Popularly known as ‘Queen of Spices’ as opposed to Black Pepper hailed as ‘King of Spice’, Cardamom, sometimes spelt as cardamon or cardamum, is a spice made from the seeds of several plants in the genera Elettaria and Amomum in the family Zingiberaceae. Dried fruit or cardamom pod is traded as a spice.

Due to the unique flavour of green cardamom cultivated in Sri Lanka, formed by the country’s unique terroir, green cardamom produced in Sri Lanka is known as Ceylon Cardamom.

Ceylon Cardamom is available in various forms in the global market;

The whole Cardamom is the whole pod, with seeds intact.

Ground cardamom is the cardamom powder. Cardamom is usually known for having a reduction of flavour once the seeds are ground but is used in culinary recipes

Cardamom oil is the essential oil derived from cardamom pods through steam distillation. Known for its uplifting and energizing fragrance, Cardamom oil has a therapeutic and aromatic blend. The clear and thin oil is ideal to blend with other oils and has a spicy, woody, and sweet aroma.

Three types of Cardamom are found in Sri Lanka and they’re categorized based on the shape of the inflorescence.

Malabar – Inflorescence is prostrate.

Mysore – Inflorescence is vertical.

Vazhukka- Inflorescence is inclined.

COOKING WITH CARDAMOM

Cardamom has a complex flavour profile - it's citrusy, minty, spicy, and herbal all at the same time while being highly fragrant too. Cardamom is mainly used in the food industry as a flavouring agent. Cardamom Oil is used for flavouring of beverages and drinks such as coffee and tea while cardamom pods and ground cardamom is used to spice up both sweet and savoury dishes. Cardamom is found in the garam masala spice mixture that seasons meat and vegetable dishes, and in hot beverages such as masala chai and Turkish coffee.

CARDAMOM MEDICINAL USES

Cardamom possesses a number of health benefits; namely, antiseptic (pulmonary), antispasmodic (neuromuscular), aphrodisiac, expectorant, anthelmintic, antibacterial (variable), cephalic, cardiotonic, diuretic, emmenagogue, sialogogue and stomachic. It’s also anti-inflammatory and is reportedly an antidote for both snake and scorpion venom. It’s also hepatoprotective and anti-ulcerogenic.