10 Things I Never Knew About Cardamom

photo by Kevin Keeker

I had the fabulous fortune to stumble onto #SpiceChat on twitter yesterday. It's a monthly chat about various spices. Yesterday's conversation was all about cardamom. I encourage you to go read the whole thing, there are A LOT of delicious looking recipes and ideas. One account in particular, MySpiceSage, sprinkled a bunch of cardamom facts. Here are the ones I never knew before:

1. Cardamom is the third most expensive spice after vanilla & saffron.
2. In the Middle Ages, cardamom was so dear, a scoop of pods equalled a commoner's wage for a year.
3. Cardamom pods don't ripen all at once and require many passes through a field for harvesting, which makes it so expensive.
4. Cardamom has the respected distinction of being known as "Queen of Spices" because of its beautiful aroma and flavor.
5. Cardamom is a plant in the ginger family & cardamom spice goes really well with ginger.
6. Cardamom contains more than 25 volatile oils that account for its unique aroma and flavor.
7. Cineole is a volatile oil found in cardamom and bay leaves. It smells like eucalyptus and has antioxidant properties.
8. Black cardamom has a completely different flavor from green. Bolder, peppery with smoky notes from being dried over fire. (I actually didn't even know that black cardamom existed.)
9. Cardamom is considered a sign of hospitality in Arab cultures, and it's added to the coffee of guests as a gesture of goodwill.
10. The region in Southern India where cardamom grows is named Cardamom Hills.