Cardamom is used for two herbs related to ginger. Their seeds are used as a spice. The two species are named Elettaria and Amomum. The seeds grow in a small seedpod. This seedpod is triangular in cross-section and has the shape of a spindle. There is a thin papery outer shell and small black seeds. Elettaria pods are light green in color, Amomum pods are larger and dark brown.
Elettaria is commonly known as cardamom, green cardamom or true cardamom. It grows from India to Malaysia.
Amomum is usually called black cardamom, or white cardamom. It grows in Asia and Australia.
Other names for Cardamom:
Elaichi(Hindi, Punjabi), Yelakki(Kannada), Elakka(Malayalam), Elakkayi(Telugu), Yelakka/Ellakai (Tamil)
Whole vs. Ground:
Recipes using black cardamom often call for using the whole pod, with the seeds intact. The pods are then discarded after cooking is done as chomping into the whole pod is unpleasant. If you're using green cardamom in a recipe, ideally you'd start with whole cardamom pods. If you buy ground cardamom (i.e. cardamom powder) from the spice section, it won't be as flavorful since the essential oils of the cardamom seed will lose their flavor relatively quickly after the seeds are ground.
How to determine purity of cardamom:
Used pods are generally used in green cardamom adulteration. Newer pods will be plum and full, but used ones will be wrinkled and feel empty. By look, fresher pods will have a mellow yet fresh green colour while used pods will be pale green.
This is why YPI Products supply items that excel in edibility, hygiene, shelf life and nutritive value.
Features and details:
• No artificial colors and preservatives
• Pesticide free
• Cardamom has a unique aroma and flavor
• Used in Ayurvedic medicines
• 100% natural
Features and Details:
Cardamom is in use for more than 4000 years, thus, one of the oldest spices in the world. It has a strong, pungent and sweet taste. Its Latin name is Elettaria Cardamomum.
Cardamom exists in its two widely known forms, and both are different - Black Cardamom and Green Cardamom.
Green Cardamom often referred to as the true Cardamom, is used in various Indian foods like biryani, kheer, etc. It is used commonly in curries. Black Cardamom is very famous for its medicinal attributes and has wide medicinal uses.
Health benefits:
Cardamom is an exceptional medicinal spice and is known to stimulate our body's metabolism and improves digestion, prevents acid and gastric disorders
Cardamom is known to reduce the cholesterol level in your blood and also reduce blood pressure in hypertensive individuals.
Promotes heart health.
Powdered cardamom along with brewed tea may ease the signs of depression.
Green cardamom reduces the intensity of asthma attacks. .
It improves oral health and removes bad breath.
Studies have shown that cardamom is capable of delaying the onset of cancer (through its antioxidant properties) and also reverse tumors by destroying cancer cells.*
*More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of cardamom for these uses.
Cooking With Cardamom
You can use powdered cardamom directly to recipes that call for it, but flavor is improved if you powder whole pods. Toast green cardamom pods in a dry skillet for a few minutes. Let them cool for a minute and then remove the seeds from the pods. The pods can be added to coffee or tea for flavor. Grind the seeds in a mortar and pestle for best results, or a spice grinder
Pre-ground cardamom is easy to use, yet it can diminish in flavor quickly, so buying and grinding the pods is the best way to get the full flavor.
Storage
It is best to store cardamom as whole pods in a sealed container in a cool, dry place. Ground cardamom can be stored similarly, but will quickly lose flavor and aroma and should be used as soon as possible.
