Kinds of cardamom and their uses

[chromedome]

The seeds inside are always dark, it's only the pods that are multi-coloured. The black ones, in India, are typically used for savoury dishes; the green for sweets. The white cardamoms are bleached, and IIRC begin life as the green kind.

I use the green for my baking. I grind them in my mortar and pestle, usually. A few quick knocks to crack the pod, then grind the seeds together with any other spices I may be using. If there is salt to be added at the same stage of the recipe, I'll sometimes put the salt in with the spices to speed the grinding (extra friction). Of course you could use a motorized spice grinder, as well.

I don't recommend buying pre-ground unless you use a lot, and will be going through it quickly (and have a source of reliably fresh-ground cardamom).

[SuzySushi]

White cardamom and green cardamom are essentially the same, except the white ones have bleached pods. The seeds (which are the part that's ground) are brown. Black cardamom is a different type with larger pods and is used primarily in savory Indian dishes.

Scandinavian bakers have a preference for white (bleached) pods, but since cardamom doesn't grow in Scandinavia it all comes from a tropical source. The ground Guatamalan type will be fine.

[TongoRad]

There may be another option in between pods and ground cardomom. In my local Indian markets I can buy the seeds themselves, as well as the pods. When a recipe calls for ground cardamom I can easily make what I need in my spice (coffee, actually) grinder. I just use the pods whole in things like savory dishes, mulled wine or cider.

[Abra]

Black cardamom has a fantastic, smoky, and some think medicinal, flavor and is used in Indian cooking. I love it, but it's not for baking.

When you get going with the aebleskiver, here's a trick from my half-Danish stepson: turn them as they cook with - a knitting needle!

[Darienne]

Made some cardamom ice cream reported on the Philadelphia ice cream list. It was only slightly 'cardamomy' in my opinion. A dozen different recipes called for a dozen differenct amounts of cardamom. A fellow eGulleter suggested sprinkling powdered cardamom directly on my bowl of ice cream and I did. Yummm... Quite a lot of cardamom, in fact.

Interesting because one recipe I looked at said that a little cardamom goes a very long way and that if you used too much, the result would be a 'soapy' taste. I never hit soapy. And I never hit too much for me.

Would some folks have a higher tolerance or need for cardamom than others? My DH certainly needed no more cardamom for his taste, and he is the one who usually uses more soy sauce, more salt, more vinegar, more jerk seasoning, etc.

Curious.

[Darienne]

Interesting issue...cardamom.  I am a cardamom nut and always put twice as much as called for in anything desserty I make.  And have never tasted anything resembling turpentine.  And it's all pre-ground.    I have always kept two kinds of cardamom.  One I label 'dessert' and the other one 'food'.  Are there two kinds of cardamom...or did I make this up? 

[Anna N]

Interesting issue...cardamom.  I am a cardamom nut and always put twice as much as called for in anything desserty I make.  And have never tasted anything resembling turpentine.  And it's all pre-ground.    I have always kept two kinds of cardamom.  One I label 'dessert' and the other one 'food'.  Are there two kinds of cardamom...or did I make this up?

There are indeed two different kinds of cardamom - green cardamom and black cardamom and they are very different. However, I have never seen nor heard of preground black cardamom. It is usually added whole to dishes and fished out either before service or by the diner. I am not sure why you have two different versions as they are not interchangeable. If you have the opportunity to buy green cardamom in its shell and grind the tiny black seeds yourself you will be amazed at how different it is from the preground stuff. Nevertheless I do not like it in sweet goods!

[Shel_B]

I was surprised to learn how many varieties of cardamom there are and how widely they're used.

Click on the links below for more details.

 

The Cardamom universe is bigger than you think

 

How to use Cardamom

 

Left to right: green, black, Chinese, white, and Ethiopian cardamoms.

Edited Thursday at 12:56 AM by Shel_B
addl info (log)

[Tan Can Cook]

2 hours ago, Shel_B said:

I was surprised to learn how many varieties of cardamom there are and how widely they're used.

Click on the links below for more details.

 

The Cardamom universe is bigger than you think

 

How to use Cardamom

 

 

Thanks for the share @Shel_B. As someone who loves spices and herbs, I find the text from the article tickling my curiosities, especially the Chinese brown cardamom. I am familiar with black cardamom (Amomum subulatum) in their use to impart earthy and woody overtones to foods and masale blends. Everyone is aware of the highly fragrant green cardamoms.

[liuzhou]

Re： Chinese Cardamom  (Lanxangia tsao-ko or in older texts, Amomum tsao-ko).  Also referred to in English as Chinese black cardamoms or Chinese red cardamoms.

 

They are mainly used especially in Sichuan, Yunnan and neighbouring provinces and in Vietnam where they are an ingredient in the broth for phở. We border northern Vietnam and Yunnan so, they are readily available here, too. So they should be available in Chinese or S.E. Asian markets/stores. Here mainly used in hotpot broths.

 

In Chinese they are: 草果 (cǎo guǒ); in Vietnamese: thảo quả.

 

Here are some I bought in Guangxi recently. The largest is just over 1 inch long.

 

Edited Thursday at 03:15 AM by liuzhou (log)