I enjoy the taste of cardamom. A co-worker from the Punjab region of India introduced me to cardamom a few years ago. She had brewed some cardamom in tea and mushed it in with the tea. When I tasted the tea, it was delicious with the cardamom in it. Cardamom is also used in Chai tea. I love the fragrance. My friend told me that cardamom keeps her blood pressure at a healthy low. It is also used extensively in Ayurvedic medicine.
There are two basic types of cardamom. The first is green or true cardamom (Elleteria); it is found from India to Malaysia. The second type of cardamom is black cardamom
(Amomum); it is found in Asia and Australia. The Sanskrit name for cardamom is “ela” or “truti.”
Cardamom is grown in pods. It is better to store the cardamom in the pods; once out of the pods, the cardamom loses its flavor quickly. The flavor of the cardamom is intensely aromatic. It is used as a garnish in Basmati rice, (which is delicious, by the way). Black cardamom is used in garam masala for curries.
Individual seeds are used as a chewing gum in some countries. It is also used in gin making, and, of course, in curries. Nepal used to be the world’s largest producer of cardamom. Now, Guatemala is the biggest producer of cardamom, exporting this spice to the United States to the tune of 137.2 million dollars per year.