flavour that is more favoured in certain Indian dishes. Many people prefer the camphor like taste that is often associated with black cardamom seeds. Although not bitter, the seeds from the black cardamom pod are much cooler in their flavour. Many people say that the seeds act like an antiseptic, numbing their tongue, rather like chewing really strong mints. Black cardamom can also be used in medicine. The Chinese use the black cardamom seeds to cure constipation and dysentery.

The properties of cardamom come from the oil that is extracted from it. There have been many studies that prove it has health benefits, including:
√ Contains antioxidant
√ Protects the digestive system
√ May help with diabetes
√ Acts as an expectorant
√ Antiseptic action
√ Increases appetite
√ Maintains radiant skin

Compiled and penned by Crocus Media