Cardamoms come in both green and black varieties and are part of the ginger family, native to India. They are mainly used as flavourings in food and drink with a strong, unique taste which is aromatic and resinous, the black cardamom being smokier with a cool aroma. They are used in Indian food and also Nordic baking, such as in the Finnish sweet bread called Pulla. In the Middle East, the powder is used for sweets and as an important flavouring in tea and coffee especially. They have also been known to have been used in gin making and chewing gum.
The medicinal properties of cardamom include being used in traditional Chinese medicine to fight teeth and gum problems and digestion and stomach aches.
Cardamom has a good flavour match with almond, chocolate, coffee, ginger, lamb, pear, rose and saffron.
In my kitchen, I use cardamom extensively and exclusively for making curries. I usually use them in a garam masala mix which is 4 green cardamoms, 2 brown cardamoms, 1 piece cinnamon bark and 4 cloves. These are added right at the beginning of the initial fry and stay in the curry until they are removed at the end.
One of the most surprising but very effective pairings is cardamom and chocolate. Here's a link to a recipe for truffles infused with the flavour of cardamom.
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