Organic Cardamom Powder

Our organic cardamom powder is made from green cardamom "Elettaria cardamomum" also known as true cardamom. It is the top choice for sweet dishes but also works well in savory dishes. The taste is strong, some say it tastes like a combination of ginger and cinnamon. Others say it has a more unique, minty taste with hints of lemon.

Cardamom is used in meat and vegetable curries desserts, and all manner of recipes. In Sweden and most Scandinavian countries it is very common in baked goods, the intoxicating aroma filling the house when they're in the oven. Cardamom plants are a relative of ginger and can grow to be five to ten feet tall. Harvesting cardamom is done entirely by hand, hence the hefty price tag.

Cardamom is considered to be one of the world's oldest spices. The use of this spice dates back at least 4000 years. Ancient Egyptians used Cardamom for many medicinal purposes, as part of rituals and even for embalming. They chewed cardamom pods as a way to help keep their breath minty and to help clean their teeth. The Greeks and Romans used Cardamom for its pungent aroma. It was a main ingredient in perfumes and aromatic oils. Vikings first discovered this spice during their travels and brought it back to Scandinavia.

Cardamom originally came from wild plants located in the Western Ghats in Southern India. The plants grew in such abundance in this region that this area became known as Cardamom Hills. During the 19th century, plantations of cardamom were set up by British colonists and this is where much of the green and black cardamom that we use still comes from today. Guatemala is the biggest commercial producer of cardamom. In some parts of Guatemala, it is considered even more valuable than coffee as a crop.