Cardamom Pods, Green (Organic)

Cardamom has a strong, unique taste, with an intensely aromatic, resinous fragrance. A perennial, reed-like herb, cardamom grows wild and is cultivated in India and Ceylon. 

Cardamom has a strong, pungent aroma and a flowery, almost eucalyptus type flavor. There are 17 to 20 tiny inner seeds in each peanut sized pod.

In the Bedouin culture, the cardamom would be put on display for guest to see. If the appearance of the pods was plump and blemish free it showed great esteem and respect for the guest.

Black cardamom has a distinctly smokey, though not bitter, aroma with a coolness some consider similar to mint. In the Middle East, green cardamom powder is used as a spice for sweet dishes as well as traditional flavoring in coffee and tea. Cardamom pods are ground together with coffee beans to produce a powdered mixture of the two, which is boiled with water to make coffee.

The sweetly aromatic cardamom is the fruit of a tropical plant related to ginger, and is one of the world's most expensive spices, after saffron and vanilla. Growing cardamom is extremely labor intensive. The tall plants, grown on plantations in Guatemala or India, flower for eight or nine months of the year. Each pod, or capsule, ripens slowly, and must be plucked when it is three-quarters ripe.

After harvest, the pods are washed and dried. The method of drying dictates the final color. White indicates the pods have been dried for many days in the sun leaving them bleached. Green pods have been dried for one day and night in a heated room. The three seeds inside each pod are considered the spice.

Cardamom is most beneficial to the digestive system by help boosting healthy digestion by stimulating the whole digestive system.* It is also 'stomachic' which means it helps keep stomach healthy and functioning properly.

Note: These statements have not been evaluated by the US Food and Drug Administration, and this product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. We at eSutras do not recommend internal use of supplements or herbs without prior consultation with your doctor or herbalist.