CARDAMOM

CARDAMOM

Cardamom is one of the world’s very ancient spices, often known as the Queen of Spices. It originated in India but is available worldwide today. It belongs to the Zingiberaceae or the ginger family.Used in both sweet and savory recipes,
cardamom is to Indians what vanilla is to the West.Cardamom is a staple flavor throughout the Arab world and South Asia.At some point, cardamom made its way from the Middle East and established itself as an iconic flavor in Scandinavian cuisine. It is also believed that the Vikings,seafaring Norse pirates from southern Scandinavia, chanced upon cardamom,at that time native to India only, via the Venetian route and their descendants have been using it in their breads and desserts ever since.
It is an expensive spice, second only to saffron.The seeds, oils and extracts of cardamom are thought to have impressive medicinal properties and have been used in traditional medicine for centuries.The ancient Egyptians chewed cardamom seeds as a tooth cleaner.It is also used in soaps, creams, and perfumes.
Indian Cardamom is known in two main varieties: Malabar Cardamom. and Mysore Cardamom