A perennial native to India (Elettaria cardamomum), also cultivated in Sri Lanka; rhizomatous; stem to 3·5 m/11½ ft; leaves in two rows, stalks sheathing; flowers small, white with blue and yellow markings, in clusters 60 cm/2 ft long on leafless stems near the ground; fruit a capsule 2 cm/¾ in long. The dried ripe fruits are used as spice, especially in curries. (Family: Zingiberaceae.)
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True Cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) |
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Aframomum |
The name cardamom (sometimes written cardamon) is used for species within three genera of the ginger family Zingiberaceae, namely Elettaria, Amomum and Aframomum.
Types of cardamom and their distribution
The three main genera of the ginger family that are named as forms of cardamom are distributed as follows:
Elettaria (commonly called cardamom, green cardamom, or true cardamom) is distributed from India to Malaysia. Amomum (commonly known as black cardamom, Kravan, Java cardamom, Bengal cardamom, Siamese cardamom, white or red cardamom) is distributed mainly in Asia and Australia. For recipes requiring whole cardamom pods, a generally accepted equivalent is 10 pods equals 1½ teaspoons of ground cardamom.
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