Cardamom refers to a type of spindle shape triangle seed pot with a thin outer shell and is filled with many small black color seeds inside the shell. The cardamom project is a joint project initiated by countries like India, Bhutan and Nepal. This is considered to be the world’s third costliest variety of species and is only outstripped by Saffron and Vanilla which are placed as the world’s most costly species.
There are 2 types of cardamom, Elettaria (a green colored cardamom) and Amomum (a black colored cardamom). Cardamom originates from the Ginger family and is considered to be warm, aromatic and pungent in the world of spices. Cardamom is mostly purchased in pod form since the powdered form looses its pungency very fast. Dishes do not require the pod but only the seeds which are found inside the pod. The pod if put in dishes will leave a bitter flavor.
Cardamom is mostly used in food, drinks, perfumes and medicines for taste, flavor, fragrance and cure respectively. Cardamom is also used in Ayurveda and is considered to be a very effective and useful medicine. Let us learn some of the interesting facts about Cardamom.
1- Green color cardamom is mostly used in South Asian countries for treatment of tooth and gum infections.
2- Cardamom is derived from the Latin word ‘Cardamomum’.
3- Green color cardamom is also used for treatment of kidney stones, gall bladder stones, inflammation etc.
4- During the pre-historic period, Romans and Greek used cardamom for treatment of their digestive disorders.
5- In ancient period, green cardamom was considered as an antidote for scorpion and snake venom.
In Asia, you can find plenty of Cardamom Mountains which are filled with cardamom plantations. Most of these are exported to countries like the United States, United Kingdom etc.