Cardamom Seed Powder (ounce)

In India, Cardamom is often referred to as the "queen of spices" (pepper is considered the king). A member of the ginger (Zinziberaceae) family the spice cardamom intensifies both savory and sweet flavors. Cardamom's aroma is rugged, but gentle, fruity and biting. The taste is light and lemony. Our Cardamom pods come from Guatemala. During the harvesting process the timing is critical to ensure not only optimum quality but maximum yield as well. When fully ripened, the cardamom pod splits open, which allows the seeds to be blown away or fall to the ground and get exposed to the air; so the pods must be picked while still in the slightly immature green state and just as the seeds begin to turn dark (inside the pod). The seed-containing Cardamom capsules are then sold as green or bleached pods. Obviously, then, black and green cardamom pods are from the same plant but harvested at different stages.