Ingredients: Cardamom - Heaven's Scent

Like any evocative indulgence, my first encounter with cardamom was strange and ethereal. Truth be told, I had probably experienced cardamom long before I knew it. Cardamom is like that.

Once you know its scent, though, you recognize it instantly. It becomes almost haunting: You dream of it; you desire it. Still, with its hefty price tag (third only to saffron and vanilla in the spice market) and its quick-to-fade aromatic (not to mention taste) quality, when I have it, I tend to hoard it.

Cardamom has the distinction of being one of the ancient spices. It is native to southern India, where it grows wild in the forests of the Western Ghats (a chain of mountains running from Bombay to the southern tip of India). Today it is cultivated in southern India, Sri Lanka, Guatemala, Indo China, and Tanzania, with Guatemala being the primary exporter. While it is true that the largest quantities of cardamom are grown in India, export is relatively small given the large demand for it domestically. It’s not hard to understand why, given its distinguished history. (read more)


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