CARDAMOM

Hi! After a short break I am continuing with my work and am presenting you a new post about cardamom. Also, from today I will be writing my posts both in Croatian and English. Under every paragraph you can find an English translation (but since writing about spices is not as easy as I thought it would be, there might be mistakes so please have mercy towards me :D).

Cardamon is slowly becoming a must have spice in kitchens all over the world. It enriches the taste of many sweet dishes due to its pleasant odor and strong taste, while gourmets add it to grounded coffee before cooking.

Cardamom refers to several plants of  the familiar genera Elettaria and Amomum in the ginger family. Both genera are native to India and are recognized by their small seed pods filled with small black seeds. Elettaria pods are light green (India, Malaysia), while Amom pods are larger and dark brown (other parts of Asia and Australia). It’s supposed it exists for 5000 years and that makes it one of the oldest and most precious spices in the world. Egyptians used to chew it in order to freshen their breath and whiten their teeth, and that practice is still very much alive today in India. Greeks and Romans made perfumes from it. Cardamom’s essential oil is highly valued. It is the world’s third most expensive spice, right after vanilla and saffron.

Cardamom has a strong, unique taste and aromatic, slightly radiant, spicy, lemon fresh, floral smell that reminiscent of eucalyptus. The content of essential oil in the seeds depends on storage. Sticky seeds are a sign of good quality. It is used for: bakery products, gingerbread and almond cookies, spicy and sweet Scandinavian dishes (such as pulla; Finnish sweet bread), curry and garam masala powder, meat and poultry dishes, rice dishes such as biryani and pilav, deserts, rice pudding, citrus fruit, Arabian coffe, Indian tea, mulled wine and liquors.

Cardamom has a cooling effect on the body. Combined with caraway and fennel as a tea blend, it is used for stomach tension and flatulence. Folk traditional medicine uses it for a number of things, such as: skin diseases, cough, hemorrhoids, jaundice, headache, fever, indigestion. It is considered to be a strong aphrodisiac. Cardamom has a refreshing effect on your breath and it whitens teeth. It stimulates gastric acid secretion, prevents spasms and has an anti-inflammatory effect. Also, it helps drug passage through the skin as well as it reduces asthma symptoms and is a great expectorant. Cardamom is one of the most cherished spices in Ayurveda.