Cured Cardamom

Prized by Indian, Scandinavian, and Middle Eastern cooks, cardamom has a sweet, warm taste and an exotic floral aroma. Its uses span the culinary spectrum - from beverages and delicate desserts to meats and curries. Cardamom was known to the Greeks and Romans, who used it in cooking. Alexander the Great's soldiers introduced it to Europe upon returning from India. In the Middle Ages, people believed the spice had a wide variety of medicinal properties.

Dubbed the "Queen of Spices" (pepper is King), Elettaria cardamomum is a member of the ginger ( Zinziberaceae) family. The name cardamom means "grains of Paradise." Cardomom requires warm weather, abundant rainfall, and patience it takes four years for a first harvest. Once harvested, the pods are dried--in the sun or in a kiln. Kiln-dried cardamom retains its green color while the sun-dried capsules "bleach" in the sun, turning a greenish-tan. (White cardamom pods may also be chemically bleached; these often have a slightly salty, bitter flavor.)