Cardamom

Cardamom (

Species used for cardamom are native throughout tropical and subtropical Asia. The first references to cardamom are found in Sumer, and in the Ayurvedic literature of India.^[3] Nowadays it is also cultivated in Guatemala, Malaysia, and Tanzania.^[4] The German coffee planter Oscar Majus Klöffer introduced Indian cardamom to cultivation in Guatemala before World War I; by 2000, that country had become the biggest producer and exporter of cardamom in the world, followed by India.^[5]

Etymology

The word "cardamom" is derived from the

The earliest attested form of the word κάρδαμον signifying "cress" is the Mycenaean Greek ka-da-mi-ja, written in Linear B syllabic script,^[10] in the list of flavourings on the "Spice" tablets found among palace archives in the House of the Sphinxes in Mycenae.^[11]

The modern genus name Elettaria is derived from the root ēlam attested in

• True or green cardamom (or white cardamom[13] when bleached) comes from the species Elettaria cardamomum and is distributed from India to Malaysia. What is often referred to as white cardamon is actually Siam cardamom, Amomum krervanh.^[14]
• Black cardamom, also known as brown, greater, large, longer, or Nepal cardamom, comes from the species Amomum subulatum and is native to the eastern Himalayas and mostly cultivated in Eastern Nepal, Sikkim, and parts of Darjeeling district in West Bengal of India, and southern Bhutan.

The two types of cardamom, καρδάμωμον and ἄμωμον, were distinguished in the fourth century BCE by Theophrastus. He reports that some people believed they came from Media, others from India.^[15]

Uses

Both forms of cardamom are used as flavourings and cooking spices in both food and drink, and as medicine. E. cardamomum (green cardamom) is used as a spice, a masticatory, or is smoked.^[16]

Food and beverage

Cardamom has a strong taste, with an aromatic, resinous fragrance. Black cardamom has a more smoky – though not bitter – aroma, with a coolness some consider similar to mint.^[who?]

Green cardamom is one of the most expensive spices by weight,^[17] but little is needed to impart flavour. It is best stored in the pod, as exposed or ground seeds quickly lose their flavour. Grinding the pods and seeds together lowers both the quality and the price. For recipes requiring whole cardamom pods, a generally accepted equivalent is 10 pods equals 1+1⁄2 teaspoons (7.4 ml) of ground cardamom.^{[citation needed]}

Cardamom is a common ingredient in Indian cooking. It is also often used in

In Asia, both types of cardamom are widely used in both sweet and savoury dishes, particularly in the south. Both are frequent components in such spice mixes as Indian and Nepali

World production

Top ten producers of cardamom – 2017
Country	Production (tonnes)
Guatemala	36,259
Indonesia	34,385
India	30,000
Nepal	6,521
Laos	3,013
Grenada	2,775
Bhutan	1,086
Tanzania	738
Sri Lanka	555
Honduras	490
World	115,822
Source: FAOSTAT of the United Nations[19]

By the early 21st century, Guatemala became the largest producer of cardamom in the world, with an average annual yield between 25,000 and 29,000 tonnes. The plant was introduced there in 1914 by Oscar Majus Kloeffer, a German coffee planter.^[5][20] India, formerly the largest producer, since 2000 has been the second worldwide,^[20] generating around 15,000 tonnes annually.^[21]

Increased demand since the 1980s, principally from China, for both A. villosum and A. tsao-ko, has been met by farmers living at higher altitudes in localized areas of China, Laos, and Vietnam, people typically isolated from many other markets.^[22][23][24]

History

Cardamom production began in ancient times, and has been referred to in ancient Sanskrit texts as ela.^[25] The Babylonians and Assyrians recognized the health benefits of the spice early on, and trade in cardamom opened up along land routes and by the interlinked Persian Gulf route controlled from Dilmun as early as the third millennium BCE Early Bronze Age,^[26] into western Asia and the Mediterranean world.

The ancient Greeks thought highly of cardamom, and the Greek physicians

The Portuguese became involved in the trade in the 16th century, and the industry gained wide-scale European interest in the 19th century.[27]

Production practices

According to Nair (2011), in the years when India achieves a good crop, it is still less productive than Guatemala.^[29] Other notable producers include Costa Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Thailand, and Vietnam.^[29]

Much production of cardamom in India is cultivated on private property or in areas the government leases out to farmers.

Plants may be raised from seed or by division of the rhizome. In about a year, the seedlings reach about 30 cm (1 ft) in length, and are ready for transplantation. The flowering season is April to May, and after swelling in August and September, by the first half of October usually attain the desired degree of ripening. The crop is accordingly gathered in October and November, and in exceptionally moist weather, the harvest protracts into December.^[31] At the time of harvesting, the scapes or shoots bearing the clusters of fruits are broken off close to the stems and placed in baskets lined with fresh leaves. The fruits are spread out on carefully prepared floors, sometimes covered with mats, and are then exposed to the sun. Four or five days of careful drying and bleaching in the sun is usually enough. In rainy weather, drying with artificial heat is necessary, though the fruits suffer greatly in colour; they are consequently sometimes bleached with steam and sulphurous vapour or with ritha nuts.^[31]

The industry is highly labour-intensive, each hectare requiring considerable maintenance throughout the year. Production constraints include recurring climate vagaries, the absence of regular re-plantation, and ecological conditions associated with deforestation.^[32]

Cultivation

In 1873 and 1874,

In 1979–1980, Guatemala surpassed India in worldwide production.^[29] Guatemala cultivates Elettaria cardamomum, which is native to the Malabar Coast of India.^[38] Alta Verapaz Department produces 70 percent of Guatemala's cardamom.^[38] Cardamom was introduced to Guatemala before World War I by the German coffee planter Oscar Majus Kloeffer.^[39] After World War II, production was increased to 13,000 to 14,000 tons annually.^[27]

In addition to Guatemala and India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Tanzania are also significant growers of cardamom.

Cardamom production's demand and supply patterns of trade are influenced by price movements, nationally and internationally, in 5 to 6-year cycles.[41] Importing leaders mentioned are Saudi Arabia and Kuwait,^[42] while other significant importers include Germany, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Pakistan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, the UK, and the former USSR.^[43] According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, 80 percent of cardamom's total consumption occurs in the Middle East.^[43]

In the 19th century,

• 
  Black and green cardamom
• 
  Cardamom plant (one year old)
• 
  Leaves of cardamom
• 
  Cardamom flowering stems
• 
  Cardamom flower
• 
  Pollen grain of Cardamom
• 
  Cardamom fruit and seeds
• 
  Green cardamom pods and seeds
• 
  Jar of green cardamom
• 
  White cardamom pods in a bowl
• 
  Cardamom pods as used as a spice in India

See also

• Aframomum corrorima, known as Ethiopian cardamom

References

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: G. Watt's "The Commercial Products of India: Being an Abridgement of "The Dictionary of the Economic Products of India."" (1908)

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: T. C. Owen's "Notes on Cardamom Cultivation" (1883)