Something to spice up your day

The dried fruits of Cardamom a member of the ginger family. It is also known in English as cardamon, true cardamom, or green cardamom and in Hindi as elaichi or choti and scientifically as Elettaria cardamomum.

Cardamom is the third most expensive spice in the world, after saffron and vanilla.

Cardamom plants are native to the Western Ghats of southern India (shown on the location map). Until 200 years ago when cardamom was developed as a crop by the British colonies, the world's supply relied entirely on this wild source. Today cardamom is often intercropped with other plants, such as tea.

Cardamom is a versatile spice for both sweet and savoury foods. The whole or ground seeds add a characteristic taste to meat, vegetables, breads, sweets and drinks. Essential oil and oleoresin are extracted from the seeds to be used in processed foods and as a flavouring in toothpaste and chewing gum. You will need to use the looking glass to see the small seeds in the split pod.

In traditional medicine cardamom is traditionally used to treat skin conditions and to aid digestion and to cleanse the breath.

Information taken from the Kew Gardens website.