Package: 50 g.
High quality, fragrant, green color, full of grains.
Cardamom is a herbaceous plant of the species Eletaria cardamomum of the ginger family, which grows wild in the humid forests of South India. Indian (Malabar) cardamom with small fruits and Mysore cardamom with larger ones are especially valued on the world market, cardamom from the island of Sri Lanka is slightly inferior to them.
Cardamom is a hot spice, so it is necessary to follow the rules when using it. When baking, 0.3-0.5 grams of ground seeds are added to one portion, in liquid dishes the dose of seeds should be half as much and added 3-5 minutes before the product is ready.
Nutritional (nutritional value) 100 dry product: proteins - 10.76 g, fats - 6.7 g, carbohydrates - 68.47 g. Energy value (calorie) 100 g of dry product 1301 kJ (311 kcal).
Country of origin: India
High quality, aromatic, green color, full grains.
Type:Cardamom is a herbaceous plant of the species Eletaria cardamomum of the ginger family, in the wild seen growing in wet forests of South India. Indian (Malabar) cardamom with small fruits and Mysore cardamom with larger fruits are especially valued on the world market, slightly inferior to cardamom from the island of Sri Lanka.
Cardamom fruits are three-chambered pods, they are collected slightly unripe, dried in the sun, sometimes ground and used to flavor flour and confectionery products. Green cardamom pods are more fragrant than white ones (they are specially bleached with sulfuric anhydride), while the former are preferred in India, and the latter in Northern Europe, where there is no tradition of using too bright spices. Bleaching gives cardamom a sweet note and softens the burning sensation, which is especially liked by cold Scandinavians (everything is burning to them).
Characteristics and origin:Cardamom is a spice known since ancient times. Some researchers even believe that it grew in the legendary hanging gardens of the Babylonian queen Semiramis. Arab merchants introduced it to the ancient Greeks and Romans - memories of cardamom are preserved in the works of Dioscorides and Pliny, who claimed that this delicate and very expensive spice is endowed with extraordinary healing power. However, despite such fame, today cardamom is not a very welcome guest in European cuisine. Perhaps, only the Scandinavians give it their due - they add it in small quantities to meat and fish dishes, sausages (especially in liver), pâtés and marinades for herring, sardines and roe.
Usage:
Germans put it in a mixture of spices to flavor the famous Nuremberg gingerbread "lebkuchen" with candied fruit, almonds and honey - a must treats of the festive Christmas table. Published in 1704, the first officially published German cookbook by Maria-Sofia Schellhammer already includes recipes for pastries, jams, and strong tinctures with anise, cinnamon, lemon zest, cumin, and cardamom. By the way, the Germans also taught us to add cardamom to the Easter cake.
But in the East, cardamom is one of the most favorite spices. It is especially popular in the cuisine of North India (in Kashmir), where it is called "elaichi" and includes almost all traditional spice mixtures (masalas), and in combination with almonds and saffron, it is a must-add to festive rice dishes. Indians also love drinks flavored with cardamom, for example, lassi - a foamy, refreshing sour-milk drink made from yogurt. All components are whipped with a whisk until the lassi is well foamed. In the states of Punjab and Gujarat, namkeen lassi is made with salt, cumin, ground chili pepper, and fresh ginger. However, sweet versions of mithi-lassa are more common, often with mint, cardamom, sugar, honey and fruit - for example, bananas or mangoes.
In the Middle East, cardamom is usually combined with fruits and nuts, and also added to meat and rice dishes. Cardamom is part of the North African spice mix "ras-el-khanut" and Ethiopian "berbere". In addition, this spice is an indispensable component of Arabic coffee: freshly ground cardamom seeds are added to coffee before brewing or several boxes are placed in a coffee pot. The Bedouins even have special coffee pots, in their spouts they put a few seeds - and when hot coffee is poured into a cup, it washes away the fragrant seeds, which give it a piece of its fragrance. Cardamom gives a spicy aftertaste, emphasizes the aroma of coffee and at the same time smoothes the effect of caffeine, reducing the risk of tachycardia and increased blood pressure. By the way, a similar tradition also exists in Asia. The Chinese often add cardamom seeds, which "increase wisdom," to tea. Indian spicy masala tea also usually contains a lot of cardamom and cinnamon, and a rather specific sweet green tea with cardamom pods is very popular with Kashmiris. antitussive agent. Currently, the pharmacopoeias of many countries recommend cardamom for asthma and migraines as an appetite stimulant and carminative. Dioscorides recommended Himalayan cardamom to treat coughs, asthmatic spasms, and abdominal pain. But in Ayurvedic medicine, cardamom is used much more widely - they believe that it relieves the "burning in the heart" caused by the action of onions and garlic, and also treats headaches associated with digestive problems and... impotence.
Since cardamom is a very sharp spice, it should be used carefully.
Content of useful substances:
Seeds contain 3.5-8% essential oil, rich in starch, fat and calcium oxalic acid. The oil contains limonene, the terps neol, borneol, their esters and cineol.
Chef's advice:
Cardamom pods are better to buy whole, as they quickly lose their strange aroma in any medium.
Cardamom can be added whole pods, or you can take out the black seeds and pound them or grind them finely.
Combination cardamom with nutmeg goes well with boiled fish of valuable species.
Cardamom 50g. India, super spice, delicate aroma and piquancy, Ayurveda Zdes
